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ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
TO H.E. MONS. FRANCIS BIBLE SCHULTE
ARCHBISHOP OF NEW ORLEANS

Friday, 30 June 1989

 

Dear Archbishop Schulte,
Dear Friends in Christ,

I am pleased to welcome all of you who have accompanied Archbishop Schulte on pilgrimage to Rome and to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul in order to be present for his reception of the Pallium. You represent the People of God in New Orleans as well as other parts of the United States where the Archbishop has served as a priest and Bishop. To those whom you represent I would ask you to convey the Pope’s affectionate greeting in the Lord Jesus, whose Spirit unites us as one holy people who are called to proclaim his name to the ends of the earth.

The liturgical vestment of the Pallium symbolizes “the bonds of unity, charity and peace” (Lumen Gentium, 22) which the Successors of the Apostles share in the Episcopal College. It is a sign of jurisdiction for the Metropolitan Archbishop, testifying to the hierarchical communion that unites him with the Successor of Peter, and it serves as a reminder that together with the Bishop of Rome he is called to exercise a pastoral solicitude for the whole Church.

I pray that your pilgrimage to Rome for this ceremony will help you to understand and appreciate ever more fully the mystery of ecclesial communion, that mystery which joins us in professing our faith that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matth. 16, 16). I ask you to assist Archbishop Schulte with your prayers, that his faith may be strong so that he in turn may continue to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith.

And may the prayers and intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Love, assist you and the whole Church in your country to bear witness to the merciful love of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I willingly impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing.

 

© Copyright 1989 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

 



Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana