VATICAN CITY, JULY 13, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered June 30 upon receiving the 34 archbishops on whom he had conferred the pallium the previous day.
The prelates were accompanied by their relatives, friends and diocesan faithful.
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Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
After the celebrations for the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, it is a real pleasure for me to meet all of you, Metropolitan Archbishops who received the pallium yesterday in the Vatican Basilica, and your relatives and friends who have accompanied you to this special audience. Thus the joy of communion experienced on the feast of the two great Apostles on which I was able to confer upon you the pallium, a symbol of the unity that binds the Pastors of the particular Churches to the Successor of Peter, Bishop of Rome. I address my cordial welcome to each one of you, who come from every continent, significantly revealing the face of the Catholic Church, spread over all the earth.
I first address you, beloved Pastors of the Church in Italy. I greet Archbishop Giuseppe Betori of Florence, Archbishop Salvatore Pappalardo of Siracusa and Archbishop Domenico Umberto D'Ambrosio of Lecce.
We are at the beginning of the Year for Priests: may you therefore take pains to be exemplary Pastors, zealous and full of love for the Lord and for your communities. You will thus be able to guide and firmly support in their pastoral ministry the priests, your first collaborators, and cooperate effectively in spreading the Kingdom of God in the beloved land of Italy.
I am pleased to meet the French-speaking pilgrims who are accompanying the new Metropolitan Archbishops upon whom I have had the joy of conferring the pallium. I would like first of all to greet Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader of Algiers, Algeria, Archbishop Pierre-André Fournier of Rimouski, Canada, Archbishop Joseph Aké Yapo of Gagnoa, Côte d'Ivoire, Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Archbishop Philippe Ouédraogo of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. I also extend my warm greetings to the Bishops, priests and faithful of our countries, assuring them of my fervent prayers. The pallium is a sign of special communion with the Successor of Peter. May this sign also be for the priests and faithful of your dioceses an appeal to consolidate increasingly authentic communion with their Pastors and among all the members of the Church.
I extend warm greetings to the English-speaking Metropolitan Archbishops upon whom I conferred the pallium yesterday: Archbishop Paul Mandla Khumalo of Pretoria, South Africa; Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver, Canada; Archbishop Allen Henry Vigneron of Detroit, U.S.A.; Archbishop Anicetus Bongsu Antonius Sinaga of Medan, Indonesia; Archbishop Philip Naameh of Tamale, Ghana; Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan of New York, U.S.A.; Archbishop Vincent Gerard Nichols of Westminster, U.K.; Archbishop Robert James Carlson of Saint Louis, U.S.A.; Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok, Thailand; Archbishop George Joseph Lucas of Omaha, U.S.A.; Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond of New Orleans, U.S.A. and Archbishop Patebendige Don Albert Malcom Ranjith of Colombo, Sri Lanka. I also welcome their family members, their relatives, friends and the faithful of their respective Archdioceses who have come to Rome to pray with them and to share their joy on this happy occasion. The pallium is received from the hands of the Successor of Peter and worn by the Archbishops as a sign of communion in faith and love and in the governance of God's People. It also recalls to Pastors their responsibilities as shepherds after the Heart of Jesus. To all of you I affectionately impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and joy in the Lord.
I cordially greet the Spanish-speaking Metropolitan Archbishops who have come to Rome for the solemn ceremony of the conferral of the pallium: Archbishop Domingo Díaz Martínez of Tulancingo; Manuel Felipe Díaz Sánchez of Calabozo; José Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador; Carlos Osoro Sierra of Valencia; Víctor Sánchez Espinosa of Puebla de los Ángeles; Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla; Archbishop Ismael Rueda Sierra of Bucaramanga, and Archbishop Braulio Rodríguez Plaza of Toledo, as well as the relatives, friends, priests and faithful of their respective particular Churches who have accompanied them. Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, may the black silk cross embroidered on the pallium remind you that you must be every day more closely configured to Jesus Christ. Following in his footsteps as the Good Shepherd, always be signs of unity among your faithful, strengthening your bonds of communion with the Successor of Peter, with your suffragan Bishops and with all those who collaborate in your evangelizing mission. In this Year for Priests which has just began, carry deeply in your hearts your priests who expect of you kindly treatment as fathers and brothers who welcome them, listen to them and are concerned about them. I place you and your diocesan communities under the protection of Mary Most Holy, Queen of Apostles, who is so widely venerated in the countries that you come from: Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia and Spain.
I welcome with joy the relatives and friends of the new Metropolitan Archbishops of Brazil who have accompanied them for the conferral of the pallium, a sign of profound communion with the Successor of Peter. In this communion I address a special greeting to Archbishop Sérgio da Rocha of Teresina; Archbishop Maurício Grotto de Camargo of Botucatu; Archbishop Gil António Moreira of Juiz de Fora; and Archbishop Orani João Tempesta of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro. Please convey my greetings to the priests and to all the faithful of your Archdioceses, so that united in the same faith of Peter you may contribute to the evangelization of society. As a pledge of joy and peace in the Lord, I impart my Blessing to you all.
I greet you, Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv for Latins, and all those who surround you at this moment of lively ecclesial communion. Once again, I am grateful for your service to the Church as my collaborator, and earlier, as that of my venerable Predecessor John Paul II. May the Spirit of the Lord accompany you in your pastoral ministry for the faithful entrusted to your care, to whom I send a cordial greeting.
I cordially greet the Poles present here. In particular, I greet Archbishop Andrzej Dziega, the new Metropolitan of Szczecin-Kamien who received the pallium yesterday, and the faithful who come from this Metropolis. In the Year for Priests may the pallium also be for priests a symbol and a challenge to build communion with their own Bishops, among themselves and also with the faithful. As I implore for all of you the gifts of God's charity, I cordially bless you. Praised be Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters, may today's memorial of the Protomartyrs of Rome be a stimulus for each one of us to love Jesus Christ and the Church ever more intensely. May you be accompanied by the maternal assistance of Mary, Mother of the Church, by the Apostles Peter and Paul and by St John Mary Vianney. To each and every one of you I impart my Blessing.