[Goanet]Eucharistic celebrations to inaugurate the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI on 24th April 2005

[http://www.goa-world.com/goa/]

BENEDICT XVI TO VISIT ST. PAUL'S BASILICA ON APRIL 25
 
VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 2005 (VIS) - The Office for Liturgical Celebrations of 
the Supreme Pontiff announced in a communique published yesterday afternoon 
that the solemn Eucharistic celebration to inaugurate the pontificate of Pope 
Benedict XVI will take place in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, April 24 at 10 
a.m. All cardinals in Rome will concelebrate.
 
  "The Church in Rome and in various parts of the world," adds the 
communique, "is invited to give filial thanks and make a fervent supplication 
to God to obtain for the new Roman Pontiff, who will be given the Petrine 
pallium and the Ring of the Fisherman, copious graces for his ministry for the 
good of the entire Church."
 
  On Monday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m., the Holy Father will go to the tomb of 
the Apostle Paul in the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls on the Via 
Ostiense "to express the inseparable bond of the Church of Rome with the 
Apostle of the People together with  the Fisherman from Galilee."
 
   Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls, in a statement 
released to journalists yesterday afternoon announced that on Monday morning, 
April 25, the Holy Father Benedict XVI will receive in the Paul VI Hall the 
pilgrims who have come from Germany for the solemn inauguration of his 
pontificate.
 
  Journalists will be welcomed by the Pope on Saturday, April 23 at 11 a.m. in 
the Paul VI Hall.
 
  A change in program was also announced yesterday. Pope Benedict XVI will 
receive the heads of the diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See and 
the heads of delegations present for the Mass to inaugurate his pontificate 
following that celebration on Sunday, April 24, and not on Monday, April 25, 
as previously announced.
OCL:OP/CALENDAR POPE/NAVARRO-VALLS  VIS 050422 (270)
  
POPE TO CARDINALS: MAY YOUR SUPPORT FOR ME NEVER FAIL
 
VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 2005 (VIS) - This morning, the Pope received the 
cardinals currently in Rome, telling them that "to the intense emotions I 
experienced on the occasion of the death of my venerated predecessor John Paul 
II and then during the conclave, especially its outcome, can be added an 
intimate desire for silence and two complementary feelings: a deep and 
heartfelt gratitude and a sense of human impotence in the face of the exalted 
task that awaits me."
 
  "In the first place," he affirmed, "I feel the need to give thanks to God 
Who, despite my human frailty, elected me as Successor to the Apostle Peter 
and entrusted me with the task of supporting and guiding the Church, that in 
the world she may become a sacrament of unity for the entire human race."
 
  Benedict XVI emphasized how "truly emotional" the first meeting with the 
faithful two days ago in St Peter's Square had been. "May my most heartfelt 
thanks reach everyone: bishops, priests, male and female religious, young and 
old alike, for their spiritual solidarity."
 
  The Pope thanked all members of the College of Cardinals, especially 
Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano and the camerlengo Cardinal Eduardo 
Martinez Somalo, for "the active collaboration they gave to running the Church 
during the period of vacant see. With special affection, I would like to greet 
those cardinals who, for reasons of age or ill health, did not participate in 
the conclave."
 
  The Pope extended his personal thanks to the cardinals "for the trust you 
have placed in me by electing me as bishop of Rome and pastor of the Universal 
Church. It was an act of faith that constitutes an encouragement to undertake 
this new mission with greater serenity, because I am convinced that I can 
count on both the indispensable help of God and your generous collaboration. I 
pray that your support for me may never fail!"
 
  The Holy Father recalled his predecessors, Blessed John XXIII, Servants of 
God Paul VI and John Paul I, and especially John Paul II, "whose witness over 
the last days supported us more than ever, and whose ever-living presence we 
continue to feel." He went on: "The light and the strength of the Risen Christ 
radiated in the Church by that kind of 'last Mass' that (John Paul II) 
celebrated in his agony, culminating in the 'Amen' of a life entirely offered, 
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the salvation of the world."
 
  "For me, your spiritual closeness, your enlightened counsel and your 
effective cooperation will be a gift for which I will be ever grateful and a 
stimulus to carry out the mandate entrusted to me with total faithfulness and 
dedication."
AC/.../COLLEGE CARDINALS            VIS 050422 (460)
 
 
- Forwarded by http://www.goa-world.com/