NEWLY elected Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis yesterday officially began his papacy with a call for the defence of the poor and the weakest in the society, making his inaugural Mass a moral crusade for social conscience. With over 200,000 persons and political leaders from different parts of the world, attending the event, the Argentine Pontiff in 1,300 years, mmediately gave indication of what his papacy would look like, as he broke protocol to fraternise with the people. He swapped the bullet-proof Popemobile for an open-top Mercedes jeep marked SCV 1.
Addressing an estimated 200,000 people and many foreign leaders gathered under bright sunshine in St. Peter’s Square, the Argentine pope underlined his constant message since he was elected by a secret conclave of cardinals last Wednesday – that the Church’s mission was to defend the poor and disadvantaged. Pope Francis toured a packed St Peter’s Square for 30 minutes prior to the two-hour service, kissing babies passed up to him and then stopping the vehicle to get out and bless a disabled man.
His papacy formally began when he received the two symbols of the papacy, the lambswool Pallium collar that was placed over his shoulders to symbolise his role as shepherd of the flock, and the Fisherman’s Ring of St. Peter.
Francis, who is the 266th pope, abandoned much of the baroque pomp of his predecessor Benedict and signalled that he wants a Church whose first priority is the poor and disadvantaged. He told the open-air congregation of world leaders, 500 priests and an estimated 500,000 worshippers: “All I ask of you is: Pray for me.”
The official beginning of Francis’s pontificate—the first of a non-European pope for 1,300 years—came six days after Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was the unexpected choice of his fellow cardinals to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.
At 8.50 a.m. local time, in front of hundreds of thousands of cheering pilgrims and 132 foreign delegations, Francis emerged from his temporary lodging at the Vatican hotel to tour the cheering crowds in an open white jeep, flanked by 20 security guards. Onlookers said he gave some the “thumbs up” sign as he ushered in a less-regal approach.
He entered St. Peter’s Basilica to don his vestments and pray at the tomb of St. Peter before emerging into clear blue skies. He began his homily with the words: “Dear Brothers and sisters”. He went on to emphasize his commitment to the poor and quoted St. Francis of Assisi, from whom he took his papal name, calling on followers to be “protectors of God’s gifts”. “The Pope must… open his arms to protect all of God’s people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest and least important,” he said.
Pope Francis gestures during his inauguration mass at St Peter’s square on March 19, 2013 at the Vatican.
He spoke of the need to protect the environment and not allow “omens of destruction,” hatred, envy and pride to “defile our lives”. He said the Pope’s role was to “embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important”.
The Vatican was in lock-down with royalty and leaning politicians from 132 countries. World leaders included US vice-president Joe Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, French premier Jean-Marc Ayrault, and King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium.
The Queen, who has never attended a papal mass, was represented by her cousin, the Duke of Gloucester and his wife. The UK Government sent Ken Clarke, a Minister without portfolio, and Baroness Warsi, the Minister for Faith and Communities.
Pope Francis, in keeping with his reputation for modesty and lack of pomp, opted for a gold-plated silver ring, rather than the usual solid gold. The Piscatory ring depicts St. Peter with the keys entrusted to him by Jesus. Earlier he had made an early-hours phone call to Argentina, with his voice relayed live to pilgrims gathered in Buenos Aires’ Plaza de Mayo. “We all walk united,” he said. “We take care of each other and continue to pray for me.”
The row over claims that, as the Bishop of Buenos Aires, he colluded with or failed to oppose the brutal Argentine junta of the late 1970s and early 1980s, resurfaced again yesterday.
The Church’s mission “means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about”, he said in the homily.
His homily focused on protection—of the environment, children, the elderly and those in need, who he said were “often the last we think about”. Francis was elected by a conclave of cardinals last week to take over from Benedict XVI. Benedict became the first pontiff in 600 years to abdicate last month. Citing his age, 85, he said he could no longer continue in the post.
papal HOMILY
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I thank the Lord that I can celebrate this Holy Mass for the inauguration of my Petrine ministry on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the spouse of the Virgin Mary and the patron of the universal Church. It is a significant coincidence, and it is also the name-day of my venerable predecessor: we are close to him with our prayers, full of affection and gratitude.
I offer a warm greeting to my brother cardinals and bishops, the priests, deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I thank the representatives of the other Churches and ecclesial Communities, as well as the representatives of the Jewish community and the other religious communities, for their presence. My cordial greetings go to the Heads of State and Government, the members of the official Delegations from many countries throughout the world, and the Diplomatic Corps.
In the Gospel we heard that “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife” (Mt 1:24). These words already point to the mission which God entrusts to Joseph: he is to be the custos, the protector. The protector of whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection is then extended to the Church, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out: “Just as Saint Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model” (Redemptoris Custos, 1).
How does Joseph exercise his role as protector? Discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand. From the time of his betrothal to Mary until the finding of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, he is there at every moment with loving care.
As the spouse of Mary, he is at her side in good times and bad, on the journey to Bethlehem for the census and in the anxious and joyful hours when she gave birth; amid the drama of the flight into Egypt and during the frantic search for their child in the Temple; and later in the day-to-day life of the home of Nazareth, in the workshop where he taught his trade to Jesus.
How does Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply to his own. This is what God asked of David, as we heard in the first reading. God does not want a house built by men, but faithfulness to his word, to his plan. It is God himself who builds the house, but from living stones sealed by his Spirit.
Joseph is a “protector” because he is able to hear God’s voice and be guided by his will; and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his surroundings, he can make truly wise decisions. In him, dear friends, we learn how to respond to God’s call, readily and willingly, but we also see the core of the Christian vocation, which is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation!
The vocation of being a “protector”, however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us.
It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about. It means caring for one another in our families: husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents, they care for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their parents.
It means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust, respect, and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!
Whenever human beings fail to live up to this responsibility, whenever we fail to care for creation and for our brothers and sisters, the way is opened to destruction and hearts are hardened. Tragically, in every period of history there are “Herods” who plot death, wreak havoc, and mar the countenance of men and women.
Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be “protectors” of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment. Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world! But to be “protectors”, we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives! Being protectors, then, also means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the seat of good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!
Here I would add one more thing: caring, protecting, demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness. In the Gospels, Saint Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!
Pope Francis gestures during his inauguration mass at St Peter’s square on March 19, 2013 at the Vatican. World leaders flew in for Pope Francis’s inauguration mass in St Peter’s Square on Tuesday where Latin America’s first pontiff will receive the formal symbols of papal power. AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE
Today, together with the feast of Saint Joseph, we are celebrating the beginning of the ministry of the new Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter, which also involves a certain power. Certainly, Jesus Christ conferred power upon Peter, but what sort of power was it? Jesus’ three questions to Peter about love are followed by three commands: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Let us never forget that authentic power is service, and that the Pope too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination on the Cross. He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete and faithful service which marked Saint Joseph and, like him, he must open his arms to protect all of God’s people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Only those who serve with love a
re able to protect!
re able to protect!
In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks of Abraham, who, “hoping against hope, believed” (Rom 4:18). Hoping against hope! Today too, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope! For believers, for us Christians, like Abraham, like Saint Joseph, the hope that we bring is set against the horizon of God, which has opened up before us in Christ. It is a hope built on the rock which is God.
To protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of creation, to protect each person, especially the poorest, to protect ourselves: this is a service that the Bishop of Rome is called to carry out, yet one to which all of us are called, so that the star of hope will shine brightly. Let us protect with love all that God has given us!
I implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and Saint Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my ministry, and I ask all of you to pray for me! Amen.
