Pope Benedict XVI seeks prayers on his first anniversary to be gentle and firm pastor

(April 19, 2006) : As Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the first anniversary of his election as the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church on Wednesday 19^th April, he told over 50,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square that he could not do the job alone, and asked for continued prayers to be the ‘gentle and firm pastor’ of the Catholic Church. The Pope said that his election came as a complete surprise to him, saying the cardinals had elected ‘my poor person’ to succeed ‘the great Pope John Paul II.’ “I always knew I could not do this job, this mission alone,” he said. “Thank you from the heart to all those who in various ways are near me or follow me spiritually with affection and prayers from afar. To each one of you, I ask you to continue to support me praying to God to let me be his gentle and firm pastor of his church,” the Pope said. Pope Benedict was the oldest pope elected in 275 years and the first German one in nearly 1,000 years when he was chosen, at age 78, to succeed Late Pope John Paul II on April 19, 2005. As Pope John Paul II's right-hand man, he had been a favourite going into the vote and was selected in the fastest conclave in a century.