( March, 19, 2013)The inauguration Mass of the new pontiff – Pope Francis was
celebrated in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday 19th March before a crowd
of nearly 200,000 people. He is the first Jesuit, the first Latin American and also
the first Pope Francis, a name he took after St. Francis of Assisi, who died in 1226
after a life of poverty and simplicity. The important rites of the inauguration
ceremony took place before the start of Mass, when Pope Francis received the two
liturgical symbols of his Petrine ministry - the fisherman’s ring in gold-plated
silver representing the Apostle Peter and the keys, and the pallium, a narrow stole
of white wool made out of lamb’s wool and embroidered with five red crosses, symbolising
the five wounds of Christ. The celebration began with the pallium being placed on
the pope’s shoulders by Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran, representing the culminating
moment of this inauguration. Then followed the placing of the fisherman’s ring
on the Pope’s finger by Cardinal Angelo Sodano. It is called the fisherman’s ring
after St, Peter the Apostle, the first Pope who was a fisherman. The ceremony
and the Mass that followed was attended by Christians and non-Christians alike, various
heads of nations and numerous delegations.
In his homily, delivered in
Italian, Pope Francis focussed on the protection of the family, the poor and the
weakest. Below is the whole text of the homily in English 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!
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 are 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.