Pope Benedict XVI
Born at Marktl Am Inn, Germany
Joseph Ratzinger
April 16, 1927Ordained to the Priesthood
June 29, 1951Ordained Archbishop of Munich
May 28, 1977Named Cardinal
June 27, 1977Elected 265th Pope
April 19, 2005
Father of providence,
look with love on Benedict XVI, our pope,
your appointed successor to Saint Peter
on whom you built your church.
May he be the visible center and foundation
of our unity in faith and love.
grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Excerpts from the Homily
for the Inaugural Mass of His PapacyGiven at Saint Peter's Square on Sunday, April 24, 2005
During these days of great intensity, we have chanted the litany of the saints on three different occasions: the funeral of Pope John Paul; as the cardinals entered the conclave; and again today, when we sang it with the response Tu illum adiuva (sustain the new successor of Peter). On each occasion, in a particular way, I found great consolation in listening to that prayerful chant. . . . Now, at this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task, which truly exceeds all human capacity. How can I do this? How will I be able to do it.
All of you, my dear friends, have just invoked the entire host of saints, represented by some of the great names in the history of God's dealings with mankind. In this way, too, I can say with renewed conviction: I am not alone. I do not have to carry alone what in truth I could never carry alone. All the saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me, and to carry me. And your prayers, your indulgence, your love, your faith, and your hope accompany me. Indeed, the communion of saints consists not only of the great men and women who went before us and whose names we know. All of us belong to the communion of saints, we who have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we who draw life from the gift of Christ's body and blood, through which he transforms us and makes us like himself.
Yes, the church is alive. And the church is young. It holds within itself the future of the world and therefore shows each of us the way toward the future. The church is alive, and we are seeing it: we are experiencing the joy that the risen Lord promised his followers. The church is alive. It is alive because Christ is alive, because he is truly risen. In the suffering that we saw on the Holy Father's face in those days of Easter, we contemplated the mystery of Christ's passion and we touched his wounds. But throughout these days we have also been able to experience the joy that he promised, after a brief period of darkness, as the fruit of the resurrection.
The church is alive. With these words, I greet with great joy and gratitude all of you gathered here, my venerable brother cardinals and bishops, my dear priests, deacons, church workers, catechists. I greet you, men and women religious, witnesses of the transfiguring presence of God. I greet you, members of the lay faithful, immersed in the great task of building up the kingdom of God which spreads throughout the world, in every area of life. With great affection, I also greet all those who have been reborn in the sacrament of baptism but are not yet in full communion with us; and you, my brothers and sisters of the Jewish people, to whom we are joined by a great spiritual heritage, one rooted in God's irrevocable promise. Finally, like a wave gathering force, my thoughts go out to all men and women of today, to believers and non-believers alike.
Dear friends, at this moment, there is no need for me to present a program of governance. I was able to give an indication of what I see as my task in my message of Wednesday, April 20, and there will be other opportunities to do so. My real program of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the whole church, to the word and the will of the Lord, to be guided by him, so that he himself will lead the church at this hour of our history. . . .
One of the basic characteristics of a shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ whom he serves. "Feed my sheep," says Christ to Peter, and now, at this moment, he says it to me as well. Feeding means loving, and loving also means being ready to suffer. Loving means giving the sheep what is truly good, the nourishment of God's truth, of God's word, the nourishment of his presence which he gives us in the Blessed Sacrament. My dear friends, at this moment, I can only say: pray for me, that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me, that I may learn to love his flock more and more ― in other words, you, the holy church, each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves. Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another. . . .
Here I want to add something: both the image of the shepherd and that of the fisherman issue an explicit call to unity. "I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must lead them too, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd." (Jn 10:16). These are the words of Jesus at the end of his discourse on the Good Shepherd. And the account of the 153 large fish ends with the joyful statement: "Although there were so many, the net was not torn" (Jn 21:11). Alas, beloved Lord, with sorrow we must now acknowledge that it has been torn. But, no, we must not be sad! Let us rejoice because of your promise, which does not disappoint, and let us do all we can to pursue the path toward the unity you have promised. Let us remember it in our prayer to the Lord, as we plead with him: yes, Lord, we remember your promise. Grant that we may be one flock and one shepherd! Do not allow your net to be torn. Help us to be servants of unity!
At this point, my mind goes back to October 22, 1978, when Pope John Paul II began his ministry here in Saint Peter's Square. His words on that occasion constantly echo in my ears: "Do not be afraid!" Open wide the doors for Christ!" The pope was addressing the mighty, the powerful of this world, who feared that Christ might take away something of their power if they were to let him in, if they were to allow the faith to be free. Yes, he would certainly have taken something away from them: the dominion of corruption, the manipulation of law, and the freedom to do as they pleased. But he would not have taken away anything that pertains to human freedom or dignity, or to the building of a just society.
The pope was also speaking to everyone, especially the young. Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that he might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And, once again, the pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful, and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation.
And so, today I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ, and you will find true life. Amen.
Encyclical Deus Caritas Est (2005)
Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis (2007)
Apostolic Journey to the United States 2008
