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.