Catholic World News News Feature

Pope Benedict celebrates inaugural Mass Sunday April 25, 2005

Pope Benedict XVI received the pallium and Fisherman's Ring symbolic of his papal authority at a solemn Mass on Sunday, April 24.

An estimated 350,000 people crowded St. Peter's Square, spilling out onto the adjacent streets, for the 2-hour ceremony. The formal inauguration of the 265th pontificate included an act of obedience to the new Pontiff, performed-- in a slight break from Roman tradition-- not only by cardinals, but by a bishop, priests, religious, and lay people selected to represent the entire Church.

The pallium and ring were given to Pope Benedict, in turn, by the senior cardinal-deacon, Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez, and the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. (The post of dean of the College of Cardinals is temporarily empty; it had been held by Cardinal Ratzinger.) Two deacons read the Gospel, in Latin and then in Greek, prior to those ceremonies.

In the past, the act of obedience to a new Pope had been performed by each member of the College of Cardinals. On this occasion three cardinals were chosen to represent the group: Cardinals Sodano, Medina Estevez, and Stephem Kim Souh-han-- representing, respectively, the cardinal-bishops, cardinal-priests, and cardinal-deacons. They were followed by representatives of all stations in life within the Church: a bishop, and Italian parish priest, an African deacon, a Carmelite monk, a Benedictine nun, and several lay people: a Korean family, a young Sri Lankan woman, and a youn man from the Congo.

Following the act of obedience, Pope Benedict read his lengthy homily. [The full text of the homily is available as a separate CWN story.] In that homily, the Holy Father remarked that the sorrow surrounding the death of Pope John Paul II, followed by the excitement at a new Pope's election, demonstrates that "the Church is alive," with the Holy Spirit guiding believers into a new era.

In his inaugural homily, the Pontiff said, there is "no need for me to present a program of governance." He had already presented an outline of his plans for the pontificate, in a lengthy statement to the cardinals on the day following his election. [See the 4-part CWN analysis of the new Pope's agenda.]

Instead, the Pope offered some thoughts on the two symbols of the papacy, which he received on Sunday: the pallium and the Fisherman's Ring. The pallium, he said, calls attention to the duty of the bishop as a shepherd, and thus to Christ as the Good Shepherd. "What the pallium indicates first and foremost is that we are all carried by Christ," the Pope said. "But at the same time it invites us to carry one another." He asked the faithful to pray that he would carry out his work, shepherding the Catholic flock.

In speaking of the Fisherman's Ring, the Pope concentrated on the task of evangelization. He pointed out that "for a fish, created for water, it is fatal to be taken out of the sea, to be removed from its vital element to serve as human food." But from the perspective of evangelization, the reverse is true: "We are living in alienation, in the salt waters of suffering and death; in a sea of darkness without light. The net of the Gospel pulls us out of the waters of death and brings us into the splendor of God's light, into true life." The task of the Church, he said, is to "bring men and women out of the sea that is salted with so many forms of alienation and onto the land of life, into the light of God."

The task of the Roman Pontiff, Benedict XVI reminded his listeners, is to bring unity to the flock. Lamenting the current fractured state of Christianity, he urged believers to pray for an end to division. He prayed: "Yes, Lord, 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!"

After the homily, the gifts were brought to the altar by people from different parts of the world, wearing the distinctive garb of their own countries: from Hungary, Croatia, Kenya, Italy, China, and Peru. Then the members of the College of Cardinals approached, surrounding the altar to concelebrate the Eucharist.

Among the other concelebrants, close to the new Pontiff, were his brother, Father George Ratzinger, and the former priest-secretary to Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Stanislaw Daiwisz.

After Communion, the new Pope remained in silent prayer for a long time, before concluding the Mass with his blessing. Then, after a Bach toccata was played as the postlude, Pope Benedict climbed into his "popemobile" to ride around St. Peter's Square, saluting the crowd, with the bells of the Vatican basilica chiming in celebration.