The faithful must pray for the newly appointed cardinals so that they be good servants rather than good masters, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on Sunday.
Speaking from the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace, the Pope invited the faithful to pray for the 19 new cardinals whom he appointed at his first ordinary public consistory on Saturday.
“Support these pastors and to help them with prayer,” he said. “How in need of your prayers are the Pope, cardinals, and bishops, to help the People of God advance along their path. I say ‘to help’, or rather to serve the People, for this is the true vocation of the bishop, the cardinal and the Pope: to be servants, to serve in Christ’s name. Pray for us, so that we might be good servants, not good masters.”
He called on the Church to “offer the witness of a Church faithful to Christ, inspired by the wish to serve our brothers and ready to meet with prophetic courage the expectations and the spiritual needs of the men and women of our time.”
“May Our Lady accompany us and protect us in this journey”, he said.
The Pope began with a commentary on the Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, a community divided into various groups who referred to different preachers, whom they considered their chiefs. Paul explained that this way of thinking was mistaken, as the community did not belong to the apostles, but rather they, the apostles, belonged to the entire community of Christ.
“From this origin,” Pope Francis continued, “derive all Christian communities dioceses, parishes, associations, movements … the differences cannot contradict the fact that everyone, by Baptism, has the same dignity: in Jesus Christ we are all children of God. … Those who have received the ministry of guiding, of preaching, of administering the Sacraments, must not consider themselves as having special powers, as masters, but must place themselves at the service of the community, helping it to walk the path of holiness with joy”.
“The Church today entrusts the witness of this style of pastoral life to the new cardinals, with whom I have celebrated the Holy Mass this morning,” the Pope said. “Yesterday’s consistory and today’s Eucharistic celebration have given us a valuable opportunity to experience Catholicity, the Church’s universality, well represented by the varied backgrounds of the members of the College of Cardinals gathered in close communion around Peter’s Successor.
“May the Lord give us the grace to work for the unity of the Church, and to build this unity, for unity is more important than conflicts. Unity is Christ’s; conflicts are problems that are not always Christ’s”, he said.
“I invite you to support these pastors and to help them with prayer,” he said. “How in need of your prayers are the Pope, cardinals, and bishops, to help the People of God advance along their path.”
He added that “all the Church must offer the witness of a Church faithful to Christ, inspired by the wish to serve our brothers and ready to meet with prophetic courage the expectations and the spiritual needs of the men and women of our time.
“May Our Lady accompany us and protect us in this journey,” he said.
