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The College of Cardinals gained 13 new members from four continents and eight countries: Italy, Malta, Chile, the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, Brunei and Rwanda. “The purplish red of cardinal dresses, which is the color of blood, can become, for the worldly spirit, the color of an eminent distinction”, the Pontiff warned in his homily.
Bianca Fraccalvieri – Vatican News
“We all love Jesus, we all want to follow him, but we must always be vigilant to remain in your way. “
Words of Pope Francis in the homily when he presided this Saturday afternoon, in the Vatican Basilica, the Ordinary Public Consistory for the creation of 13 new cardinals, in the following order: Bishop Mario GRECH, Bishop Marcello SEMERARO, Bishop Antoine KAMBANDA, Bishop Wilton Daniel GREGORY, Dom Jose F. ADVINCULA, Dom Celestino AÓS BRACO, Dom Cornelius SIM, Dom Augusto Paolo LOJUDICE, Dom Mauro GAMBETTI, Dom Felipe ARIZMENDI ESQUIVEL, Dom Silvano Maria TOMASI, P. Raniero CANTALAMESSA, Dom Enrico FEROCI. Dom Sim and Dom Advincula could not be present due to the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus.
Discover the meaning of existence with the pandemic.
The reflections of the pandemic, in fact, could be noticed in the form of the rite, but they did not touch its essence. At the beginning of the ceremony, the Pontiff addressed his greeting, which was responded in turn by one of the new nominees, Card. Mario Grech, Bishop Emeritus of Gozo, Malta, Secretary of the Synod of Bishops.
In fact, synodality – a theme even for the next Synod of 2022 – was the keynote of his intervention, without forgetting that this Consistory takes place in “times so grave for all humanity. For this reason, Don Grech directed his thoughts to the “fratelli tutti” who are on Calvary.
“The dramatic circumstances that the Church and the world are going through challenge us to offer a reading of the pandemic that helps each and everyone to reap in this tragedy the opportunity and, above all, the meaning of our existence.”
The goal of our journey
Then the rite was carried out as usual: after prayer and reading, the Pope made his homily, commenting on the passage from the Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus walks with the disciples and announces for the third time what he is saying to him. wait in Jerusalem.
“The scene described by the evangelist Mark takes place on the road. And in the same environment the path of the Church unfolds: the path of life, of history, which is the history of salvation as we travel it with christ, towards his Paschal Mystery The Cross and the Resurrection belong to our history: they are ours today, but they are also always the objective of our journey ”.
The intention of the Master is to prepare the Twelve for their judgment in order to with the now and especially later, when Jesus is no longer among them. So that they are always with the and continue on your way.
But the desire expressed by James and John – to sit one on the right and one on the left of Jesus in Glory – deflects this path. “It is not the way of Jesus; it is another ”, said the Pope. “It is the way of those who, perhaps without realizing it, take advantage of the Lord to promote themselves; the path of those who, as Saint Paul says, seek their own interests and not those of Christ ”. Francis then warned:
On the way, not out of the way
This narrative highlights the stark contrast between Jesus and the disciples. The, No path; the disciples, outside the way. “For them, and for all, Jesus will tear his body to pieces and shed his blood.”
This Gospel passage, Francis concluded, is a healthy word for us today too.
The ceremony continued with the Pope pronouncing the creation formula, choosing the names of the new cardinals, and announcing the presbyteral or diaconal order to which they were assigned. The new members of the College of Cardinals then made their profession of faith and swore fidelity and obedience to the Pope and his successors.
Then there was the imposition of the cap, the delivery of the cardinal ring and the bull of creation with the designation of the Title or Diaconia Presbyteral or Diaconal. Only the embrace of peace with the other members of the College of Cardinals was omitted.
