Yesterday in Rome, following the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Francis announced the names of nineteen newly created Cardinals. One of those is Canadian. His Eminence, Gerald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec City, along with the other 18 new Cardinals, received a letter from His Holiness this morning.
Dear brother,
On this day when the news of your designation as part of the College of Cardinals is published, I want to send you my cordial greetings as well as to assure you of my closeness to you in prayer. My wish, in adding you to the Church of Rome, blessed with the virtues and the sentiments of the Lord Jesus (cf. Rom 13:14), is that you will assist me with effective fraternity in my service to the universal Church.
To be created a Cardinal does not signify a promotion, nor should it be understood as an honour or a decoration; simply speaking, it is a service which requires us to broaden our focus and enlarge our hearts. Although this might appear as a paradox, this ability to look far ahead and to love more universally with greater intensity can only be acquired by following the way of the Lord: the way of abasement and humility, and taking the form of a servant (cf. Phil 2:5-8). For this reason, I ask you please to receive this designation with a simple and humble heart. And although I trust that you will welcome it with praise and joy, I hope that you will do so in such a way as to understand that this sentiment is far from any expression of worldliness, from any celebration that is alien to the spirit of austerity, simplicity and poverty.
Goodbye for now, until February 20 when we will begin two days of reflection on the family. In the meanwhile, I remain at your disposition, and I ask you please to pray for me and to ask others to do the same.
May Jesus bless you and may the Holy Virgin protect you.
Fraternally,
Francis
From the Vatican, 12 January 2014
Letter of His Holiness, Pope Francis
to the newly created Cardinals
Dear brother,
On this day when the news of your designation as part of the College of Cardinals is published, I want to send you my cordial greetings as well as to assure you of my closeness to you in prayer. My wish, in adding you to the Church of Rome, blessed with the virtues and the sentiments of the Lord Jesus (cf. Rom 13:14), is that you will assist me with effective fraternity in my service to the universal Church.
To be created a Cardinal does not signify a promotion, nor should it be understood as an honour or a decoration; simply speaking, it is a service which requires us to broaden our focus and enlarge our hearts. Although this might appear as a paradox, this ability to look far ahead and to love more universally with greater intensity can only be acquired by following the way of the Lord: the way of abasement and humility, and taking the form of a servant (cf. Phil 2:5-8). For this reason, I ask you please to receive this designation with a simple and humble heart. And although I trust that you will welcome it with praise and joy, I hope that you will do so in such a way as to understand that this sentiment is far from any expression of worldliness, from any celebration that is alien to the spirit of austerity, simplicity and poverty.
Goodbye for now, until February 20 when we will begin two days of reflection on the family. In the meanwhile, I remain at your disposition, and I ask you please to pray for me and to ask others to do the same.
May Jesus bless you and may the Holy Virgin protect you.
Fraternally,
Francis
From the Vatican, 12 January 2014
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