On
the eve of the 1-month anniversary of his election to the Papacy, Pope
Francis visited the ‘Terza Loggia’ or Third Loggia of the Apostolic
Palace Friday, home to his 'closest collaborators' and 'family', the
Secretariat of State. The two sections of the administrative arm of the Holy See are manned by 300 people under the guidance of the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
Cardinal Bertone greeted the Pope on behalf of his staff: “we are very pleased with this exceptional visit to the headquarters of the Secretariat of State. Here is the great family of your closest collaborators; the Secretariat of State that is, in fact, the real papal secretariat in the two sections: the General Affairs and the Section for Relations with States, with superiors and with all those responsible for the different sectors, with all employees. So you also see a variety of vocations that are represented here. We are grateful for your visit, we are excited by the momentum that you have given to the Petrine ministry and we hope that it will pervade, that it will animate us too in carrying out our mission not only with diligence, but above all with love and dedication for the good of the Church. We ask you for your blessing and pledge our devotion, our loyalty and our daily prayer”.
Pope Francis responded: “I thank Your Eminence for this greeting: Thank you so much for what you have expressed in this greeting…I thank you for welcoming me to the Secretariat of State. Why am I here today? To thank you, because I know that these days - tomorrow marks one month - you have worked a lot more, many hours more, and that you are not paid for this, because you have worked with your heart and this can only be repaid with a "thank you" but a “thank you” from the heart, no? So I wanted to come to greet you and thank you personally for all this work you have done. Thank you very much, from my heart. Thank you”.
The Holy Father then greeted each member of the 300 staff individually.