The newly appointed Venezuelan Cardinal, Baltazar Enrique Porras
Cardozo, yesterday celebrated the first Mass as Cardinal in his
Archdiocese in Mérida, attended by thousands of faithful from the state
of Mérida and other cities in the country.
According to information sent
to Fides, the main concelebrants were the Apostolic Nuncio in
Venezuela, Archbishop Aldo Giordano, and the Auxiliary Bishop of
Caracas, His Exc. Mgr. Trino Fernández, representing the Archbishop of
Caracas, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, who was absent for health reasons.
Also Bishops, priests, seminarians and Venezuelan religious were
present.
During the homily Mgr. Fernandez spoke about the strength and courage of
Cardinal Porras in difficult times and stressed the pastoral work
carried out throughout his priestly ministry and as a defender of the
needy, becoming a reference point for many in the Catholic Church.
Addressing those present, Mgr. Trino Fernández affirmed the need to be
united before the country's problems: "We have to do everything
together, in order to continue to prepare ourselves to face the
situations of life. Let us not be carried away by any message. Since we
have faith, we must remember that we were built on rock and not on sand,
in order to serve the poorest".
The Mass was celebrated on Sunday, December 4, in the Rincón
Gutiérrez stadium of the Universidad de los Andes.
In addition to
closing the Jubilee of Mercy, the celebration also opened the dual
Jubilee to celebrate 50 years of priestly ordination (30/07/1967) of the
new Cardinal and his 25 years of service to the Church of Mérida.