Pope Benedict XVI spent a breezy spring evening with the Vatican's civil servants -- gardeners and judges included -- thanking them for their work, praying with them and encouraging them in their faith.The first appointment May 31 was an early evening visit to the governor's palace of Vatican City, where the pope blessed a new 1,012-pipe organ in the palace chapel before addressing employees outside.
"Besides competence, professionalism and dedication," working in the Vatican also requires "a serious commitment of evangelical witness," Pope Benedict said.
The governor's office runs Vatican City State and is responsible for the motor pool, the police and fire departments, the Vatican Museums, the gardens and buildings, postal service, stamp and coin office, grocery store, health service and a court that deals with both civil and penal matters, usually involving minor infractions such as parking violations.
Pope Benedict thanked those who "work in the different sectors of our little state, from the most visible to the most hidden. I am aware of and appreciate each day the fruits of your commitment and your competence."
The Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums, a predominantly U.S. group, joined the Vatican employees for the event.
The pope said their generosity "gives splendid witness to the beauty of the faith, expressed so richly in the works of art you have generously helped to restore."
Later in the evening, after the sun had set, Pope Benedict joined many Vatican employees and members of the public marking the end of May, the month dedicated to Mary, with a candlelight rosary procession through the Vatican gardens.
The pope joined the crowd at the Vatican's replica of the grotto of France's Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes."I entrust to Mary the little community that lives and works in the Vatican," he said.
Pope Benedict spoke about the day's feast, marking the Blessed Virgin Mary's visit to her pregnant cousin Elizabeth."Jesus had just begun to form in Mary's womb, but his spirit already had filled her heart; the mother had already begun to follow her divine son" by setting out to visit her cousin who was in need, the pope said.
"Every gesture of genuine love, even the smallest, contains within it a spark of the infinite mystery of God," he said, because God is love.
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