Here is a translation of Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco's May 18 greeting to Benedict XVI in Genoa's Piazza della Vittoria.The archbishop of Genoa spoke during the closing Mass of the Pontiff's two-day pastoral visit to the Italian region of Liguria.
* * *Most blessed Father!
Genoa loves the Pope! It loves you, Holy Father, and we are grateful for the honor your much-desired visit bestows upon our church and our entire city. In you we see the Successor of Peter. In you, the Vicar of Christ, we see the pastor of the universal Church, its principle and visible foundation. In your pilgrim steps in the Ligurian region, we can feel the care of Christ, the Good Shepherd who on the road to Emmaus walked with two others on the path. He listened to their souls, confirmed them in the faith, enlivened their hope, and shared the warmth of the Eucharistic bread. He unleashed the need to communicate to their brethren their meeting with the Risen One so that joy would abound.
We feel the same way today Holy Father! We feel that your teaching is necessary for us, so that we can be confirmed in the faith, to grow in communion with the Church, our Teacher and Mother. We need your word which brings us the echo of the Divine Master, the echo of 2,000 years of Christian history, the voice of the saints and martyrs who shed their blood because of their faithfulness to Christ and the Church: the voice of the martyrs of yesterday and today. We need your witness, which transforms the exhortation of the Apostle Peter, “to give a reason” to others for our hope, and to do so always with kindness and respect (1 Pt 3:5).
You have before you the venerated bishops of the Church in Liguria, those already retired and those who, being sons of this land, carry out their ministry and service to the Holy See. We consider as one of our own Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, your secretary of state, who in just a few years got to know and love this diocese, and he is very beloved by all of us.
I have the joy of presenting you my dear priests: It is a united clergy, who in true Genoan fashion care for one another and support each other. I admire them for their priestly zeal, which translates into works -- despite age, infirmity or the reduced numbers of confreres. For this reason people like them all the more and collaborate in a spirit of faith and service. Even in the smallest of our 278 diocesan communities, they are deeply tied to their churches and care for them with the love that one has for their own home.
Ours is an ancient faith in this region -- going back to the fourth century -- and its history is rich with saints, priests, religious orders, associations and confraternities, traditions that express and nourish the faith. It is rich with charity, care for the poor and weak, openness to welcome those -- like we were at one time on other continents -- who are looking for a better life. Ours is a generous people -- generous even when -- as in our own day -- it is suffering from the inherent problems of work, home and the cost of living. But there is no lack of dignity, and the pride needed to take advantage of all the existing resources.
Our history has not always been easy but it has always been faithful to the Apostolic See. Four popes have come from this region and we felt honored when, elected to the Chair of Peter, You chose the name Benedict XVI.
As faith is incarnated in life, so the history of the Church intertwines with the history of this city: It is a respectful and fruitful relationship for the good of Genoa. One only has to look back to recent history to see an example -- like the mediation efforts and charity work during the last world war, the timely attention by Cardinal [Giuseppe] Siri to the working world, the home, poverty. This work was continued by his successors. One expression of this attention to the working world is the presence of chaplains in factories and agencies. This humble and respectful presence among workers is a testament to these priceless values!
Holy Father, we are gathered together here with you, with you we are gathered around Christ the Lord. With your presence here Genoa has become -- for a moment -- the beating heart of the Universal Church: For this we unite ourselves ever more closely to your person and we pray for the entire Church, especially there where our brothers in faith are suffering. We pray for a humanity that thirst for truth and love, which is in need of hope and peace, their name is Jesus.
We pray for all human life, so that it may always be welcomed and defended, promoted and loved. For this reason we hope your visit will be remembered with a double sign in favor of life -- born and unborn. [...]
We pray for your lofty ministry. But please Holy Father, pray for us! Difficulties are never lacking but, confirmed by your word, we can return to our communities and, with our hearts ablaze, like the disciples in Emmaus, we can announce to everyone, everywhere, that Christ is our hope, that hope that each person is looking for though they may not realize it. Pray for Genoa, your holiness, Genoa is with the Pope and loves him!
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