Marking the 50th anniversary of the election of Blessed Pope John XXIII, Pope Benedict XVI said his predecessor always worked to increase agreement, hope, unity and peace."The pope was a man of peace and a pastor of peace who knew how to open unexpected horizons for fraternity among Christians and dialogue with all in the East and the West," Pope Benedict said after praying at the tomb of Blessed Pope John.
Some 3,000 pilgrims from the Diocese of Bergamo, the home diocese of Blessed Pope John, traveled to the Vatican to mark the anniversary of his Oct. 28, 1958, election.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, presided at the evening memorial Mass with the pilgrims, while Pope Benedict joined them later for prayers at the pope's tomb and for a brief address.
Bishop Roberto Amadei of Bergamo told Pope Benedict that his diocese wanted to give thanks to God for the papacy of Blessed Pope John and for "having sustained in him the docility of the Holy Spirit so that he could be a living image of the Good Shepherd."
"He made himself a brother and father on the pathways of the world, in the East and in the West, to tell of the goodness of the Lord, to give hope and to sow that peace that always flows from the merciful heart of God, the father of all," the bishop said.
Pope Benedict told the pilgrims, "A truly special gift offered to the church with John XXIII was the Second Vatican Council," which he called, prepared and opened in 1962.
"We are all committed to accepting that gift in an appropriate way, continuing to meditate on its teachings and translate them" into the daily life of the church, he said.
Pope Benedict also used the occasion to ask the pilgrims from Bergamo to remember the importance Pope John placed on families and on parishes as the most important place for Catholics to grow in and celebrate their faith.
In a 1932 letter to families, the future Pope John wrote, "The education that leaves its ... deepest mark is always that of the home. I have forgotten much of what I have read in books, but I still recall well what I learned from my parents and elders."
Pope Benedict said that it is in the family that people learn the primacy of love and become peacemakers.
And, he said, Pope John taught that when parishes increased the experience of communion and brotherhood among their members, the experience would spread and would make people see the downside of "the consumerism and individualism of our time, reawakening solidarity and opening the eyes of people's hearts to recognize the Father, who is gratuitous love."
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(Source: TP)