Vatican City, Oct 26, 2013 / 06:30 am
At a Mass on Thursday at Saint Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis consecrated two men as bishops and exhorted them to be faithful to Christ, for he reaches men through their ministry.
"Christ, in fact, is who through the ministry of the bishop continues to preach the Gospel of salvation and sanctifies believers, through the sacraments of the faith," the Bishop of Rome preached in his homily at the Oct. 24 Mass during which he consecrated Archbishop Jean-Marie Speich and Archbishop Giampiero Gloder.
The two have both been appointed to serve in the Vatican's diplomatic corps. Archbishop Speich, who was a priest of the Strasbourg archdiocese, has been appointed apostolic nuncio to Ghana; and Archbishop Gloder, who was a priest of the Padua diocese, is president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which trains priests for the diplomatic corps.
"Reflect attentively on what great ecclesial responsibilities these, our brothers, are called to," Pope Francis said, reflecting on their place in the apostolic succession instituted by Christ for the sanctification of mankind.