Mexico City, Mexico, Oct 19, 2007 / 13:11 pm
Archbishop Robles Ortega of Monterrey, who will receive the red hat from Pope Benedict XVI on November 24, recounted to reporters this week the reaction of his elderly parents to the news that he will soon be a cardinal.
The 58 year-old archbishop is from Mascota, Mexico, and is the third of sixteen children, of whom fifteen are still living. His father is now 90 and his mother 80.
“I should acknowledge that my parents have always lived in an atmosphere of faith, they taught us to live that way, to live under the providence of God, under his loving gaze, and therefore my parents interpret everything that happens in life as a grace which they already know neither I deserve it nor do they,” he explained.
“They taught us to see life in this way. We don’t deserve anything, God is good, he is our Father and as such He shows us the way,” the cardinal-elect said.