Vatican City, Feb 18, 2012 / 13:24 pm
Pope Benedict XVI issued a challenge to 22 new cardinals today, calling on them to sacrifice their lives for Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, even to the point of martyrdom.
"The new cardinals are entrusted with the service of love," the Pope said in his homily for the Feb. 18 consistory ceremony, which was held in St. Peter's Basilica.
He then reflected on the significance of the red birettas that he would later place on the heads of the new cardinals. "Love for God, love for his Church, an absolute and unconditional love for his brothers and sisters, even unto shedding their blood, if necessary, as expressed in the words of placing the biretta and as indicated by the color of their robes."
In total, 22 new cardinals were created this morning, including two from the United States. They are Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien, Emeritus Archbishop of Baltimore and now the Grand Master of The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.