Vatican City, Feb 20, 2012 / 16:40 pm
Pope Benedict XVI told the family and friends of the Church’s newest batch of cardinals that this weekend’s consistory was “an opportunity to reflect upon the universal mission of the Church in the history of man.”
“In human affairs, which are often agitated and confused, the Church is always alive and present, bringing Christ: light and hope for all humankind,” he told over 4,000 family members, friends and pilgrims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Feb. 20.
“Remaining united to the Church and to the message of salvation she bears, means anchoring ourselves in truth, reinforcing a sense of true values, remaining serene whatever happens,” the Pope said.
In total, the Pope created 22 new cardinals this weekend. Among them were Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien, Emeritus Archbishop of Baltimore and now the Grand Master of The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York. It’s estimated his diocese alone brought over 1,000 pilgrims to Rome.