Rome, Italy, Oct 27, 2012 / 13:28 pm
As Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien took possession of his titular church, St. Sebastian on the Palatine Hill, he called on Catholics to imitate Saint Sebastian's witness to the resurrection of Christ.
"The Sepulchre is empty, and whether in 3rd century Rome or 21st century suffering Christian Palestine, His followers are willing to stake their lives on the fact both of the empty tomb and of the living Christ," the cardinal proclaimed in his homily for the Oct. 25 Mass.
Cardinal O'Brien was elevated to the cardinalate on Feb. 18, and appointed cardinal-deacon of St. Sebastian on the Palatine Hill. He serves as the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, which is charged with supporting the Church in the Holy Land.
"I've been asked by the Holy Father to support the Christian works in the Holy Land," the cardinal explained Oct. 25 to CNA.