Vatican City, Apr 23, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The faithful cheered and the bells of the Sistine Chapel tolled in celebration as the newly inaugurated Pope Benedict XVI blessed the 500,000-member crowd from his open-air jeep in St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Benedict XVI received the woolen pallium and Fisherman’s Ring during the three-hour Solemn Mass of Inauguration of the Pontificate, celebrated this morning at 10 a.m. Rome time.
Although Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope Tuesday, and has been acting in that role since then, the mass of inauguration marked the official start of his papacy.
Prior to the mass, Pope Benedict prayed at the tomb of St. Peter. The crowds cheered as he emerged on the basilica steps for the mass. Among the many banners in the crowd, one read: “We are with you, Benedict.” He wore a gold miter and a gold vestment with embroidered seashells running down the front.
The seashells seemed to make reference to a personal symbol for the Pope. When he served as archbishop of Munich, he had placed the image of a seashell on his coat of arms representing the traditional sign of the pilgrim. Pope Benedict also carried a crosier, styled after that of John Paul II.
During his homily, which was punctuated often with spontaneous applause, Pope Benedict professed his commitment to work for unity and asked for the faithful to pray for him. He also extended a special greeting to the Jewish people, “to whom we are joined by a great shared spiritual heritage, one rooted in God’s irrevocable promises,” he said.