VATICAN CITY (CNS): At a Mass marking his 80th birthday, Pope Benedict XVI thanked the Church for surrounding him with affection “like a true family” and for supporting him with prayers.
“Over and over, I recognise with joy how great is the number of people who sustain me with their prayers, who with their faith and love help me carry out my ministry, and who are indulgent with my weakness,” he said on April 15.
The Mass opened two days of celebrations commemorating the Pope’s April 16 birthday and the second anniversary of his election on April 19.
The festivities featured a Vatican concert, dozens of written testimonials and a giant birthday cake in the shape of the Vatican.
Some 50,000 people, including German pilgrims wearing traditional dress, jammed into St Peter’s Square for the liturgy.
Cardinals and bishops processed with the pontiff through the square to a canopied altar area on the steps of the basilica.
Seated near the front were German civil authorities from the Pope’s native Bavaria and ecumenical representatives from Orthodox Churches.
Greeting the Pope in the name of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano said the Pope’s 80th birthday marked a moment of “spiritual joy” for the entire Church.
He thanked the Pope for guiding the Church with love during the first two years of his pontificate.
The Vatican has set up a temporary email address where people can send birthday greetings to the Pope at http://isidoro.vatican.va/auguri/auguri.php?lingua=en
(Copyright Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.)
