Cardinal
Egan's Greeting at Papal Mass
We "Feel Especially Blessed By Your Coming Among Us"
Yankee Stadium, New York City, USA
April 20, 2008
Here is the
greeting Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop of New York, gave to
Benedict XVI before the Pontiff celebrated Mass today at Yankee
Stadium.
Most Holy Father, welcome to New York!
Your pastoral visit is for all of us gathered here this
afternoon an immense blessing for which we are truly and deeply
grateful.
Two hundred years ago this month, your wise and heroic
predecessor of happy memory, Pope Pius VII, elevated the Diocese
of Baltimore, the only Diocese in the nation at the time, to the
dignity of an Archdiocese and created within its Metropolitan
Province four Suffragan Sees. They were Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, and Bardstown, which is now Louisville. All four
have since become Archdioceses and, along with Baltimore, are
engaged in Bicentennial Celebrations which, in the providence of
God, culminate most fittingly with the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass offered by the Vicar of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
here in our midst. For your visit and your leading us in this
Eucharist, Most Holy Father, we express our humble and heartfelt
gratitude.
With us on this splendid and grace-filled occasion are
cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, deacons, religious,
and faithful from all 195 dioceses and archdioceses of the
United States of America. They represent an extraordinary
variety of races and ethnic backgrounds, all united in the One,
Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of which you are the
Supreme Shepherd. They are joined by clergy and laity of many
faiths and communions, political leaders, and men, women, and
children from every corner of this land. It is an extraordinary
privilege to be allowed to tell you on their behalf what a
splendid and deeply appreciated grace your presence is for all
of us.
Most Holy Father, we have read with pleasure and gratitude your
most recent Encyclical Letter, “Saved by Hope.” It sets the
theme for this Eucharist, “Christ, Our Easter Hope,” and points
out most tellingly the path we need to follow with unlimited
trust and confidence in the Lord over the years that lie ahead.
Thank you most sincerely for that Encyclical and for all that
you have said, written, and done over the past three years as
Successor of Saint Peter to deepen our faith and strengthen our
commitment to live as the Lord has taught us to live.
Finally, Most Holy Father, allow me to add that we in New York
feel especially blessed by your coming among us in our
Cathedral, at our seminary, in one of our parish churches,
before the world community at the United Nations, and in Lower
Manhattan at what we have come to call “Ground Zero,” a place of
tragedy hallowed by your concern and prayer.
Please know that your visit inspires and heightens in the hearts
of all of us that “life-changing and life-sustaining hope” about
which you wrote in your Encyclical Letter with such depth and
learning. We pray for the Bishop of Rome, the Supreme Pontiff,
and the Vicar of Christ; and we promise to continue that prayer
throughout the years that lie ahead with ever-greater love and
hope.
Most Holy Father, welcome!
