Blessing for the 25th anniversary
October 28, 2013
[Original: French]
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Pope Francis joins in the thanksgiving of its members for the work carried out in this quarter of a century in the service of ecclesial communion cum Petro et sub Petro.
The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter was created at a time of great trial for the Church. In a spirit of great obedience and hope, its founders turned with confidence to the Successor of Peter, with the intention of offering the faithful attached to the 1962 Missal the possibility of living their faith in full communion with the Church. The Holy Father encourages them to continue their mission of reconciliation among all the faithful, regardless of their sensitivities, and to work so that all may welcome one another in the profession of the same faith and in the bond of intense fraternal charity.
Through the celebration of the Holy Mysteries according to the extraordinary form of the Roman rite and the guidelines of the Constitution on the Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, as well as through the transmission of the apostolic faith as presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, may they contribute, in fidelity to the living Tradition of the Church, to a better understanding and implementation of the Second Vatican Council.
The Holy Father urges them, according to their own charism, to participate actively in the mission of the Church in today's world, through the witness of a holy life, a firm faith, and an inventive and generous charity.
Entrusting to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Peter the Apostle, all the pilgrims gathered in Lourdes or in the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris to thank the Lord on this occasion, the Holy Father wholeheartedly grants them the Apostolic Blessing.
Paris, October 28, 2013
On the feast of the Holy Apostles Simon and Jude.
Luigi VENTURA
Apostolic Nuncio