As the sequence of major events of the Jubilee 2025 take a summer break, it might be of interest to reflect on the first words offered by the recent Successors of Peter on their election.
Pope Leo XIV's first greeting from the balcony of the Vatican Basilica, delivered from a prepared text, was as follows (my translation from the original Italian rather than the English):
Peace be with you all!
Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for God’s flock. I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter into your hearts, to reach your families, every person, wherever they may be, all peoples and all the earth. Peace be with you!
This is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. It comes from God, the God who loves all, unconditionally.
There is an echo in Pope Leo's choice of words of that testimony to the Resurrection that occurs at the start of the Papal Mass on Easter Sunday, when the Successor of Peter venerates an image of he Risen Christ, enacting in a way the testimony of the first Peter.
Pope Francis' style from the start of his time as Pope was informal, though not without something that prompts more reflection.
Brothers and sisters, good evening!
You know that it was the duty of the Conclave to give Rome a Bishop. It seems that my brother Cardinals have gone almost to the ends of the earth to get one... but here we are... I thank you for your welcome. The diocesan community of Rome now has its Bishop. ...
And now, we take up this journey: Bishop and People. This journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches. A journey of fraternity, of love, of trust among us. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world, that there may be a great spirit of fraternity. It is my hope for you that this journey of the Church, which we start today, and in which my Cardinal Vicar, here present, will assist me, will be fruitful for the evangelization of this most beautiful city.
And now I would like to give the blessing, but first - first I ask a favour of you: before the Bishop blesses his people, I ask you to pray to the Lord that he will bless me: the prayer of the people asking the blessing for their Bishop. Let us make, in silence, this prayer: your prayer over me.
The theme of fraternity was to be a feature of Pope Francis' subsequent pontificate; and for those familiar with the life of the Charismatic Renewal, that request for the people to pray a blessing over their bishop was not as unusual as it appeared to many at the time.
Pope Benedict XVI was brief and to the point:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord.
The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.
Let us move forward in the joy of the Risen Lord, confident of his unfailing help. The Lord will help us and Mary, his Most Holy Mother, will be on our side. Thank you.
Pope John Paul II's first greeting shows similar brevity, and a certain foreshadowing of the words of Pope Benedict XVI (my translation from the Italian):
Praised be Jesus Christ.
Dearest brothers and sisters
We are still all sorrowful after the death of our most loved Pope John Paul I. And now the Eminent Cardinals have called a new bishop of Rome. They have called him from a distant land ... distant, but always so close by the communion in the Christian faith and tradition. I was fearful in receiving this nomination, but I have accepted it in a spirit of obedience towards Our Lord Jesus Christ and in total trust towards his Mother, the Most Holy Madonna.
I do not know if it is possible to explain myself in your ... in our Italian language. If I make a mistake you correct me. And so I present myself to you, by confessing our common faith, our hope, our trust in the Mother of Christ and of the Church, and also to set out anew on the way of the history of the Church, with the help of God and with the help of men.
The initial greeting - Praised be Jesus Christ - is traditional in some European countries, though not unknown here in Britain, and it has something of the testimony to faith in Christ that can be seen in Pope Leo XIV's first greeting. There is also an echo of Louis de Montfort's spirit in the words of "total trust" towards the Mother of God, which was to be shown in Pope John Paul II's motto "Totus Tuus".
On the day of his election, Pope John Paul I gave only the blessing "Urbi et Orbi" from the balcony of the Vatican Basilica. It was at the Angelus the following day that he gave some account of his election (I have added italics to one paragraph):
Yesterday morning I went to the Sistine Chapel to vote tranquilly. Never could I have imagined what was about to happen. As soon as the danger for me had begun, the two colleagues who were beside me whispered words of encouragement. One said: "Courage! If the Lord gives a burden, he also gives the strength to carry it." The other colleague said: "Don't be afraid; there are so many people in the whole world who are praying for the new Pope." When the moment of decision came, I accepted.
Then there was the question of the name, for they also ask what name you wish to take, and I had thought little about it. My thoughts ran along these lines: Pope John had decided to consecrate me himself in St Peter's Basilica, then, however unworthy, I succeeded him in Venice on the Chair of St Mark, in that Venice which is still full of Pope John. He is remembered by the gondoliers, the Sisters, everyone.
Then Pope Paul not only made me a Cardinal, but some months earlier, on the wide footbridge in St Mark's Square, he made me blush to the roots of my hair in the presence of 20,000 people, because he removed his stole and placed it on my shoulders. Never have I blushed so much!
Furthermore, during his fifteen years of pontificate this Pope has shown, not only to me but to the whole world, how to love, how to serve, how to labour and to suffer for the Church of Christ.
For that reason I said: "I shall be called John Paul." I have neither the "wisdom of the heart" of Pope John, nor the preparation and culture of Pope Paul, but I am in their place. I must seek to serve the Church. I hope that you will help me with your prayers.
Each of the recent Popes have acknowledged their immediate predecessor, but Pope John Paul I shows a particular appreciation of the pontificate of Pope Paul VI in recognising his suffering on behalf of the Church. I also recall, upon reading the texts of Pope John Paul I's addresses during his short time as Pope, thinking that they were very comparable to the addresses of Pope Benedict XVI during the early part of his pontificate.
Pope Paul VI's first greeting after his election took the form of a Message to the Entire Human Family, dated the day after his election.
Venerable Brothers and beloved children of all the world!
On this day dedicated to the most sweet Heart of Jesus, in the act of taking up the duty of shepherding the flock of the Lord - which according to the expression of St Augustine is before all amoris officium (In Io. 123, 5) in exercise of paternal and thoughtful charity towards all the sheep, redeemed by the most precious blood of Jesus Christ - the first feeling which, before others, which arises from our heart is that of a firm confidence in the all powerful aid of the Lord. He, who had shown his adorable will by way of the consent of our venerable Brothers, the Fathers of the Sacred College, entrusting to Us the care and responsibility for the Holy Church, knows to instill in our soul, fearful because of the huge task imposed, the watchful and serene strength, the untiring zeal for his glory, the missionary anxiety for the clear, persuasive diffusion everywhere of the Gospel.
Pope St Paul then went on to mention each of his immediate predecessors as Pope, Pius XI, Pius XII and particularly John XXIII:
[John XXIII], who has given to the entire world the example of his singular goodness. But I wish to recall in an altogether particular way with pious memory and emotion the figure of the late John XXIII, who, in the short but most intense period of his ministry, know how to draw close to himself the hearts of men, also of those who were distant, by his unsleeping solicitude, by his sincere and concrete goodness for the humble, by the outstanding pastoral character of his action, qualities to which is added the altogether particular charm of the human gifts of his large heart.
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