Skip to content

Benedict XVI's Letter to Cardinal Szoka

Free World Class Education
FREE Catholic Classes

"You Have Worked With Enthusiasm"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 9, 2006 (Zenit) - Here is the letter that Benedict XVI sent to Cardinal Edmund Szoka, 79, as he stepped down from his responsibilities as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and president of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

* * *

To my Venerable Brother
Cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka
Archbishop emeritus of Detroit
President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State

In September 2002, when you were approaching your 75th birthday, my venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God John Paul II, asked you to continue in your office as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of the same Vatican City State.

When I was called by the will of the Lord to assume responsibility for guiding the entire People of God as Successor of the Apostle Peter, I deemed it appropriate not to deprive myself of your appreciated collaboration. For this reason I confirmed you in the same offices that you have carried out with generous dedication until now.

Today, 15 September, as I already informed you, Venerable Brother, last 24 June, you are succeeded in the same office by Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, titular Archbishop of Cesariana, until now Secretary for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.

At this most important moment for you, I wish to express my deep gratitude to you for the faithfulness and competence with which, Your Eminence, you have worked in the successive pastoral offices entrusted to you by my venerable Predecessors, in the United States of America and at the service of the universal Church.

In particular, I am pleased to recall the ministry you carried out with apostolic zeal as Bishop of Gaylord, Michigan, and subsequently, as Archbishop of Detroit.

In January 1990, our beloved Pontiff John Paul II summoned you to Rome to assume responsibility as President of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See and later, in October 1997, as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, with which the Presidency of the Governorate of the same Vatican City State was combined in February 2001.

In these different areas of pastoral ministry you have worked with enthusiasm, sparing neither energy nor time.

I am sure that you will be equally willing to continue in the future to work for the Church and for the Holy See. I am grateful to you for this and I assure you of my esteem and affection so that they may support you and instil joy and serenity in your heart.

I entrust you to the special protection of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and as I assure you of my special remembrance in prayer in the hope of abundant divine rewards and as a pledge of my fraternal closeness, I warmly impart my Apostolic Blessing to you, which I gladly extend to all the personnel of the Governorate of Vatican City State and to your loved ones.

From Castel Gandolfo, 15 September 2006, the second year of my Pontificate
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

© Copyright 2006 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Contact

Catholic Online
https://www.catholic.org CA, US
Catholic Online - Publisher, 661 869-1000

Email

info@yourcatholicvoice.org

Keywords

Pope, Benedict, Szoka, Vatican

Light Your Free Payer Candle for a departed loved one

What is Palm Sunday?

Live on March 20, 2024 @ 10am PDT

More Catholic PRWire

Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716

A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain

Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.

The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul

A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.

Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell

My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz

Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell

Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online

Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online

Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online

State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online

Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online

2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online

Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online

Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online

Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online

Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online

Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online

Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online

Full Circle
Robert Gieb

We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.

Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.

Help Now >

Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite

Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony

Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell

World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online

Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA

Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online

A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe

Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly

Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard

The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely

Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow

A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow

Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea

Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard

Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol

Edging God Out
Paul Sposite

Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow

George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online

Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell

Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey

Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite

Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol

Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol

Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online

Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online

Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online

Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online

Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online

Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online

Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol

Light Your Free Payer Candle for a departed loved one

What is Palm Sunday?

Live on March 20, 2024 @ 10am PDT

Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.

Lent logo
Saint of the Day logo

Catholic Online Logo

Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.

Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.