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Pope Leo: Bishops should offer clear teaching
In a letter to the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean on the occasion of the third centenary of the canonisation of their patron, Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, the Pope reflects on episcopal ministry in the light of the rite of welcoming a bishop into his cathedral church. He warns them against “abandoning the flock”, and urges them to nurture their interior life.
By Edoardo Giribaldi
Crossing the threshold of a cathedral, and of a new community to be “journeyed through” in the same spirit. Receiving the crucifix and holy water, signs of a ministry to be carried out while caring for one’s interior life, which must not be allowed to dry up because of fears or personal advantages. The transforming power of adoration, and the mandate contained in the Apostolic Letters as a compass amid the excessive number of voices filling the minds of the faithful.
These are some of the images through which Pope Leo XIV reflects on episcopal ministry, drawing a connection between the sequence of the rites for welcoming a bishop into his cathedral church and the mission entrusted to him. He does so in a Pontifical Letter published today, 19 September, and addressed to the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean on the occasion of the third centenary of the canonisation of their patron, Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo.
Recalling his own shared pastoral experience in Peru—Turibius, the “Bishop of the Andes,” was Archbishop of the Peruvian capital, Lima—the Pope considers the rite of welcoming each bishop to his cathedral, similar to the rite of welcoming a bishop when he makes pastoral visits to the communities of his diocese. It is, he says, “as if the Church wished to lead the prelate, time and again, back to the meaning of that first entrance”.
Hearts in heaven and feet on the road
The first contact with the faithful, at the doors of the cathedral, takes place with a community whose journey precedes that of the bishop. In order to know it fully, he is called to travel through it, like Saint Turibius, who was concerned that evangelisation should include the local languages, forging bonds with his land and its people.
“Certain aspects of a diocese are hard to grasp from behind a desk. For this reason, we must ensure that pastoral visits retain their vitality: let us personally go out to meet our communities, listen to our flock and seek out those who seldom have the opportunity to approach the bishop. The ministry of a successor to the Apostles demands living with our heart in heaven and our feet on the road.”
Returning to the school of the Cross
Still at the door, Pope Leo continues, the bishop receives a crucifix and kisses it. It is a gesture that is a “promise of self-sacrifice”, a commitment that Saint Turibius extended through his travels and hardships, drawing close to indigenous peoples, “correcting abuses”, and remaining close to the poor and those who suffered.
“Dear brothers, we need to return frequently to the school of the Cross. Abandoning the flock can begin long before any visible flight, when comfort, fear or self-interest take precedence over the good of the faithful.”
To sanctify and be sanctified
From the Cross to the holy water, which reconciles the bishop and the faithful in the one Baptism: The one who sanctifies, the Pope writes, continues “to need to be sanctified”.
“Let us, then, nurture our interior life and remain aware that we are disciples in need of conversion.”
Encouraging Eucharistic Adoration
In silence, before the Blessed Sacrament, the bishop recognises that pastors come and go and change, new challenges arise, and projects unfold, but “Christ always remains”. The Pope therefore urges bishops to make Eucharistic Adoration a “pastoral priority”, offering the faithful time and space to find support for their own journeys and opening paths that “no plan can conceive”.
Safeguarding unity
From contemplation, one approaches the altar of the Lord, considered here as “the one who gathers His Church around Himself and makes her one body”. The sainted Archbishop of Lima, Pope Leo observes, served a vast and diverse Church, striving to keep it united. It is a responsibility that must also be safeguarded today, so that “the diversity of our dioceses finds its unity in Christ”.
Patient and rooted amid misleading voices
The rite continues with the proclamation of the Apostolic Letter, the Papal Bull by which the Pope appoints the shepherd of each particular Church. The bishop does not confer this appointment upon himself, but receives it and exercises it in communion with the Church, committing himself to guard its “good treasure”. Saint Turibius fulfilled this duty, the Pope notes, through his reception of the Council of Trent, the provincial councils, the diocesan synods, and his catechetical work.
“At a time when so many voices claim authority over the consciences of the faithful, it is the bishop’s duty to offer a clear teaching that is patient and rooted in this communion, in order to help his people recognize the voice of the one Shepherd.”
Being able to knock with confidence
The clergy and faithful subsequently approach their new bishop with a gesture of reverence that becomes a responsibility, particularly visible in his relationship with priests—who are united to him in a “unique way”—and in the mission entrusted to the particular Church.
The “Apostle of the Andes” cared for them, and the Pope urges bishops to do likewise, particularly during the first years of ministry, ensuring that no one feels that he can approach his shepherd “only when there is a problem to be resolved”.
“Episcopal fatherhood is often recognized when a priest knows that he can confidently knock on the door of the bishop’s residence.”
The essential place of prayer
After the words of the Gospel come those of the bishop himself, who addresses his people only after receiving, contemplating, and listening. This order contains a lesson that should always be kept in mind.
“May no urgency or pastoral task, however necessary it may be, cause us to neglect prayer, which is a necessary preparation for preaching. Let us always set aside the time we need to listen to the word and carefully consider how to present it to our people.”
After Mass, every day
The rite then reaches the offertory, in which one glimpses what the bishop will have to place, day after day, into the hands of the Lord: work, projects, decisions, people, concerns, and hopes.
“There will be moments when he sees the path clearly, and others in which he will experience his own smallness: all of this can be placed upon the paten. It is the bishop’s duty to give himself faithfully; the fruit, in the end, belongs to God.”
The celebration of all these rites must ultimately continue well beyond Mass, throughout the bishop’s life, “until his entire existence becomes, in Christ, an offering to the Father”.
At the ‘school’ of the bishops of Latin America
Following the example of Saint Turibius, Pope Leo looks upon the “constellation” of bishops who underpin the spiritual geography of the Church in Latin America: Saints Anthony Mary Claret, Ezekiel Moreno, Raphael Guízar, and Oscar Romero, and Blesseds Juan de Palafox, Jacinto Vera, Mamerto Esquiú, Enrique Angelelli, Jesús Jaramillo, and Eduardo Pironio.
The Pope urges the Church community today to deepen its knowledge of them, in order to understand how the mission can take different forms according to times and circumstances.
The letter concludes by entrusting to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of Spanish-speaking peoples, the desire to “live out the mission we have received with renewed fidelity”.
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