| At his inauguration Mass, Sunday, 22 October 1978, in Saint Peter's
Square, the Holy Father, John Paul II, began his pastoral ministry as
Supreme Pontiff.
1. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt
16:16).
These words were spoken by Simon, son of Jonah, in the district of
Caesarea Philippi. Yes, he spoke them with his own tongue, with a deeply
lived and experienced conviction but it is not in him that they find
their source, their origin: "...because it was not flesh and blood
that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven" (Mt 16:17). They
were the words of Faith.
These words mark the beginning of Peter's mission in the history of
salvation, in the history of the People of God. From that moment, from
that confession of Faith, the sacred history of salvation and of the
People of God was bound to take on a new dimension: to express itself in
the historical dimension of the Church.
This ecclesial dimension of the history of the People of God takes
its origin, in fact is born, from these words of faith, and is linked to
the man who uttered them: "You are Peter the rock and on you, as on a rock, I will build
my Church."
2. On this day and in this place these same words must again be
uttered and listened to: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God."
Yes, Brothers and sons and daughters, these words first of all.
Their content reveals to our eyes the mystery of the living God, the
mystery to which the Son has brought us close. Nobody, in fact, has
brought the living God as close to men and revealed him as he alone did.
In our knowledge of God, in our journey towards God, we are totally
linked to the power of these words: "He who sees me sees the
Father." He who is infinite, inscrutable, ineffable, has come close
to us in Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Virgin
Mary in the stable at Bethlehem.
All of you who are still seeking God, all of you who already have the
inestimable good fortune to believe, and also you who are tormented by
doubt: please listen once again, today in this sacred place, to the
words uttered by Simon Peter. In those words is the faith of the Church.
In those same words is the new truth, indeed, the ultimate and
definitive truth about man: the son of the living God "You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God."
3. Today the new Bishop of Rome solemnly begins his ministry and the
mission of Peter. In this city, in fact, Peter completed and fulfilled
the mission entrusted to him by the Lord.
The Lord addressed him with these words:
",..when you were young you put on your own belt and walked
where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands
and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would
rather not go."(Jn 21:18)
Peter came to Rome!
What else but obedience to the inspiration received from the Lord
guided him and brought him to this city, the heart of the Empire?
Perhaps the fisherman of Galilee did not want to come here. Perhaps he
would have preferred to stay there on the shores of the Lake of
Genesareth, with his boat and his nets. But guided by the Lord, obedient
to his inspiration, he came here!
According to an ancient tradition (given magnificent literary
expression in a novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz), Peter wanted to leave Rome
during Nero's persecution. But the Lord intervened: he went to meet him.
Peter spoke to him and asked, "Quo vadis, Domine?" "Where are you going, Lord?"
And the Lord answered him at once: "I am going to Rome to be
crucified again." Peter went back to Rome and stayed here until his
crucifixion.
. Yes, Brothers and sons and daughters, Rome is the See of Peter,
Down the centuries new Bishops continually succeeded him in this See.
Today a new Bishop comes to the Chair of Peter in Rome, a Bishop full of
trepidation, conscious of his unworthiness. And how could one not
tremble before the greatness of this call and before the universal
mission of this See of Rome!
To the See of Peter in Rome there succeeds today a Bishop who is not
a Roman. A Bishop who is a son of Poland. But from this moment he too
becomes a Roman. Yes a Roman. He is a Roman also because he
is the son of a nation whose history, from its first dawning, and whose
thousand-year-old traditions are marked by a living, strong, unbroken
and deeply felt link with the See of Peter, a nation which has ever
remained faithful to this See of Rome. Inscrutable is the design of
Divine Providence!
4. In past centuries, when the Successor of Peter took possession of
his See, the triregnum or tiara was placed on his head. The last
Pope to be crowned was Paul VI in 1963, but after the solemn coronation
ceremony he never used the tiara again and left his Successors free to
decide in this regard.
Pope John Paul I, whose memory is so vivid in our hearts, did not
wish to have the tiara; nor does his Successor wish it today. This is
not the time to return to a ceremony and an object considered, wrongly,
to be a symbol of the temporal power of the Popes.
Our time calls us, urges us, obliges us to gaze on the Lord and
immerse ourselves in humble and devout meditation on the mystery of the
supreme power of Christ himself.
He who was born of the Virgin Mary, the carpenter's Son (as he was
thought to be), the Son of the living God (confessed by Peter), came to
make us all "a kingdom of priests".
The Second Vatican Council has reminded us of the mystery of this
power and of the fact that Christ's mission as Priest, Prophet-Teacher
and King continues in the Church.
Everyone, the whole People of God, shares in this threefold mission.
Perhaps in the past, the tiara, this triple crown, was placed on the
Pope's head in order to express by that symbol the Lord's plan for his
Church, namely that all the hierarchical order of Christ's Church, all
"sacred power" exercised in the Church, is nothing other than
service, service with a single purpose: to ensure that the whole People
of God shares in this threefold mission of Christ and always remains
under the power of the Lord; a power that has its source not in the
powers of this world but in the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection.
The absolute and yet sweet and gentle power of the Lord responds to
the whole depths of the human person, to his loftiest aspirations of
intellect, will and heart. It does not speak the language of force but
expresses itself in charity and truth. The new Successor of Peter in the
See of Rome, today makes a fervent, humble and trusting prayer: Christ,
make me become and remain the servant of your unique power, the servant
of your sweet power, the servant of your power that knows no eventide.
Make me be a servant. Indeed, the servant of your servants.
5. Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and
accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ
and with Christ's power to serve the human person and the whole of
mankind. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving
power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the
vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid.
Christ knows "what is in man". He alone knows it.
So often today man does not know what is within him, in the depths of
his mind and heart. So often he is uncertain about the meaning of his
life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt, a doubt which turns into
despair. We ask you therefore, we beg you with humility and trust, let
Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes, of eternal life.
Precisely today the whole Church is celebrating "World Mission
Day"; that is, she is praying, meditating and acting in order that
Christ's words of life may reach all people and be received by them as a
message of hope, salvation, and total liberation.
6. I thank all of you here present who have wished to participate in
this solemn inauguration of the ministry of the new Successor of Peter.
I heartily thank the Heads of State, the Representatives of the
Authorities, and the Government Delegations for so honouring me with
their presence.
Thank you. Eminent Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.
I thank you, my beloved Brothers in the Episcopate.
Thank you, Priests.
To you, Sisters and Brothers, Religious of the Orders and
Congregations, I give my thanks.
Thank you, people of Rome.
Thanks to the pilgrims who have come here from all over the world.
Thanks to all of you who are linked with this Sacred Ceremony by
radio and television.
7. I speak to you, my dear fellow-countrymen, pilgrims from Poland,
Brother Bishops with your magnificent Primate at your head, Priests,
Sisters and Brothers of the Polish Religious Congregations to you representatives of Poland from
all over the world.
What shall I say to you who have come from my Krakow, from the See of
Saint Stanislaus of whom I was the unworthy successor for fourteen
years? What shall I say? Everything that I could say would fade into
insignificance compared with what my heart feels, and your hearts feel,
at this moment.
So let us leave aside words. Let there remain just great silence
before God, the silence that becomes prayer. I ask you: be with me! At
Jasna Gora and everywhere. Do not cease to be with the Pope who today
prays with the words of the poet: "Mother of God, you who defend
Bright Czestochowa and shine at Ostrabrama". And these same words I
address to you at this particular moment.
8. That was an appeal and a call to prayer for the new Pope, an
appeal expressed in the Polish language. I make the same appeal to all
the sons and daughters of the Catholic Church. Remember me today and
always in your prayers!
To the Catholics of French-speaking lands, I express my complete
affection and devotedness. I presume to count upon your unreserved
filial assistance. May you advance in the faith! To those who do not
share this faith, I also address my respectful and cordial greetings. I
trust that their sentiments of goodwill may facilitate the spiritual
mission that lies upon me, and which does not lack repercussions for the
happiness and peace of the world.
To all of you who speak English I offer in the name of Christ a
cordial greeting. I count on the support of your prayers and your
goodwill in carrying out my mission of service to the Church and
mankind. May Christ give you his grace and his peace, overturning the
barriers of division and making all things one in him.
[The Holy Father spoke in similar terms in German, Spanish,
Portuguese, Czechoslovakian, Russian, Ukranian and Lithuanian].
I open my heart to all my Brothers of the Christian Churches and
Communities, and I greet in particular you who are here present, in
anticipation of our coming personal meeting; but for the moment I
express to you my sincere appreciation for your having wished to attend
this solemn ceremony.
And I also appeal to all men to every man (and with what veneration
the apostle of Christ must utter this word: "man"!)
pray for me!
help me to be able to serve you! Amen.
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