VATICAN CITY, February 04, 2013 thanks to Zenit.org – Here is the translation of Pope
Benedict XVI’s Letter to His Beatitude, Louis Raphaël I Sako, newly
elected Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans.
To His
Beatitude Louis Raphaël I Sako,
Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans
With great joy I heard the news of the election of Your Beatitude
to the Patriarchal See of Babylon of the Chaldeans.
I give thanks to God the Father, and gladly accepting the request
that you have addressed to me in accordance with the Sacred Canons, I grant the
Ecclesiastica Communio,
accompanied by my fraternal charity in Christ.
In extending you my heartfelt congratulations, I implore the Lord
to fill you with every grace and blessing. May He enlighten you tirelessly to
proclaim the Gospel in the living tradition that dates back to St. Thomas the
Apostle. May the Good Shepherd and Lord sustain you in the faith of the fathers
and grant you the zeal of the martyrs of our times and of the past, to preserve
the spiritual and liturgical patrimony of the venerable Chaldean Church, as its
Pater et Caput.
May your ministry be of comfort to the Chaldean Christians in the homeland and
in the diaspora, but also to the entire Catholic community and the Christians
who live in the land of Abraham, as a stimulus to reconciliation, mutual acceptance
and peace for the Iraqi population.
While I commend your Person to the Most Holy Mother of God, I
cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing upon you, extending it to your esteemed
predecessor, Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, the Bishops, priests, religious and
upon all the beloved children of the Chaldean Church.
From the Vatican, February 1, 2013