Vatican
City, 11 January 2013
(VIS) - This afternoon, the Holy Father received the Corps of the
Gendarmerie and the Fire Department of the Vatican City Sate in the
Clementine Hall of the Vatican palace. After a greeting offered by
Commander Domenico Giani, director of Security Services and Civil
Protection, Benedict XVI addressed those gathered.
“This
occasion,” said the Pope, “gives me the opportunity to express to
you … my appreciation, my heartfelt encouragement, and mostly my
deep gratitude for the generous work you carry out discretely,
competently, efficiently, and not without sacrifice. Almost every day
I have the opportunity to meet some of you in your various places of
work and to personally witness your professionalism in collaborating
on and guaranteeing the Pope’s surveillance as well as the
necessary safety and order of those who reside in the state and those
who take part in the celebrations and events that take place in the
Vatican.”
“The
Corps of the Gendarmerie is called to carry out, among other tasks,
that of courteously and kindly greeting the Vatican’s pilgrims and
visitors who come from Rome, Italy, and every part of the world. This
labour of vigilance and control, which you conduct with diligence and
care, is certainly substantial and delicate. At times it requires
more than a little patience, perseverance, and willingness to listen.
It is a very useful service to the tranquil and safe conduct of daily
life and of the religious events of Vatican City.”
The
Pope urged the gendarmes and firefighters to see on each pilgrim and
visitor “the face of a brother or sister whom God has placed on
your path” and to therefore “to welcome them with courtesy and
assist them knowing that they are part of the great human family.
Your task,” he emphasized, “will be more efficient for the Holy
See and more enriching for you the more that it is undertaken with
serenity and harmony. To that end it is necessary that the gendarmes,
who for a long time have guaranteed their service within the Corps,
and those responsible for their mandate establish, ever more fully,
trusting relationships that can sustain and nourish all the members
of the Vatican's Gendarmerie, even in difficult moments."
"May
your unique presence at the heart of Christianity, where crowds and
faithful constantly gather to meet the successor of Peter and to
visit the tombs of the Apostles, always arouse in each of you the
task of intensifying the spiritual dimension of life as well as the
commitment to deepen your Christian faith, bearing courageous witness
to it in each area of life with coherent conduct," the Holy
Father concluded.
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