Over 40,000 people gathered recently for a Eucharistic celebration on a Sunday, to mark the 400th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Arequipa, known as the “Rome of Peru.”
Benedict XVI sent Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, former prefect of the Congregation for Bishops as well as the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, as his special envoy for the event.
The cardinal presided over the Mass, during which he said: “May God bless Arequipa. May she ever be faithful to her Catholic identity and to the human and spiritual values that characterize her glorious history.”
In the Arequipa stadium of the National University of St. Augustine, the Pope’s envoy invited the faithful to be leaven of holiness and justice.
“May this archdiocese be, then, a lighted flame that burns always with the light of Jesus Christ and makes the truth, which the Church desires to transmit, shine,” he said. The cardinal continued: “May it also be house and school of communion and fraternal love, house and school of prayer. May it be rich in holiness and leaven of justice, love and peace.”
The faithful carried banners, posters, scarves and multicolored balloons, with a preference for white and yellow (colors of the Vatican flag) to welcome the Holy Father’s representative.
The cardinal noted, “What has impressed me most is the participation of the laity in the life of the Church, and the intensity of the generosity with which they help the Church and the bishop. “
AREQUIPA, Peru, (Zenit.org)