It took more than seven years, but Pope Benedict XVI has hosted the formal visits of bishops from every country in the world and will begin the cycle all over again by meeting the heads of Italy’s 227 dioceses in 2013.
The Code of Canon Law calls for the heads of every diocese in the world to make their formal visit “ad limina apostolorum” (“to the threshold of the apostles”) every five years, but there are now almost 2,900 dioceses in the world and the 85-year-old pope also has other obligations as well.
Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, which coordinates the visits, told Catholic News Service Jan. 7, “the firm principle is that the pope must meet the bishops of the whole world regularly.” The five-year rhythm set by canon law provides concrete guidance but is not always possible to follow because of the number of bishops in the world, the pope’s schedule and the schedules of the bishops. In an interview published by the Vatican newspaper Jan. 5, Archbishop Baldisseri said that when the bishops of France finished their “ad limina” visits in November, members of every bishops’ conference in the world had met Pope Benedict.
Vatican (CNS)