VATICAN - The Pope at the Angelus calls for prayers for the Holy Land, “to implore the Spirit of God to grant peace to that region so dear to us”, and he entrusts the new members of the College of Cardinals to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - At the end of the Eucharistic Celebration with the new Cardinals in St Peter's Basilica on Sunday 25 November, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI went outside to the steps of the Basilica to recite the Angelus prayer with the faithful and visitors who had watched the Mass on large television screens in the square. The Pope asked them to pray for the Holy Land: “Next Tuesday at Annapolis, in the United States, with the help of the International Community Israelis and Palestinians will re-launch the peace process to find a fair and lasting solution to the conflict which has bloodied the Holy Land for more than sixty years causing many tears and much suffering to both peoples. I ask you to join the Day of Prayer called by the Bishops' Conference of the United States to implore the Spirit of God to grant peace to that region so dear to us and to give wisdom and courage to those taking part in this important meeting”. In various languages the Holy Father then greeted the people who had come from different countries, some of them distant “to accompany the new Cardinals and take part in this event which reveals in a singular way the unity and universality of the Catholic Church”. Before reciting the Angelus prayer the Holy Father entrusted to new members of the College of Cardinals to the Blessed Virgin Mary “that they, and all the ministers of the Church, may always imitate Christ in generous service of God and his People in order to share in his glorious regality”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 26/11/2007; righe 18, parole 263)