Over 100 recently appointed bishops are participating in the congress.

September 17, 2009. Rome, Italy. On September 15, the memorial feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Legion’s Center for Higher Studies in Rome hosted the inaugural Mass of the 9th annual congress for newly consecrated bishops.

The main celebrant at the Mass was Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., the Holy Father’s Secretary of State. The Mass was concelebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who is Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and the event organizer; Bishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro, the new secretary of the same dicastery; the 109 new bishops from 32 countries; Fr Álvaro Corcuera, LC, and various other Legionary priests who study and work in Rome.

Points from the homily

In his homily, Cardinal Bertone greeted the bishops and thanked the event organizers, as well as the Legion for hosting the event. Basing himself in some ideas of a recent papal homily from September 12, he went on to comment

	The congress began with a Mass.

on the three characteristics that should mark a bishop:

1. Fidelity, which entails remembering that the Church is entrusted to them but does not belong to them; rather, it belongs to Christ.
2. Prudence, which entails seeking the truth and acting in accordance with it.
3. Goodness, which grows as we interiorly unite ourselves to the living God.

The cardinal encouraged the bishops to be “credible witnesses” and “holy shepherds” for the Christian people, and to share the love of God with all those entrusted to their care. He also urged them to imitate the holy Curé of Ars by living their ministry “according to the heart of Christ and the motherly heart of Mary.”

It is an honor to serve the Church’s shepherds

The purpose of the course, which began in the afternoon on September 14 and concluded on September 22, was to foster unity between the Church’s pastors and the Pope, and to offer them means and tools to help them fulfill their new mission as bishops.

For the Legionaries, hosting the bishops and providing for their needs is an honor and a chance to serve the Church’s shepherds.

“For the Legionaries of Christ in this center, these are days of service and self-giving, but at the same time, we daily receive much more

	During the homily, cardinal encouraged the bishops to be “credible witnesses” and “holy shepherds” for the Christian people.

than we give,” said Fr Miguel Segura, rector of the Center for Higher Studies in Rome.

“The example of these newly consecrated bishops, full of love for the Church, with a history of priestly self-giving and sacrifice behind them, is a blessing for all of us who get to live alongside them. It is a encouragement for us to give everything to God,” he said.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone’s homily can be read in Italian at this link.