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LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
TO THE NEWLY ELECTED PATRIARCH OF BABYLON
OF THE CHALDEANS FOR THE CONCESSION
OF THE
ECCLESIASTICA COMMUNIO

 

To His Beatitude Louis Raphaël I Sako,
Patriarch of Babylon for Chaldeans

I learned with deep joy of the news of your election, Your Beatitude, to the Patriarchal See of Babylon for Chaldeans.

I thank God the Father and, as I very willingly accept the request you have addressed to me in accordance with the Sacred Canons, I grant the Ecclesiastica Communio, which is accompanied by my brotherly love in Christ.

As I offer you my warm congratulations, I implore the Lord to bestow upon you every grace and blessing. May he enlighten you in tirelessly proclaiming the Gospel in the living Tradition which dates back to the St Thomas the Apostle. May the Good and Eternal Shepherd sustain you in the faith of the Fathers and grant to you the ardour of the martyrs of yesterday and today so that you may safeguard the spiritual and liturgical patrimony of the venerable Chaldean Church, as her Pater et Caput. May your ministry comfort not only the Chaldean faithful in the Motherland and in the diaspora, but also the entire community of Catholics and Christians who live in the land of Abraham, as an incentive to reconciliation, to mutual acceptance and to peace for the whole Iraqi population.

As I entrust you to the Most Holy Mother of God, I warmly impart the Apostolic Blessing to you, extending it to your venerable predecessor, Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, to the Bishops, to the priests, to the consecrated people and to all the beloved sons and daughters of the Chaldean Church.

From the Vatican, 1 February 2013

BENEDICT XVI


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