Pope Francis while ordaining two new bishops in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday told them that their life is one of service and closeness to others.
He welcoming the new Bishops, Guido Marini and Andrés Gabriel Ferrada Moreira with “joy and gratitude”, told them that they had been chosen for a life of service.
The Holy Father advised them to “proclaim the Word at every opportunity,” continue to study and be close to their flock.
“You will be the custodians of faith, of service, of charity in the Church” and for this reason, he added, you want to be close to God, mirroring his “compassion and tenderness.”
Pope Francis underlined that the first task of a bishop is to be “close to God in prayer,” urging them not to pray “like a parrot”, but to “pray with the heart.”
He said the second task is to be close to “other bishops,” and never speak ill of this brother.
The Pope urged the bishops not to “forget that priests are your closest neighbours.”
The Pope also invited them to be available to their priests like a father.
He underlined that it was important for bishops to be near to their flock, reminding them, that they too, were “taken from the flock.”
The Pope prayed that these new bishops would grow on this path of closeness, imitating the Lord “because He has always been close and is always close to us.”