Dear brothers and sisters, Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam!
Emenentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum Josephum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Ratzinger qui sibi nomen imposuit Benedicti Decimi Sexti (XVI).
Benedict XVI:
Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul the Second, the Lord Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord. I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and operate even with insufficient instruments, and, above all, I entrust myself to your prayers.
In the joy of the risen Lord, trusting in His permanent help, let us move forward. The Lord will help us.
Mary, His most Holy Mother is at our (right) side.
The First Papal Blessing Urbi et Orbi
Let us proceed to the Blessing.
Sancti Apostoli Petrus et Paulus, in quorum potestate ac autoritate confidimus, ipsi intercerdant pro nobis ad Dominum. Amen.
Precibus et meritis Beatae Mariae Semper Virginis, Beati Michaelis Archangeli, Beati Johannis Baptistae, et Sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli et omnium Sanctorum misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus et dimissis omnibus peccatis vestris perducat vos Jesus Christus ad vitam aeternam. Amen.
Indulgentiam, absolutionem et remissionem omnium peccatorum vestrorum, spatium verae et fructuosae penitentiae, cor semper poenitens et emendationem vitae, gratiam et consolationem Sancti Spiritus, et finalem perseverantiam in bonis operibus tribuat vobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus. Amen.
Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti descendat super vos et maneat semper. Amen.
It is interesting to compare the Pope Emeritus' first words with his last words.
In the beginning he calls himself "a simple and humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord" and at the end says he is "simply a pilgrim who begins the last stage of his pilgrimage on this earth."
Simplicity is the repeated word and the image of an ongoing, God-given and divinely oriented vocation; a simple and serene divine work in progress, in one's own hands and feet.
