The Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, celebrated in the Basilica of San Pedro the Episcopal Planning Mass of Mons. Ignazio Ceffalia, Apostolic Nuncio in Belarus since March 25, in which he defined the Episcopal Ministry as a “gift for the entire Church”.
In his homily on Thursday, May 22, collected by Vatican Newsthe purple trusted the work of Mons. Ceffalia despite the challenges with the orthodox and the conflicts generated by the war in Ukraine, his neighboring country.
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In this context, Cardinal Parolin stressed that the bishop’s ministry “is a gift destined for the entire Church,” that is, “he no longer lives for himself, but for the community.”
The Eucharistic celebration also included elements of the Greco-Bizantina Catholic Liturgy of the Albanians in Italy, to which the new 50-year-old archbishop belongs, born in Palermo (Italy) in 1975.
Cardinal Parolin stressed that the Episcopal Ministry “is a gift from the Lord for the building of his body, which implies unlimited dedication, so that the chosen one no longer thinks of his own interests, but the good of all.”
In addition, he recalled that Mons. Ceffalia lived in Ecuador and also in Strasbourg (France), in the permanent mission before the Council of Europe, through the Secretariat of State and also in Venezuela, where he was the business manager of the Apostolic Nunciature.
“Above all, the latter was a particularly complex mission due to the political and socioeconomic situation of the country, in which, however, they could experience the grace of the Lord, who, according to the traditional doctrine of the Church, never leaves anything to those who perform a particular task,” he added.
The purple insisted on the need to keep alive the gift of the Holy Spirit received in the ordination: “This permanent spiritual gift burns as a fire, but this fire that burns now does not feed alone, dies if it does not remain alive,” he warned.
He also urged Mons. Ceffalia to be inspired by San Ignacio de Antioquía, remembering that the bishop must be a brave witness of the Gospel.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
Graduated in journalism and advertising from the CEU San Pablo University of Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. It has been a senior correspondent for ACI Press and Ewtn News at the Vatican for two years and is currently a correspondent for Europe based on Spain.