The Pope: shepherd and fisherman

In his homily of the Mass of the inauguration of his Petrine ministry, on April 24, on St Peter's Square in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI very wisely announced to those present, and also to the millions who followed that celebration on the media, that "my real programme of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the whole Church, to the word and the will of the Lord".

All were pleased to listen to the Holy Father's clear explanation on the two liturgical symbols which represent the Pope's ministry as successor of Peter.

The first symbol is the Pallium, "woven in pure wool, which will be placed on my shoulders". Indeed this ancient sign, which the Bishops of Rome have worn since the fourth century, may be considered as an image of the yoke of Christ, which the Bishop of the city of Rome takes upon his shoulders.

As the Holy Father said in his homily, "the symbolism of the Pallium is even more concrete: the lamb's wool is meant to represent the lost, sick or weak sheep which the shepherd places on his shoulders and carries to the waters of life". This is the live image of the mystery of Christ and the Church. "The human race - every one of us - is the sheep lost in the desert which no longer knows the way".

It is in this very spirit that Benedict XVI explained: "What the Pallium indicates first and foremost is that we are all carried by Christ. But at the same time it invites us to carry one another. Hence the Pallium becomes a symbol of the Shepherd's mission."

Surely, one of the basic characteristics of the shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ, whom he serves. It was at this point that Benedict XVI made his fatherly appeal to all: "My dear friends, pray for me, that I may learn to love his flock more and more - in other words you, the holy Church, each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves. Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another."

The second symbol used in the inauguration Mass of the Petrine ministry is the presentation out the Fisherman's Ring. As the Holy Father remarked, Peter's call to be a shepherd comes after the account of a miraculous catch of fish, after a night in which the disciples had let down their nets without success.

Jesus tells them to let down their nets once more, and the nets become so full that they can hardly pull them in. Peter's attitude to the Lord's order was wonderful: "Master, at your word I will let down the nets." And after this meaningful reply came the conferral of his mission: "Do not be afraid. Henceforth you will be catching men" (Lk 5: 1-11).

In his homily, Pope Benedict emphasised: "Today too the Church and the successors of the Apostles are told to put out into the deep sea of history and to let down the nets, so as to win men and women over to the Gospel - to God, to Christ, to true life."

After his clear explanation of the symbols of the Pallium and the Fisherman's Ring, Pope Benedict concluded: "There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ... The task of the shepherd, the task of the fisher of men, can often seem wearisome. But it is beautiful and wonderful, because it is truly a service to joy, to God's joy which longs to break into the world."