"Dear brothers and sisters,

After the Great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in the Lord's vineyard.

I am comforted by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and act even with insufficient instruments. And above all, I entrust myself to your prayers.

With the joy of the risen Lord and confidence in his constant help, we will go forward. The Lord will help us and Mary his most holy mother will be alongside us.

Thank you."

- The First words of Benedict XVI

Praying for the New Pope

Let us pray.

Father, eternal shepherd,
we thank you for your fidelity to your Church,
your pilgrim People of God.

We hold up to you our new Pope, Benedict XVI.
Through the work of your Holy Spirit,
he has been chosen to shepherd your people,
in your own heart, ensured by the promise of Jesus,
that he would never leave us orphaned,
and that the gates of hell would never prevail against us.

Guide Pope Benedict with the continuing presence
of your Spirit in these days ahead. Let him be the
"simple, humble worker in your vineyard."

Give him all the graces he will need to serve your people
and unite us in our work of building your Kingdom on earth.

Be gracious to us, O Lord, in the days ahead.
Heal our divisions and give us your own joy and peace.
Grace us to place our trust in you
and to serve one another in faith and in hope.
With Pope Benedict as our pastor,
may we follow the spirit of John Paul II
in proclaiming your Word,
in the defense of human dignity,
and uniting our brothers and sisters of every faith tradition
in the path of peace and justice in our world.

For those who have any fears,
within the Catholic community or around the world,
we ask the deepest blessing of your tender care
and confident trust in you.

We ask this with faith
in our Lord Jesus Christ,
and in union with your Holy Spirit,
now and forever.

Amen.