Eminences, Excellencies, Brother bishops, presbyters

Franciscan brothers

Very Rev. Father Custos Fr. Francesco Patton

Brothers and sisters

May the Lord give you peace!

With joy and emotion I address my Catholic community in Cyprus today for the first time as bishop. To the community, to the portion of the Church entrusted to me: friars, priests, nuns (sisters), families, Cypriot Latins, brothers of different nationalities: Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Nigeria, Kongo, from other various African countries, Ireland, England, , other European countries, Latin America… and I have to stop because there is the risk that I will forget about some nation of Catholics present on our island… our Church of Cyprus is truly a great wealth. Even more so because we have the richness of two rites: Maronite and Latin. I thank His Excellency Monsignor Selim and the entire Maronite Church for being here with me, and together bearing witness to the Unity of the Catholic Church… yes indeed we are one Catholic Church in Cyprus. And today we are even more complete, because the parish will be established for the Ukrainian catholic faithful present on the island.

The face of our Church is truly particular, but I can say that: our Church of Cyprus is truly beautiful… But it does not fail to have many challenges… For this reason today I am encouraged, supported and accompanied by the brother bishops, by my Franciscan brothers, by the Father Custus, from the priest friends, from my family, friends, from the sisters. I truly feel supported by your friendship…

Brothers and sisters, I am really happy to share the Word of God with you on this 11 (eleventh) Sunday of Ordinary time… yes brothers and sisters who come from outside: for us we are  still Ordinary time.

And the Gospel of Saint Mark reminds us that the kingdom of God is among us and that, despite its initial slowness, it develops slowly, until it reaches its fullness over time. «It grows every day, thanks to those who witness it, without making noise (in silence), praying and living our commitments with faith in ours familys, at ours work, in ours communities.

Without agreeing, and truly through the action of the Holy Spirit, this was one of the evangelical texts (today’s gospel) that my preacher chose for the spiritual exercises in preparation for Ordination. His Excellency Monsignor Ricardo Boccardo insisted a lot on me: the ministry of the Bishop, of the pastor, grows every time when we put Jesus at the center of our existence. Every time we carry out concrete gestures of charity, every time we forgive, every time we put ourselves at the service of the Church and of the Kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is present among us and acts, even if its action sometimes seems insignificant to us. We must not get caught up in the anxiety of doing, in wanting everything immediately, but be confident in God and have the patience to wait, the patience that comes from God. Patience which is the virtue that Saint Barnabas, who was Cypriot teach us. Thank you Mons. Renato Boccardo…. And I thank my Father Custos who after the appointment to be bishop he told me: Bruno, it’s a  last obedience, go to Montefalco, in Umbria (Italy), for the spiritual exercises…. Thank you so much… it was a gift from the Lord.

Yes, brothers and sisters, we are the minority in Cyprus. Our pastoral actions are small steps. We were happy with “Sister Roli and Sister Aurora”, because we have 60 teenagers and young people preparing for the pilgrimage to Compostella in Spain (numbers which for some of you do not mean to much), but for us it is a nice start. And many other initiatives (families, catechism, pastoral care with refugees, the different charisma of ours groups…. But the secret is: to put Jesus at the centre. He is the strength of the Word, because He is the Divine Word… the protagonist is Him… In our Church of Cyprus, we want to put the Word of God at the center. It is the lemma that I chose for my Episcopate: “Sucumdum Verbum Tuum”, “According to Your Word….

As Beat Carlos Acutis said: Not me but God…. (Non io ma Dio), Yes brothers and sisters, this is the secret to the solutions to many of our pastoral difficulties. Putting God, his Word, at the centre. Not our groups, our personal projects, not racial preferences, not even our resentments and the things that happened in the past… situations that lead us to pessimism, to closure. And not wanting to do anything new.

Finally, I would like to conclude with the same words as my thanks last night: Thank you… “Ephkaristò pouli”…. Beloved brothers and sisters, let us begin to serve the Lord, seeking together the face of the Father, to be authentic witnesses of the joy of belonging to his Son Jesus Christ, to his Church, and for me the joy of serving the Church of Cyprus…. Amen!