Pope Celebrates Solemnity of Christ The King with new Cardinals

Pope Benedict celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica this morning to mark the final Sunday of the liturgical year - the solemnity of Christ the King. Concelebrating with the Pope were the six new cardinals who received their red hats at the consistory on Saturday. 

In his homily the Pope told the new cardinals they had the demanding responsibility of making God's Kingdom known in the world - not a kingdom of political power obtained through weapons and violence, but a kingdom of truth, love and service.

The Pope said: "We invoke the kingdom daily in the prayer of the 'Our Father' with the words 'Thy kingdom come'; in effect we say to Jesus: Lord, make us yours, live in us, gather together a scattered and suffering humanity, so that in you all may be subjected to the Father of mercy and love."

Below you can find the full text of Pope Benedict's homily on Sunday morning

Homily of the Holy Father

Titular and Diaconate Churches of the new Cardinals

Vatican City- 

Given below are the names of the six new cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI in this morning's consistory, and the titular or diaconate churches assigned to each:

- Cardinal James Michael Harvey, diaconate of San Pio V a Villa Carpegna.

- Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai O.M.M.

- Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, title of San Gregorio VII.

- Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, title of San Saturnino.

- Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez, title of San Gerardo Maiella.

- Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, title of San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle.

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Onaiyekan becomes Cardinal

History is made today in the annals of Nigerian  Church. Archbishop John Onaiyekan joins the college of the Cardinals. In the just concluded ordinary public consistory held in Vatican on Saturday, Pope Benedict created six Cardinals among whom is Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria. 

Pope Benedict XVI took the universality of the Church as the theme of his allocution to the participants in the Consistory during which he created six new Cardinals: Archbishop James M. Harvey, Prefect of the Papal Household; His Beatitude, Bechara Boutros Raï, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch in Lebanon; His Beatitude, Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, Major Archbishop of Trivandrum in India and head of the Syro-Malankara Church; Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria; Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogotá, Colombia; and Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila in the Philippines.