March 13, 2023
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today we celebrate the 10-year Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis. We join with people throughout the world in giving thanks for our Holy Father and for the many gifts that he has shared with the Church. In turn we ask God to continue to bless him as he continues to carry out the Petrine ministry.
Indeed, the Lord has set his Church on the foundation of Peter. In every age the Holy Spirit calls forth men to carry on the ministry of Peter. I often think of the tremendous weight of responsibility that falls on the shoulders of the Holy Father. Such a weight, borne by one’s own strength, would be unbearable. But from the first moments of his pontificate, Pope Francis has entrusted himself to our prayers. Seldom is an address given or letter written which the Holy Father does not conclude by asking, indeed begging, for our prayers.
In thanksgiving for these past ten years, and ever mindful of the extent to which the Holy Father entrusts himself to the power of our prayers, I would ask you to join me in celebrating this Anniversary by offering the following prayer. In this prayer we call upon to intercession of St.
Joseph, to whom the Holy Father has shown such a strong devotion.
Together we pray:
Heavenly Father, you raised up St. Joseph to love your Incarnate Son with a father’s heart, to protect and provide for the Holy Family, and to intercede for the Church.
Through his intercession, we now ask that you pour forth your grace in ever-greater abundance upon our Holy Father, Pope Francis, on this, the 10th anniversary of his election.
May Pope Francis continue to model his ministry on St. Joseph as he extends his fatherly care to the Church throughout the world, especially to the poor, vulnerable and marginalized.
Like St. Joseph, may his ministry protect and strengthen Christian families and be a sign and instrument of unity in the Church.
We make this prayer through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
May the Good Lord bless Pope Francis with good health and the joy and peace of his abiding presence in the years to come.
Faithfully in Christ,
Most Reverend William E. Lori
Archbishop of Baltimore