The two reference points for “understanding who we are”

Polish Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, Emeritus President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, celebrated the inauguration of his ministry as Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St Mary Major, on Thursday, February 2, 2017, on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in Rome, in his newly appointed basilica.

"We live in a period of darkness so deep and so dark, that it raises fear and concern for the future of humanity," he said during his homily. “In this time of multiple crises that threaten us, of wars that afflict us, of terrorism that takes so many innocent victims, Jesus Christ ‘Light of the world’ and Mary ‘mother of light’ are the two reference points for understanding who we truly are as human beings and what our ultimate destiny is," the Cardinal said.

By beginning his ministry in the "oldest Marian shrine in the West," the new archpriest emphasized the "role of Mary in the history of salvation." The Virgin known as Salus populi Romani is ready "to console us in all our afflictions," he added.

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