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To His Beatitude Louis Raphaël I Sako,
Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans
With great joy I heard the news of the election of Your Beatitude to the Patriarchal See of Babylon of the Chaldeans.
I give thanks to God the Father, and gladly accepting the request that you have addressed to me in accordance with the Sacred Canons, I grant the Ecclesiastica Communio, accompanied by my fraternal charity in Christ.
In extending you my heartfelt congratulations, I implore the Lord to fill you with every grace and blessing. May He enlighten you tirelessly to proclaim the Gospel in the living tradition that dates back to St. Thomas the Apostle. May the Good Shepherd and Lord sustain you in the faith of the fathers and grant you the zeal of the martyrs of our times and of the past, to preserve the spiritual and liturgical patrimony of the venerable Chaldean Church, as its Pater et Caput. May your ministry be of comfort to the Chaldean Christians in the homeland and in the diaspora, but also to the entire Catholic community and the Christians who live in the land of Abraham, as a stimulus to reconciliation, mutual acceptance and peace for the Iraqi population.
While I commend your Person to the Most Holy Mother of God, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing upon you, extending it to your esteemed predecessor, Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, the Bishops, priests, religious and upon all the beloved children of the Chaldean Church.
From the Vatican, February 1, 2013
BENEDICT PP XVI
[Translation by Peter Waymel]
