“The Lord will win in the end,” was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s encouragement to the five new cardinals created Wednesday, June 28, 2017, by his successor, Pope Francis.
After the consistory, the new cardinals went together with the Holy Father to the “Mater Ecclesiae” Monastery in the Vatican Gardens, to greet the retired German Pontiff.
According to the television agency “Rome Reports,” upon their arrival, the Pope Emeritus took off the white zucchetto, as he often does, out of respect for his successor.
Benedict conversed in French with the Cardinal of Laos, Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, and with Archbishop Jean Zerbo of Bamako, Mali. He spoke in Spanish to the Salvadorian Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez and with the Archbishop of Barcelona, Juan Jose Omella.
At the end of the meeting, Benedict XVI addressed a few words to the new Cardinals, assuring them that “the Lord will win at the end.”
Then the new cardinals received a blessing from Benedict XVI and from Pope Francis. The meeting concluded with a group photo.
