Cardinal Pietro Parolin presided this Sunday in Padua over the episcopal ordination of Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, and used his homily to encourage Christians not to be ashamed of the Gospel and to give public witness to the faith in a world marked by fear and uncertainty.
The celebration took place at the Shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Providence, located in Sarmeola di Rubano, a town near Padua, within the facilities of the Opera della Provvidenza di Sant’Antonio (OPSA), a center that serves around 600 people with disabilities and special needs.
A place linked to Pegoraro’s career
The choice of venue was no coincidence. Before his appointment as head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Pegoraro served there as a volunteer physician during his years of priestly formation and remains connected to the institution as president of its ethics committee.
During the homily, Cardinal Parolin highlighted the symbolic value of beginning his episcopal ministry in a place dedicated to caring for the most vulnerable.
“The promotion of life that the Pontifical Academy ensures through research and scientific production finds here a concrete expression in the assistance and care offered to those suffering various forms of human frailty,” stated the Secretary of State.
According to him, the work of the Academy for Life and the efforts carried out by OPSA represent two complementary expressions of the same mission: the defense and promotion of the dignity of every human person.
“Do not be afraid to do good”
Taking the Gospel proclaimed during the liturgy as his starting point, Parolin urged the faithful not to be paralyzed by fear and to boldly proclaim the Christian message.
“Do not be afraid to do good,” he said, recalling that the Christian’s confidence does not rest on personal strength, but on the certainty that God cares for each person with providential love.
The Cardinal insisted that human life is protected by God’s faithfulness and reminded the congregation that the Lord knows even the seemingly most insignificant details of every man and woman’s existence.
Addressing the seminarians present in particular, he encouraged them to live their vocation with confidence and generosity, reminding them that God calls each one to become an instrument of reconciliation and peace.
A reference to Leo XIV and the Corpus Christi in Madrid
In the final part of his homily, Parolin recalled one of the images that most impressed him from Pope Leo XIV’s recent apostolic journey to Spain.
The Secretary of State remembered the words spoken by the Pope during the Corpus Christi celebration in Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles, when he described Spanish religiosity as a “school of faith” still capable today of teaching important spiritual lessons.
Parolin especially cited a phrase from the Pontiff that, he confessed, personally impacted him: “A school that teaches us to kneel before God and before our neighbor, because no one can kneel before the Lord and despise his brother; a school that teaches us the gratuity of love that becomes a gift.”
For the Cardinal, this image eloquently summarizes the Christian vocation to service, charity, and self-giving to others.
From Padua to Morocco
After the celebration in Padua, Cardinal Parolin has begun an official trip to Morocco that will last until June 24. According to the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, the Secretary of State will take part in Rabat in the ceremony in which he will be invested as an honorary member of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco.
The visit also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Morocco and the Holy See, relations that, the Vatican noted, have developed over these five decades on the basis of mutual respect and dialogue.