Good Wishes and Requests Flood the New Pope's E-Mail
VATICAN CITY, April 22 (AP) - Father George, of Suceava City, Romania, wrote simply "Habemus papam!" - Latin for, "We have a pope!"
Carmen, an employee at the University of Navarra, in Spain, told Pope Benedict XVI not to be afraid, and then asked for two favors: a prayer for her family and a rosary blessed by him, "if it's not too much trouble."
Shane, a 17-year-old from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, added a final thought to his e-mail: "P.S. When are you coming to Canada?"
They were just a few of 56,191 messages sent in the first 48 hours that Pope Benedict's Vatican e-mail address has been operational, the Vatican said Friday.
In English, the address is benedictxvi@vatican.va; in Italian, benedettoxvi@atican.va; in Spanish, benedictoxvi@vatican.va; in French, benoitxvi@vatican.va; in German, benediktxvi@vatican.va; and in Portuguese, bentoxvi@vatican.va.
Of the messages received so far, the bulk have been messages of congratulations written in English - 30,844 at last count. Italian well-wishers were next on the list with 12,621, followed by 6,024 messages in Spanish, 2,961 in German, Benedict's native tongue, 2,286 in Portuguese and 1,455 in French.
The Vatican released a handful of the messages on Friday - all positive and welcoming of Benedict's election Tuesday as the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church. It did not release any negative comments, and blacked out the senders' e-mail addresses and last names.
"I'm not so naïve as to think that you'll respond, much less read this, but I have to thank you for having accepted this fabulous job," Damien wrote in French.
Someone by the name of Kurt wrote from the Philippines that he hoped Pope Benedict would pray for his family - that his father gets out of a court case he is in, that his mother can focus on her job, "and that I may find the right girl who will love me and care for me and live my life with me."
Further, he said he hoped the girl's initials were "A.C.," adding, "I hope that you may show me signs that she's the one."
Carmen, an employee at the University of Navarra, in Spain, told Pope Benedict XVI not to be afraid, and then asked for two favors: a prayer for her family and a rosary blessed by him, "if it's not too much trouble."
Shane, a 17-year-old from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, added a final thought to his e-mail: "P.S. When are you coming to Canada?"
They were just a few of 56,191 messages sent in the first 48 hours that Pope Benedict's Vatican e-mail address has been operational, the Vatican said Friday.
In English, the address is benedictxvi@vatican.va; in Italian, benedettoxvi@atican.va; in Spanish, benedictoxvi@vatican.va; in French, benoitxvi@vatican.va; in German, benediktxvi@vatican.va; and in Portuguese, bentoxvi@vatican.va.
Of the messages received so far, the bulk have been messages of congratulations written in English - 30,844 at last count. Italian well-wishers were next on the list with 12,621, followed by 6,024 messages in Spanish, 2,961 in German, Benedict's native tongue, 2,286 in Portuguese and 1,455 in French.
The Vatican released a handful of the messages on Friday - all positive and welcoming of Benedict's election Tuesday as the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church. It did not release any negative comments, and blacked out the senders' e-mail addresses and last names.
"I'm not so naïve as to think that you'll respond, much less read this, but I have to thank you for having accepted this fabulous job," Damien wrote in French.
Someone by the name of Kurt wrote from the Philippines that he hoped Pope Benedict would pray for his family - that his father gets out of a court case he is in, that his mother can focus on her job, "and that I may find the right girl who will love me and care for me and live my life with me."
Further, he said he hoped the girl's initials were "A.C.," adding, "I hope that you may show me signs that she's the one."
posted by coldipeccio at 10:48 AM
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