The two main events of the third day of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II’s pastoral visit to Milan and Venice.

The first of them came early this morning, when His Holiness consecrated the Church of Saint Mary and Saint Joseph of Arimathea in the Corvetto area in Milan. His Holiness, with the participation of five of the Church’s bishops, consecrated three altars in the Church, the icon of the Pantocrator, and the icons of the iconistasis. He also consecrated the Church of the Heavenly attached to the main church, amid great joy that spread among the congregation of the diocese participating in the prayers. His Holiness baptized six children from the Diocese of Milan.

During the Liturgy’s Sermon, His Holiness said: “We are all in the hospitality of Bishop Antonio. We will never forget the founder of the diocese, Bishop Kyrillos, who is now rejoicing over you in heaven.”

He then spoke about wisdom which we obtain through:

1- Adhering to Christ and awaiting Him
2- Adhering to the Holy Bible
3- Adhering to the Church

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, His Holiness blessed the people, and after a short rest, he met them, shook hands with them all, and presented them with a memorial gift.

As for the second event, it was an educational and parental meeting that took place this evening, during which His Holiness met with the servants of the Diocese of Milan and spoke to them about the service, providing ten directives from the commandments of St. Paul the Apostle to his disciple Timothy in (2 Timothy 4:1-5).

His Holiness defined service as a talent, responsibility and joy.
He identified the signs that distinguish a servant, which are that he is a true witness for Christ, a strong teacher about Christ, and shows great love for the sake of Christ.
He indicated that a servant needs experience of place, time, and being.

He concluded with five qualities of a successful service: satisfying the spirit, having an enjoyable presence, being cultured, having an expansive heart and being multi-faceted.

After the talk, His Holiness answered the servants’ questions, before ending the meeting with a closing prayer and blessing.

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