February 13, 2013. (Romereports.com) (-VIDEO ONLY-) Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's Secretary of State, addressed a few words with strong emotion to Benedict XVI following the imposition of the ashes.


Cardinal Bertone, like many other cardinals present, was unable to hold back tears during the ceremony. He thanked the Pope on behalf of all the cardinals for his years as Pontiff and for leading by example.

“The Eucharist is to give thanks to God. This evening we would like to thank the Lord for the path that the entire Church has taken under the guidance of Your Holiness, and we would like to tell him from the bottom of our hearts, with great affection, commotion and admiration: thank you for having given us a bright example of a simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord, a worker, however, that has known at each moment to do what was most important: bring God to man and man to God.”