Panaji:
The churches across Goa will observe on March 19 as a day of prayer for the new Pope, when he will inaugurate his ministry in the Vatican.
Filipe Neri Ferrao, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman, in a circular issued, has asked all the Parish priests, chaplains, rectors of church institutions as well as superiors of religious communities in the Archdiocese to observe the day of prayer for the new Pope, when he will inaugurate his ministry to the church and to the world.
He has also announced that the anticipated Chrism Mass to be held on March 21, 2013, at the Cathedral Church at Old Goa will be also the Thanksgiving Mass for the new Pope.
The Archbishop has expressed his joy over the election of a worthy successor of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the person of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, who took for himself the name of Francis.
Pledging filial respect, obedience and the support of prayers of the faithful of this Archdiocese, he underlined the simplicity and the humility of Pope Francis and reminded the faithful of the call he made to undertake with him a journey of brotherhood, love and trust, for a great spirit of fraternity in the world, the Archbishop said.
"We have a new Pope! And this is, undoubtedly, a moment of great joy for the whole Church," the circular issued to the churches which covers the Roman Catholic population says.
The Archbishop said that the simplicity and the humility with which Pope Francis made his first speech yesterday evoked the live example of his Patron St. Francis of Assisi.