Pope Leo XIV encourages Gentlemen of Papal Household in their service
By Tiziana Campisi
An unusual Sunday Audience took place on 1 February in the Apostolic Palace, which was reserved for Gentlemen of the Papal Household, Antechamber Officials, and Papal Chairmen, referred to as the 'sediari.'
Pope Leo XIV took the occasion to express his gratitude and appreciation for their daily service, coordinated by the Regent of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, Msgr. Leonardo Sapienza, and by the Vice-Regent, Augustinian Fr. Edward Daleng, and carried out with a “spirit of fidelity to the Pope.”
Their dedication, the Pope acknowledged, accompanies and daily assists his apostolic mission, to the benefit of all those who meet him during state visits, audiences, and other solemn and more relaxed occasions.
“I think that your work," the Holy Father said, "can be well summarized by three verbs, which safeguard its meaning and value: to prepare, to welcome, and to greet. The quality of an encounter, in fact, begins with the care that distinguishes its preparation, even in the smallest details.”
Communicating affability through gestures
Their service requires attentiveness and humility, the Pope pointed out, noting it is carried out in surroundings rich “in history and art” at the Holy See.
Those who are involved in all papal encounters, in addition to arranging them, he acknowledged, must show attentive “gestures of welcome and greeting that are noble but not affected, elegant but not sophisticated, so as to communicate affability to everyone.”
He said they do so consistently and lovingly, whether for prince or pilgrim, patriarch or petitioner.
Bearing witness through life and faith
It is a “sober beauty” that “distinguishes pontifical protocol,” Pope Leo noted, and which is reflected in every gesture of Gentlemen of His Holiness, Antechamber Officials, and Papal Chairmen.
The Holy Father urged them to follow the example of those who preceded them, bearing witness to these “values through a coherent life.”
"The service of honor certainly requires a particular professional ethic, but even more so a solid faith," Pope Leo said, recognizing that their actions are marked by their devotion to Christ, the Church, and the Pope.
Finally, the Pope invited them “to continue carrying out the various services with commitment, each according to his own role,” and reiterated his gratitude to all.
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