Urbi et Orbi

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Urbi et Orbi

Urbi et Orbi ("to the City [of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
] and to the World") was a standard opening of Roman proclamations. The term is now used to denote a papal

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
address and Apostolic Blessing that is addressed to the City of Rome and to the entire world.

The blessing takes place at each Easter

Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christianity liturgical year.Christians believe that Jesus was Resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his Crucifixion of Jesus, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday , two days after Good Friday....
and Christmas

Christmas

Christmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts Twelve Days of Christmas....
celebration in Rome from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

The Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian language as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St. Peter's Basilica, is located within the Vatican City....
. Part of the urbi et orbi blessing is the remission of all temporal punishment due to sin through a plenary indulgence

Indulgence

An indulgence, in Roman Catholic theology, is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven....
attached to the Papal blessing.

The blessings at Christmas

Christmas

Easter

European Broadcasting Union

The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 75 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 43 associate broadcasters from a further 25....
.

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Encyclopedia

Urbi et Orbi ("to the City [of Rome

Rome

Pope

Easter

Christmas

St. Peter's Basilica

Indulgence

Christmas

Easter

European Broadcasting Union

The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 75 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 43 associate broadcasters from a further 25....
. The remission and forgiveness of sins is not only granted to the people in St. Peter's Square but also to Catholics watching the ceremony on television

Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
and listening on radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
. Before this blessing the Pope gives an address to the crowd and to the world, with seasonal greetings in many of the major world languages.

Urbi et orbi is also used at St. Peter's at the Papal inauguration

Papal Inauguration

The Papal Inauguration Mass is a liturgy of the Catholic Church for the ecclesiastical investiture of the Pope. It no longer includes the millennium-old Papal Coronation ceremony....
and, on very rare occasions, as the blessing of pilgrim

Pilgrim

A pilgrim is one who undertakes a pilgrimage, literally 'far afield'. This is traditionally a visit to a place of some religious or historic significance; often a considerable distance is traveled....
s and during the Holy Year (Jubilee

Jubilee

There are multiple articles associated with the term Jubilee:...
).

The main phrase of the blessing ends Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti descendat super vos et maneat semper (And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, descend on you and remain with you always).

Latin Text of the Blessing

The text of blessing in Latin is:

Sancti Apostoli Petrus et Paulus: de quorum potestate et auctoritate confidimus ipsi intercedant pro nobis ad Dominum.

R/

Response (liturgy)

A response is the second half of one of a set of preces, the said or sung answer by the Wiktionary:congregation or choir to a versicle said or sung by an officiant or Cantor ....
Amen.

Precibus et meritis beatæ Mariae semper Virginis, beati Michaelis Archangeli, beati Ioannis Baptistæ, et sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli et omnium Sanctorum misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus; et dimissis omnibus peccatis vestris, perducat vos Iesus Christus ad vitam æternam.

R/ Amen.

Indulgentiam, absolutionem et remissionem omnium peccatorum vestrorum, spatium verae et fructuosae poenitentiæ, cor semper penitens, et emendationem vitae, gratiam et consolationem Sancti Spiritus; et finalem perseverantiam in bonis operibus tribuat vobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus.

R/ Amen.

Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti descendat super vos et maneat semper.

R/ Amen.

English Translation

The approximate English translation is as follows:

May the Holy Apostles

Twelve Apostles

In Christianity, apostles were missionaries among the leaders in the Early Christianity and, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus Christ himself....
Peter

Saint Peter

Saint Peter was a leader of the early Christianity church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles....
and Paul

Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
, in whose power and authority we have confidence, intercede

Intercession

Intercession, in both Christianity and Islam, is a prayer to God on behalf of another person. The nature of intercession in Judaism is Jewish_principles_of_faith#To_God_alone_may_one_offer_prayer....
on our behalf to the Lord.

R/
Response (liturgy)

A response is the second half of one of a set of preces, the said or sung answer by the Wiktionary:congregation or choir to a versicle said or sung by an officiant or Cantor ....
Amen.

Through the prayers and merits of the Blessed Mary ever-virgin

Blessed Virgin Mary

The Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to The Blessed Virgin or The Virgin Mary, is a traditional title used by most Christians and most specifically used by liturgical Christians such as Roman Catholics, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics, and some others to describe Mary, mother of Jesus, the mother of...
, of Blessed Michael the Archangel

Archangel

Archangels are members of the second choir of angels. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism....
, of Blessed John the Baptist

John the Baptist

John the Baptist was a mission preacher and a major religious figure who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River in expectation of a divine apocalypse that would restore occupied Israel....
, and of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saint

Saint

A saint in Christianity is a human being who has been called to holiness. The term is used differently by various denominations, with some, such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans distinguishing between Saints and saints....
s, may Almighty God have mercy

Mercy

Mercy can refer both to compassionate behaviour on the part of those in power or on the part of a humanitarian third party .Mercy is a word used to describe compassion shown by one person to another, or a request from one person to another to be shown such leniency or unwarranted compassion for a crime or wrongdoing....
on you, and with your sins forgiven

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is typically defined as the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, and ceasing to demand punishment or restitution....
, may Jesus Christ lead you into everlasting life.

R/ Amen.

May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant you indulgence

Indulgence

An indulgence, in Roman Catholic theology, is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven....
, absolution

Absolution

Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the traditional Churches in the Sacrament of Reconciliation....
, and remission

Remission

Remission may refer to:*Remission , the state of absence of disease activity in patients with a chronic illness, with the possibility of return of disease activity...
of all your sins, time for a true and fruitful penance, an always repentant

Repentance

Repentance is a change of thought and action to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged. In religious contexts it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law....
heart and amendment of life, the grace

Grace

Grace may refer to:...
and consolation of the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

In Christianity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. The term Christ , is also used to refer to this presence. That is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son ....
, and final perseverance in good works.

R/ Amen.

And may the blessing of Almighty God, + the Father, + the Son, and + the Holy Spirit, descend on you and remain with you always.

R/ Amen.

Older practice

Prior to the occupation of Rome by the army of the Kingdom of Italy

Kingdom of Italy

There have been several distinct entities known as the Kingdom of Italy. Italy under the rule of Odoacer from 476 to 493 is often called the kingdom of Italy, since it encompassed the Italia and Odoacer is periodically styled rex ....
(September 20, 1870), this blessing was given more frequently and at specific basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a ancient Rome public building , usually located in the Forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC....
s at Rome:

St. Peter's Basilica—Holy Thursday, Easter
Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christianity liturgical year.Christians believe that Jesus was Resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his Crucifixion of Jesus, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday , two days after Good Friday....
, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or properly the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a feast commemorating the martyrdom at Rome of the apostles St....
, and at the Papal Coronation
Papal Coronation

The Papal Coronation is the ceremony in which a new pope is crowned as earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church, sovereignty of Vatican City, and Monarch of the Holy See....
St. John Lateran—Ascension
Ascension

The Christian doctrine of the Ascension holds that Jesus' body ascended to heaven in the presence of his Twelve Apostles following his resurrection of Jesus, and that in heaven he sits at the God the Father right hand....
(sometimes this was postponed until Pentecost
Pentecost

Pentecost is one of the prominent feasts in the Christianity liturgical year, celebrated the 49th day after Easter Sunday?or the 50th day, inclusively, whence its name is derived from the Greek....
), and when a new pope was enthroned as Bishop of Rome
Bishop of Rome

The Bishop of Rome is the Bishop of the Holy See, more often referred to in the Catholic Church tradition as the Pope. The first Bishop of Rome to bear the title of "Pope" was Pope Boniface III in 607, the first to assume the title of "Universal Bishop" by decree of Phocas....
St. Mary Major—Assumption
Assumption

An assumption is a proposition that is taken for granted, that is, as if it were known to be truth.Assumption may also refer to:* In logic, more specifically in the context of natural deduction systems, an assumption is made in the expectation that it will be discharged in due course via a separate argument....

After the occupation, Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was Pope from June 16, 1846 until his death. His was the longest reign in Church history, lasting 32 years....
considered himself a "Prisoner in the Vatican

Prisoner in the Vatican

A prisoner in the Vatican is what Pope Pius IX claimed to be after the army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome , as a component of Italian unification, and ending the millennial temporal power of the popes over central Italy....
" and in protest

Protest

Protest expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations: sometimes in favor, though more often opposed. Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly and forcefully making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or may undertake direct action to attempt to directly enact desi...
ceased to give the blessing. The practice was later resumed, though in a more limited manner, following the resolution of the so-called "Roman Question

Roman Question

The Roman Question was a political dispute between the History of Italy as a monarchy and in the World Wars and the Pope from 1861 to 1929.The Roman Question began when Rome was declared Capital of Italy on March 27, 1861, and ended with the Lateran treaties between Benito Mussolini and Pope Pius XI....
" (i.e., the legal relationship between the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church....
and the Italian government).

Pope Innocent X

Pope Innocent X

Pope Innocent X , born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj , was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle Girolamo Pamphilj as auditor of the Rot...
in the Jubilee of 1650 on the Epiphany, Pentecost, and All Saints

All Saints

All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a feast celebrated on November 1 in Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity in honour of all the saints, known and unknown....
, as well as later popes, including Pope Pius IX, for special reasons, gave this solemn blessing from the balcony of the Quirinal Palace

Quirinal Palace

The Quirinal Palace is the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic on the Quirinal Hill, the tallest of the seven hills of Rome....
.

External links

article from The Catholic Encyclopedia*