Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale306

centuries. As this year also marks the bicentenary of the elevation of the

founding see of Baltimore to an Archdiocese, it gives me an opportunity to

recall with admiration and gratitude the life and ministry of John Carroll, the

first Bishop of Baltimore - a worthy leader of the Catholic community in

your newly independent nation. His tireless efforts to spread the Gospel in

the vast territory under his care laid the foundations for the ecclesial life of

your country and enabled the Church in America to grow to maturity. Today

the Catholic community you serve is one of the largest in the world, and one

of the most influential. How important it is, then, to let your light so shine

before your fellow citizens and before the world, ''that they may see your

good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven''.1

Many of the people to whom John Carroll and his fellow Bishops were

ministering two centuries ago had travelled from distant lands. The diversity

of their origins is reflected in the rich variety of ecclesial life in present-day

America. Brother Bishops, I want to encourage you and your communities to

continue to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks today, to share

their joys and hopes, to support them in their sorrows and trials, and to help

them flourish in their new home. This, indeed, is what your fellow country-

men have done for generations. From the beginning, they have opened their

doors to the tired, the poor, the ''huddled masses yearning to breathe free''.2

These are the people whom America has made her own.

Of those who came to build a new life here, many were able to make good

use of the resources and opportunities that they found, and to attain a high

level of prosperity. Indeed, the people of this country are known for their

great vitality and creativity. They are also known for their generosity. After

the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001, and again after Hurricane

Katrina in 2005, Americans displayed their readiness to come to the aid of

their brothers and sisters in need. On the international level, the contribution

made by the people of America to relief and rescue operations after the

tsunami of December 2004 is a further illustration of this compassion. Let

me express my particular appreciation for the many forms of humanitarian

assistance provided by American Catholics through Catholic Charities and

other agencies. Their generosity has borne fruit in the care shown to the poor

1 Mt 5:16. 2 Cf. Sonnet inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.