"500 years from the laying of the first stone of the second Vatican basilica have just passed", yet "it is still alive; it is not a museum, it is a spiritual body, and even its stones feel its liveliness! You, who work here, be the first, be ‘lively stones’, as the Apostle Peter wrote, live stones of the spiritual building that is the Church". It was said this morning by Benedict XVI, during his visit to Saint Peter’s Vestry Board on the occasion of the celebrations for the fifth centenary of the Vatican Basilica. The "Basilica of the Apostle", said the Pope, "is the heart of the Catholic Church: a throbbing heart, due to the Holy Spirit which keeps it alive at all times, and due to the activity of all those who make it work every day". Then, to the people attending the ceremony, the Pope expressed his gratitude for their work, that enables "this ‘heart’ of the Church to keep ‘throbbing’ with endless liveliness: attracting men and women from across the world and helping them accomplish a spiritual experience that will leave its mark on their lives". In fact, commented Benedict XVI, "with your help, almost always hidden but always appropriate, many people can fruitfully live their pilgrimage or simply their visit to the Vatican Basilica and bring in their hearts a message of faith and hope".
