A large part of Benedict XVI’s speech was about the history of the Vatican Chapter, recalled by the Pontiff starting from the "uninterrupted presence of praying priests in the Vatican Basilica since the time of Saint Gregory the Great: an uninterrupted, deliberately not showy, but faithful and persevering, presence", he highlighted, as he recalled the original stages of the Chapter’s presence: "Your Chapter started in 1053, when Pope Leo IX confirmed to the Archpriest and the Canons of Saint Peter’s, who had settled in the monastery of Saint Stephen, the properties and privileges granted by his predecessors. Then, it was with the papacy of Eugene IV (1145-1153) that the Chapter became a well-structured, self-sufficient community", added Benedict XVI, who mentioned that since its origins the Chapter has been working in "a wide range of spheres", including the liturgical, administrative, charity and assistance ones. "Since the XI century to date he went on as many as 11 Popes have been members of the Vatican Chapter; among them, I like to recall in particular the Popes of the twentieth-century, Pius XI and Pius XII". (to be continued)
