MESSAGE OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER II ON THE OCCASION OF THE ELECTION OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICTUS XVI

Belgrade, 19 April 2005 - On the occasion of the election of His Eminence Cardinal Josef Ratzinger to the Throne of the Bishops of Rome and as the Head of the Roman Catholic Church, who shall serve under name of Pope Benedictus XVI, His Royal Highness The Crown Prince Aleksandar II sends to His Holiness, to the Sacred College of Cardinals, to the State Secretary of the Holy See, to His Excellence the Nuntius of the Holy See in Serbia and Montenegro, to the President and to members of the Bishops’ Conference of St.St. Cyrillus and Methodius, to all clergy, deans and members of Holy Orders, as well as to all members of the Roman Catholic Church in our country and worldwide, congratulations and best wishes that this pontificate shall be marked by the Word of God, by peace and prosperity in relations among churches and among peoples.

The new Pontiff has chosen a name under which those that come in the name of the Lord are blessed and welcomed.

Congratulating Benedictus XVI on the election, we wish that His arch-pastoral path would follow the guidance of that blessing.

ALEKSANDAR II