Lord's vineyard

Today they are my fellow-labourers in the Lord's vineyard,' says.

He describes himself as 'a poore labourer in the Lord's vineyard, and a simple watchman in his house.'

"After the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in the Lord's vineyard."

It stood as a concrete symbol of the very essence of their vocation: to be fully at the service of those in need in "the Lord's vineyard."

'Joshua Pettigrue is my name, gentlemen,' said he; 'I am an unworthy worker in the Lord's vineyard, testifying with voice and with arm to His holy covenant.

I prythee, friend, do not carry your pike as though it were a hoe, though I trust you will do some weeding in the Lord's vineyard with it.

Patriarch Photius called the Latin missionaries 'impious and execrable men from the darkness of the West'; they were like thunderbolts, violent hailstones, or wild boars trampling up the Lord's vineyard.

While in peaceful retirement from their labors in the Lord's vineyard, they dedicate the remaining years of their lives to the task of imploring God's grace and mercy for all the Sisters of the Congregation and the thousands of souls entrusted to their care.

Following is a transcript of Pope Benedict XVI's address yesterday at the Vatican, as recorded and translated from the Italian by Reuters: Dear brothers and sisters: After the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in the Lord's vineyard.