In giving my availability to the Pope, accepting my nomination, I perceived a call from God to make me even more available to repay the immense gift of the Gospel received before and after my priestly ordination. The beautiful testimonies of faith given by many people I met during my pastoral service gradually made me understand that, in the logic of the Gospel, the best way to safeguard the gifts received is to share them. The years spent in Africa have further confirmed this for me.

In this regard, I thank Cardinal Giuseppe Betori because, when I expressed to him my desire to leave as a fidei donum for Chad in 2011, he did not hesitate for an instant to express his convinced and enthusiastic consent. Having returned to the Diocese just a year ago, I never expected that it would be my turn to become his successor. Despite the fears and worries, I have felt several times in recent days the presence of a light and an inner strength that supported me, inviting me to trust. When the Nuncio asked me to write a short letter to the Pope by hand, choosing a biblical quote to express acceptance of my nomination, I immediately thought of Psalm 25,15: "I keep my gaze fixed on the Lord because he frees the my foot." I immediately realized the difficult struggle to face, because every time I lower my gaze and turn it towards myself, I perceive this lace gripping my foot, slowing down the impulse to walk serenely after the Lord.

God's Providence wanted the announcement of my appointment to fall in the week preceding the fourth Sunday of Easter which for us Catholics is Good Shepherd Sunday. We will hear the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John in chapter 10: “As the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that do not come from this enclosure: I must lead them too." He is the true shepherd of the Church, the model of the evangelizing choice that pushes us to go towards the geographical and existential peripheries in our missionary commitment. As Pope Francis reminds us in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: "Fascinated by this model, we want to insert ourselves deeply into society, we share life with everyone, we listen to their concerns, we collaborate materially and spiritually in their needs, we rejoice with those who are in joy, we cry with those who cry and we commit ourselves to building a new world, side by side with others. But not as an obligation, not as a burden that exhausts us, but as a personal choice that fills us with joy and gives us identity” (EG 269).

In addressing my greeting to the Diocese and the city of Florence I would like to express first of all my profound gratitude and gratitude to the Archbishop Cardinal Giuseppe Betori for his generous testimony of faith in guiding our Church during his 15 years of episcopal ministry . Your Eminence, your decision to remain in Florence as Bishop Emeritus fills us with joy, because it manifests your love for our city which has grown in you in recent years, despite the character of us Florentines, who do not always shine with our ability to welcome those who come from outside.

I greet and thank the Vicar General, Monsignor Giancarlo Corti, the Episcopal Vicars, the priests, the deacons, the men and women religious, the seminarians, the pastoral workers, the faithful of the Archdiocese, expressing my joy in being able to continue the journey with you in the footsteps of Christ.

I cordially greet the brothers and sisters of other Christian confessions, the members of the Jewish and Muslim communities, and of other religions present in the territory of our Diocese of Florence. The beautiful tradition of commitment to ecumenical dialogue and interreligious dialogue of the parish of the Madonna della Tosse, of which I was parish priest this year, has allowed me to meet and personally get to know the Rabbi, the Imam and several pastors of the Churches of Florence with whom promising friendships were born that I hope to be able to strengthen over time.

I greet the authorities and institutions of the city, expressing my firm desire to continue the "elbow to elbow" collaboration for the construction of a more just and supportive society, with attention and respect for the dignity of every person, especially the poorest and excluded. Faced with the threat of the expansion of wars in the world, we feel more than ever challenged with the responsibility to work with more courage and tenacity for peace, which is built in an artisanal way, by paying attention to the daily gestures of forgiveness and reconciliation.

I would like to conclude by addressing a final greeting to the brothers and sisters detained, particularly those of the Sollicciano prison, where I carried out my ministry as chaplain during this pastoral year. Even if I cannot continue to visit you regularly, I will not forget the words of Scripture which says: "Remember the prisoners, as if you were their fellow prisoners" (Heb 13,3:XNUMX). With the help of the Lord, I will commit myself as Bishop to be attentive to your needs, as well as those of many brothers and sisters often forgotten and discarded by our society.

In saying my yes to the will of God, I entrust myself to the intercession of Mary, most holy mother of the Church, to that of the holy Bishops Zanobi and Antonino, of the Venerable Elia Dalla Costa, of the Saints of the Florentine Church, to help me to to trust more and more in the Providence of the Lord, capable of making everything work for good. Certain of the prayers and support of you present here and of many brothers and sisters, we continue our journey with confidence, keeping our gaze fixed on the Lord who frees our foot from the snare, because he is capable of loving us always and anew with an infinite love and unshakable.