Reflecting on the Orthodox liturgy of that occasion, the cardinal said he remembered especially "the spiritual emotions experienced."

"It is almost an experience of ecstasy that arises, for example, with the prolonged listening to Russian liturgical singing," he said. "These moments were like a foretaste of the beatific vision and the communion of saints."

Unity

Cardinal Tettamanzi said he hopes the pilgrimage experience "might contribute to enhance mutual knowledge and the desire for unity."

He also explained to his diocesan priests that "to be pilgrims, means to try to enter into the spirit of the Christian East and to begin to breathe, as John Paul II so dreamed, also with that lung of Christianity."

"With emotion I say that I hope the day will soon come when the patriarch of Moscow will be able to embrace the Successor of Peter," he added.

Cardinal Tettamanzi also expressed his hope that the patriarch will be able to visit Italy to venerate the relics of St. Nicholas, a saint who enjoys a traditional devotion in Russia, and also to attend celebrations for the 1,700th anniversary of the promulgation of the Edict of Milan, approved by Constantine in 313.

"During the visit in 2006 and in a subsequent letter," the cardinal explained, "Patriarch Alexy II expressed his interest and support in promoting a meeting in Milan in the year 2013 between Christian leaders," which would aim to jointly emphasize the importance of religious liberty.

News by ZENIT