Concelebrating Mass with 23 new cardinals, Pope Benedict XVI gave each of them a gold ring as a symbol of their new bond with Rome.

The rings were engraved with the scene of Christ's crucifixion, and the pope told the cardinals it should remind them always "which king you serve" as they assume their new role in the Church.

The Nov 25 Mass in St Peter's Basilica came the day after the pope presided over a consistory to formally create the new cardinals.

The basilica was packed with prelates and pilgrims from around the world, and applause rang out when the pope slipped the ring on each new cardinal's hand.

"Receive this ring from the hand of Peter, and know that with the love of the Prince of the Apostles your love toward the Church is strengthened," he said.

In his sermon, the pope noted that while the cardinals are considered to form the Church's "senate" the value and dignity of their office depends in their personal relationship with Christ.

"In a particular way, venerated brother cardinals, our task is to announce to the world the truth of Christ, which is the hope for every person and for the entire human family," he said.

Touching on ecumenism, the focus of a papal meeting with cardinals two days earlier, the pope said he wanted to entrust to their prayers a particular goal of their shared mission: "peace among all the disciples of Christ, as a sign of the peace that Jesus came to establish in the world."

"Prayer for peace and unity constitutes your first and primary mission, so that the Church may be bound firmly together, a sign and instrument of unity for the whole human race," he said.

After the Mass, the pope hosted all the cardinals, old and new, for lunch in the atrium of the Vatican's audience hall.
(CNS)