VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI sent a congratulatory telegram to President Barack Obama for his inauguration Tuesday (Jan. 20), urging him to “promote understanding, cooperation and peace among the nations.”

Invoking America’s “impressive religious and political heritage,” Benedict expressed hope that Obama’s leadership would foster the “building of a truly just and free society, marked by respect for the dignity, equality and rights of each of its members, especially the poor, the outcast and those who have no voice.”

“I pray that you will be confirmed in your resolve to promote understanding, cooperation and peace among the nations, so that all may share in the banquet of life which God wills to set for the whole human family,” Benedict wrote.

According to Vatican protocol, the pope sends greetings to all new heads of state when they take office. But Tuesday’s four-sentence message follows another telegram that Benedict sent Obama the day after the Nov. 4 election.

In the earlier message, the pope noted the “historic” nature of Obama’s victory and assured him of his prayers that God would “sustain you and the beloved American people in your efforts . . . to build a world of peace, solidarity and justice.”

Obama, in turn, called the pope a week later to thank him for the telegram, although neither publicly disclosed the nature of their conversation.