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Pope at Mass:23rd May 2013
Culture of encounter is the foundation of peace
13th May 2013
Theme: "Social Networks new spaces for Evangelisation"
3rd May 2013
Pope Francis had words of welcome as he greeted Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus, who returned to take up residence inside Vatican city.
29th April 2013
25th April 2013
Photo Gallery8th April 2013
"Do not be afraid to go forth and announce the Risen Christ." 21st March 2013
Pope Francis calls Benedict to wish him happy feast day
Pope Francis called Emeritus Pope Benedict to wish him a happy St Joseph's feast day March 19th. The Argentine Pope, who placed the call to his German predecessor Joseph Ratzinger shortly after 5:00 pm Rome time Tuesday, once again expressed gratitude to the emeritus pope for his long time service to the Church. The two enjoyed a lengthy and cordial conversation. Since his resignation February 28, Emeritus Pope Benedict has been staying at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, in the Rome countryside until restoration work on his new residence in the Vatican is completed. Benedict has followed with "intense participation" the events of these days, particularly Tuesday morning's installation liturgy. He assured his Successor that he would continue to pray for him.
Source: 2013-03-20 Vatican Radio.
15th March 2013
Pope Gives 1st Impressions of Simplicity, Sense of Humour
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, today commented on the Pope's first public appearance on Wednesday evening, when Francis greeted the crowd gathered in St Peter's Square. 14th March 2013
Here is the official biography of Pope Francis, released by the Vatican.
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ordinary for Eastern-rite faithful in Argentina who lack an Ordinary of their own rite, was born on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires. He studied for a degree as a chemical technician, but then chose the priesthood and entered the seminary of Villa Devoto. On 11 March 1958 he moved to the novitiate of the Company of Jesus where he finished studies in the humanities in Chile. In 1963, on returning to Buenos Aires, he obtained a degree in philosophy at the St. Joseph major seminary of San Miguel.13th March 2013
'May the Lord Grant Us Another Good Shepherd'11th March 2013
The eighth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals meeting in the Vatican Synod Hall Friday has decided that the Conclave for the election of the Pope will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013.
A "pro eligendo Romano Pontifice" Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning. Then on Tuesday afternoon the 115 Cardinal Electors will gather in the Pauline Chapel for a moment of collection and prayer and from there they will process in order of precedence through the Sala Regia to the Sistine Chapel invoking the Holy Spirit. 1st March 2013
As the bells of Rome continued to peal in salute to the 264th Successor of St Peter and the sun set behind the tiny hill-top town of Castel Gandolfo, the figure of Benedict XVI slipped behind the curtains of the central balcony of the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo. It was his last public appearance as Pope.
28th Feb 2013
One of the lasting legacies of Benedict XVI's pontificate will be the mark he has left on the Liturgy as it is celebrated today. In short, he has re-focused our attention on how we, as Catholics, celebrate our faith in the light of tradition.
From his highly discussed 2007 Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, to his approval of the equally debated New English Language translation of the Roman Missal; from his elimination of all rites and gestures that are not specifically sacramental in nature from Papal liturgies to his recent changes to rites for the beginning of a pontificate, the "Ordo Rituum pro Ministerii Petrini Initio Romae Episcopi", Benedict XVI has brought the Universal Churches' focus back to prayer and the Eucharist, the source and summit of what makes us Church. In a way Benedict XVI has been a supremely liturgical Pope.
26th Feb 2013
"Among you, among the College of Cardinals, there is also the future Pope, to whom, here today, I already promise my unconditional reverence and obedience."
1st March 2013
Venerable and Dear Brothers,
28th 2013
As of 8 p.m. Rome Time, Thursday, 28 February 2013, the See of Rome is vacant. The Pope emeritus, Benedict XVI, is temporarily residing at Castel Gandolfo, in the palace used by Popes as a summer retreat. When renovations on the monastery inside the walls of Vatican City are complete, Benedict XVI will take up residence there. Though he has renounced the office of Bishop of Rome, along with all its powers and responsibilities, the Pope emeritus keeps the name he took at the beginning of his reign: Benedict XVI. He also continues to be styled, His Holiness.26th Feb 2013
In response to numerous queries as to whether the Holy Father's twitter account will be permanently shut down following his resignation, Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications issued the following statement:
25th Feb 2013
Pope Benedict on Saturday, 23 February, concluded the "spiritual exercises" which mark the beginning of Lent at the Vatican. "The art of believing, the art of praying" was the theme
of their reflections given by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Pope Benedict reflected on the relationship of beauty to the truth. "Truth and beauty," he said, "go together: beauty is the seal of truth."19th Feb 2013
Vatican: Thousands flocking to Rome to bid Benedict XVI farewell on Feb. 27th
To date, 35 thousand people have registered with the Pontifical Household to attend Pope Benedict XVI's "last great appointment with the People of God", said Holy See Press Office director Fr. Federico Lombardi in his daily briefing with journalists Saturday.
19th Feb 2013
Retreat time of silence is beginning in the Vatican. After the Sunday Angelus, that, as usual Benedict XVI prayed at noon in St Peter's Square attended by a very large number of people, the Lenten Spiritual Exercises began and will last until Saturday 23.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, will preach the Retreat in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, on the theme Ars orandi, ars credendi. The face of God and the face of man in the prayers of the Psalms. During the week the Cardinal will suggest an itinerary for meditation in the Psalter to the Pope and the members of the Roman Curia. The Cardinal will explain the Exercises which will be published in interview form in our newspaper. In addition the Cardinal is expected to speak about Joseph Ratzinger's possible future role, since he has resigned from the Papacy. He stands out as "a figure who will continue the service of intercession that is so important for the Church".
POPE TO ORDER OF MALTA: WORKS A SIGN OF CHRISTIAN HOPE
BELIEVING IN CHARITY CALLS FORTH CHARITY
INDULGENCES FOR THE WORLD DAY OF THE SICK
The new media calls for new methods of communication, the Pope acknowledges. He urges Christians to be creative in finding new approaches. "Effective communication, as in the parables of Jesus, must involve the imagination," he says. Offering one strong suggestion on how this might be done, the Pope reminds the faithful that the "Christian tradition has always been rich in signs and symbols." Just as Catholic artists and musicians have expressed their faith through their creative work, the Pope says, Catholics can find ways to convey the faith through digital communications.
One of the gravest sins "that disfigure the Church's face" is the sin "against her visible unity", and, in particular, "the historical divisions which separated Christians and which have not yet been surmounted", the Holy Father said at the Angelus on Sunday, 20 January, in St Peter's Square, as he spoke of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on the theme, "What does the Lord require of us?"
'BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS'
Pope Benedict XVI's Twitter account attracted over a million and a half followers on its first day of existence. The Pope, after his first tweet at the end of the usual Wednesday general audience, responded during the course of the day to three questions posed by members of the public from three different continents.
"The Church's deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the Word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the Sacraments (leitourgia) and exercising the Ministry of Charity (diakonia). These duties are inseparable."
On Wednesday, 28 November, Pope Benedict XVI issued an appeal on behalf of efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and looked forward to the UN-sponsored World Day against AIDS, which will be on Saturday, 1st December. The call came at the end of his weekly General Audience in Paul VI Hall. The Holy Father spoke of the millions of deaths and the tragic human suffering that the disease has caused. He said that suffering is particularly great in the poorest regions of the world, where people have great difficulty in accessing effective drugs. "My thoughts turn in particular to the large number of children who contract the virus from their mothers each year, despite the treatments which exist to prevent its transmission. I encourage the many initiatives that, within the scope of the ecclesial mission, have been taken in order to eradicate this scourge", the Pope noted. Concluding his appeal, Pope Benedict offered his encouragement to the many initiatives that the Church, in her missionary work, promotes and carries out in order to eradicate the disease.
Pope Benedict celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica on Sunday morning, 25 November, the final Sunday of the liturgical year - the solemnity of Christ the King. Concelebrating with the Pope were the six new cardinals who received their red hats at the Consistory on Saturday. Before his homily he cordially greeted everyone, in particular the six new members of the College of Cardinals. He began his homily refle168.144cting on the theme of the liturgical year, where the Church invites everyone to celebrate the Lord Jesus as King of the Universe. "She calls us", the Pope said, "to look to the future, or more properly into the depths, to the ultimate goal of history, which will be the definitive and eternal kingdom of Christ. He was with the Father in the beginning, when the world was created, and he will fully manifest his lordship at the end of time, when he will judge all mankind."
On Thursday morning, 22 November in the Vatican's Clementine Hall, the Holy Father received in audience the participants of the 17th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison Administrations. The role of the prison sentence in re-education and rehabilitation was reaffirmed by the Holy Father in his Discourse to those taking part in the Conference.
"THE INFANCY NARRATIVES"
"Chapter three is centred on the event in Bethlehem and the historical context of the birth of Jesus, the Roman Empire under Augustus, which extends from East to West and whose universal dimension allows for the entry into the world of 'a universal Saviour'; 'it is indeed the fullness of time'. The single elements of the story of the birth are dense with meaning: the poverty in which 'he who is truly the first-born of all that is' chooses to reveal himself, and therefore 'the cosmic glory' that envelopes the manger; God's special love for the poor, which manifests itself in the annunciation to the shepherds; and the words of the Gloria, whose translation is controversial.
On Monday, 19 November 2012, The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, received the President of the Republic of Benin, His Excellency Mr Thomas Boni Yayi, in audience at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The Press Office of the Holy See said that the Pope and the President held cordial talks on a range of issues, including the value of local cultures in Africa and the importance of the Church in education for Peace and Reconciliation, with specific mention of the positive contribution of the Catholic Church to the development of Benin.
LIKE AN OPEN BOOK ON LIFE
On Thursday morning, 8 November, in the Clementine Hall, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, received the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He said, "The universe is not chaos or the result of chaos, rather, it appears ever more clearly as an ordered complexity originating 'in God's creative Word.'"
"The urgent need to proclaim Christ anew in places where the light of faith has been weakened, in places where the fire of God is more like smouldering cinders, crying out to be stirred up". The Pope underlined this in his Homily at the Mass concluding the Synod of Bishops in St Peter's Basilica on Sunday morning, 28 October.
The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in the Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et Spes recalled that "the Church goes forward together with humanity" therefore "the joys and the hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well." The Servant of God, Paul VI, echoed these words when he called the Church an "expert in humanity, as did Blessed John Paul II when he stated that the human person is "the primary route that the Church must travel in fulfilling her mission... the way traced out by Christ himself". In the footsteps of my predecessors, I sought to emphasise in my Encyclical Caritas in Veritate that "the whole Church, in all her being and acting, when she proclaims, when she celebrates, when she performs works of charity, is engaged in promoting integral human development". I thought also of the millions of men and women who, for various reasons, have known the experience of migration. Migration is "a striking phenomenon because of the sheer numbers of people involved, and the dramatic challenges it poses to nations and the international community", for "every migrant is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance". For this reason, I have chosen to dedicate the 2013 World Day of Migrants and Refugees to the theme "Migrations: Pilgrimage of Faith and Hope", in conjunction with the celebrations marking the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and the sixtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Apostolic Constitution, Exsul Familia, and at a time when the whole Church is celebrating the Year of Faith, taking up with enthusiasm the challenge of the New Evangelisation.
On Sunday, 28 October 2012, before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father addressed the Bishops and all people at St Peter's square for the Mass of the closing of the Synod of Bishops on the Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.
During the Mass, in the homily, the Holy Father noted that the canonisation was taking place as Bishops from around the world are gathered in Rome to take part in the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: "The coincidence between this ecclesiastical meeting and World Mission Sunday is a happy one; and the Word of God that we have listened to sheds light on both subjects. It shows us how to be evangelisers, called to bear witness and to proclaim the Christian message, configuring ourselves to Christ and following his very path. This is true both for the mission ad Gentes and for the new evangelisation."
EVANGELISATION AND ECUMENISM
In the morning of 16 October 2012, in the Clementine Hall, the Holy Father received a group of Council Fathers of Vatican II who were accompanied by Presidents of Episcopal Conferences from around the world, who came to Rome for the inauguration of the Year of Faith. The Pope, who himself participated in Vatican Council II as an expert, noted that "many memories came to mind, memories inscribed in each of our hearts, of the period of the Council which was so lively, so rich and so fruitful. However, I do not wish to dwell upon this for too long ... I would merely like to recall how a word launched by Blessed John XXIII, almost as if to establish a programme, resurfaced continually during the course of the conciliar sessions: the word 'aggiornamento', and that word was, and remains, correct. Christianity must not be considered as 'something that has passed', nor must we live with our gaze always turned back, because Jesus Christ is yesterday, today, and forever. Christianity is marked by the presence of the eternal God, Who entered into time and is present in all times, because all times are brought forth of His creative power, of His eternal 'today'."
POPE'S MEMORIES OF VATICAN 11
According to Archbishop Nikola Eterović, General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, the record of attendance at this 13th Ordinary General Assembly is 262, the highest number of participants in the history of all the Assemblies, the last which took place in 2008. Archbishop Eterovic said that "the increase in number of participants acknowledges the commitment of all those who contribute to the mission of The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith". To outline the profile of the Assembly, the Secretary General met with journalists for a briefing in the Holy See Press Office on Friday morning, 5 October. Presenting the Synodal Fathers, he noted that 103 are from Europe, 63 from the Americas, 50 from Africa, 39 from Asia and 7 from Oceania.
This week, we look back at Pope John Paul II's visit to Nairobi, Kenya, the third and final leg of his three-nation pastoral visit to Africa during the celebration phase of the first African Synod. The first stop of that visit in September 1995 was Cameroon. From there, John Paul II flew to post-apartheid South Africa and from there to Nairobi on the Eastern part of the continent. The late pope had just written the Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesiae in Africa or the Church in Africa and was there to present it to representatives of the Church in mainland Africa and the Island nation of Madagascar.
On 25 September 2012, the Holy Father opened his special road map for the future of the Church in the Middle East saying, "How can we fail to thank God at every moment for all of you, dear Christians of the Middle East!" he thanked the Lord for the estimated 180 thousand Christian men, women and children who count for only 2% of the Holy Land's entire population.
On Friday, 14 September 2012, before 2 p.m., Pope Benedict XVI arrived at the International Airport of Beirut, which is named after Rafik Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon who was killed in a bomb attack in 2005. Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites; Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, and Naguib Miqati, Prime Minister of Lebanon, warmly welcomed the Holy Father.
During the ceremony, the Pope recalled when President Sleiman went to visit the Vatican in February 2011; a ceremony had taken place to bless the statue of St Maron which stands in a niche on the outside wall of the Vatican Basilica. The Pope said that the presence of the statue is a constant reminder of Lebanon in the very place where the Apostle Peter was laid to rest. It also confirmed the veneration of the Lebanese people for the first of the Apostles and for his successors. He also expressed the excellent relations that have existed between Lebanon and the Holy See, and the ecclesial importance of one of the reasons for his trip, which is "the signature and the consigning of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, 'Ecclesia in Medio Oriente'", (The Church in the Middle East).
The Vatican Secretariat of State had released the Message of Pope Benedict XVI, signed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, for the First Integrated Meeting for the Pastoral Care of the Road for the Continent of Africa and Madagascar, taking place from 11 to 15 September2012. The five-day meeting, organised by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People and the Tanzania Episcopal Conference, aims to promote pastoral initiatives and programmes in local Churches for the benefit of people who live on, or from the road/street. This includes street women and children, people of no fixed abode, transport workers, and those responsible for road safety.
On Friday, 7 September 2012, Pope Benedict XVI received a group of newly appointed Bishops to serve in mission territories. They have been participating in a conference organised by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The Holy Father encouraged them to place their confidence in the Gospel, to its renewing power, its ability to reawaken consciences, encourage reconciliation, and the building of brotherhood. Referring to young Church communities, especially those in Asia, Oceania, Africa and Latin America, the Pope said that, despite difficulties, there are positive signs such as the growth of the Diocesan and Religious Clergy that serve as a counterweight to the reduction in the number of missionaries serving. The Holy Father noted the growth in the number of priests who left their land of birth to serve outside their own Churches. Pope Benedict XVI said, "The young Churches constitute a sign of hope for the future of the universal Church."
Source: 07-09-2012, Vatican News
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
On Wednesday, 29 August 2012, on the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist, Pope Benedict based his catechesis on the martyrdom of St John the Baptist. The Pope called on the faithful to follow the example of the saint by allowing Christ to penetrate every part of their lives so that they may boldly proclaim him to the world. The martyrdom of the saint, he said, "reminds us that we cannot stoop to compromises with the love of Christ, his Word, the Truth."
The annual meeting between Benedict XVI and his former students begins this year on Thursday, 30th of August. The students, known as the Ratzinger Schulerkreis, gather each summer for several days of discussions on a particular theme. The theme of this year's encounter is ecumenism. Among those present will be Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna and Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It will be the 36th time that this annual encounter has taken place.
Nelson Mandela by Josephine Death-deviantart.com
Jesuit: Congregation of Procurators
14th July 2012
Paulines Publications Africa, Book display at the 2012 Jesuit Congregation of Procurators
Benefactors from Tonezza, Italy visit our Publishing House
14th July 2012
Our benefactors with the staff at the editorial department
Our benefactors with a staff member (on the right)
Saints Peter and Paul A New Way of Being Brothers
2nd July 2012Jesus Christ, the Lord of Our Lives
28th June 2012 In a world in which so many "masters" want to direct and guide us, we need a scale of values that gives primacy to God, and to realise that Jesus Christ is the only Lord of our lives. This was the message at the heart of Pope Benedict XVI's Wednesday's audience (27 June 2012). The Holy Father's appointment with pilgrims from across the world was moved indoors to the Paul VI audience hall, as summer temperatures continue to climb in the Eternal City. Emer McCarthy reports:KENYA: Consolata Shrine's Prayer Garden Opened
21st June 2012
Inauguration of Prayer Garden - Consolata Shrine (from CISA News)
Pope: Reject a Culture Where Truth Does Not Matter
18th June 2012 When Pope Benedict XVI met with the people of his Diocese in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint John Lateran, he said, "Renouncing the glamour of Satan in today's age means rejecting a culture where truth does not matter," referring to a part of the Baptismal Rite.
The Holy Father began his remarks by reflecting on the fact the Baptismal formula is "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," as opposed to "on the behalf of."
Cardinal Arinze comments on the new Roman Missal
From Francis Card. ArinzeDear Sr Teresa,
The beautiful Roman Missal prepared for countries of the English-speaking parts of Africa does great credit to Paulines Publications Africa. It is prepared in a very suitable altar format. The printing is clear and attractive. The texts are produced with total fidelity to the original. Propers are included for African countries, with details for some. And the price is attractive when compared to similar productions in other continents.
Please accept my hearty congratulations and gratitude and share the same with Father Rinaldo Ronzani and all others who in any way contributed to the production of this fine Missal. I wish all of you God’s abundant blessing.
7th November 2011
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