Vatican City, 29 December 2014 (VIS) – Pompeii will be the first port of call on Pope Francis’ trip to the Italian region of Campania. On 21 March the Holy Father will begin his pilgrimage to Naples, starting from the statue dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary in Pompeii, according to the prelate archbishop and pontifical delegate of the shrine, Tommaso Caputo, who added that the Pope’s visit constitutes an event of extraordinary ecclesial importance. “The filial and tender Marian devotion that the Pope continues to show is also at the root of the Church of Pompeii’s strong commitment towards the humblest and neediest among us”, explained the prelate. “Today, more than ever before, the motivating forces of charity, intimately linked to the needs of justice and respect for the dignity of every person, are strongly felt. Aside from our joy for his visit, we hope that Pope Francis will show us the path to take to be even closer to and more united with our people”. St. John Paul II also visited Pompeii on 21 October 1979, during his visit to Naples, and he returned there on 7 October 2003 for the conclusion of the Year of the Rosary. Benedict XVI also visited the shrine, again during the month of the Rosary, October 2008….
Vatican City, 29 December 2014 (VIS) – Pompeii will be the first port of call on Pope Francis’ trip to the Italian region of Campania. On 21 March the Holy Father will begin his pilgrimage to Naples, starting from the statue dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary in Pompeii, according to the prelate archbishop…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says he is praying for the success of the Taizé Community’s ecumenical meeting from 29 December to 2 January in Prague.
In a message to young people from around the globe gathered in the capital of the Czech Republic, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin says that through prayer and reciprocal dialogue, they are attempting to be “the salt of the earth” and the Pope encourages them in their efforts towards greater communion.
He reassures them that as they strive for this goal, they should not be overwhelmed by their “limitations and their poverty.”
Pope Francis recalls that the Czech Republic is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its “return to democracy” and invites young people in Prague to remember in their prayers the men and women martyrs who “sometimes at the cost of great suffering” gave freely of themselves so that their country would regain its freedom.
Pope Francis calls young people to imitate the willingness of the Virgin Mary to open themselves to God’s plan and says he is confident that with imagination and creativity, they will spread the word of the Gospel in their own countries. Calling them “travelers of the faith,” Pope Francis says it is wonderful that young people are “happy to bring Jesus to every street, to every square, to every corner of the earth!”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Young people from around the world have descended on the Czech capital, Prague for a five day ecumenical meeting of the Taizé Community. Tens of thousands of young adults are joining in the next step of the “pilgrimage of trust on earth” initiated by the Taizé Community founder, Brother Roger at the end of the 1970s.
A city of a thousand towers and a thousand steeples at the heart of Europe is hosting the meeting from 29 December to 2 January: a time for prayer, reflection and communion among young people from many different nations and faith traditions. The young people who have come to Prague are being hosted by the people and local church communities in and around the historic city.
Each year, more than 100,000 young adults from around the world make pilgrimages to Taizé, an ecumenical monastic order of Protestant and Catholic brothers from more than thirty countries whose Community is located in Taize’, in Burgundy, France.
Founded in 1940 by Brother Roger Schütz , a Reformed Protestant, Taizé also hosts annual ecumenical meetings in Europe as an opportunity for prayer, Bible study, and communal work.
During his pastoral visit to Turkey this past November, Pope Francis highlighted the importance of Taizé during a visit with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at Saint George’s Church in Istanbul.
In his speech, Pope Francis spoke about the search for full communion between the Churches and cited three “voices” calling in particular, for unity: the poor, victims of conflict and young people. Speaking of youth, he said:
“the young today implore us to make progress towards full communion. I think for example of the many Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant youth who come together at meetings organized by the Taizé community. They do not do this because they are not aware of the differences which still separate us, but because they are able to see beyond them; they are able to embrace what is really important and what already unites us.”
The Pope’s words will no doubt be resonating firmly in the minds and prayers of those young people at this year’s Taizé meeting in Prague… an encounter that comes at the close of one year, breathing fresh life, and hope, into the new year to come.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says he is praying for the success of the Taizé Community’s ecumenical meeting from 29 December to 2 January in Prague. In a message to young people from around the globe gathered in the capital of the Czech Republic, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin says that through prayer and…
Read more