(Vatican Radio) At a press conference in the Vatican on Wednesday, Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, the head of the Holy See Press Office, spoke about the significance of Pope Francis’ upcoming Apostolic Voyage to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and gave details of the trip.
Listen to Christopher Wells’ report:
Father Lombardi pointed out that this will be Pope Francis’ second trip to Asia, following his journey last summer to Korea. The decision to return again to the continent, Lombardi said, highlights the Holy Father’s attention to this “great continent.” He also noted that, as Benedict XVI was not able to make a trip to Asia, it was important to “recover a sense of the papal presence” in the continent that numbers a great part of the human population.
Pope Francis’ seventh Apostolic journey has a fairly precise schedule, with two full days in Sri Lanka, and three full days in the Philippines, with a travel day in between.
Father Lombardi also spoke about previous visits of Popes to the two countries. Blessed Pope Paul VI during a long trip to the region, visited both the Philippines and Sri Lanka in 1970. In a similarly extensive trip in 1995, Pope Saint John Paul II visited both countries; he had previously visited the Philippines in a trip to southeast Asia in 1981. These trips, Lombardi said, have been of “great importance” for relations between the Popes and the continent of Asia.
In preparation for the Pope’s upcoming voyage, Fr Lombardi said it is helpful to look at the logos for the visits to each country. The logo for the trip to Sri Lanka includes a characteristically “oriental” cross, with the figure of Blessed Joseph Vas, who will be canonized by Pope Francis in Colombo. The design is completed with the miter of Pope Francis in the background.
For the trip to the Philippines, the logo is a little more simple, featuring a white cross in a yellow circle at its centre, surrounded by red and blue arms representing mercy and compassion. The colours used in the image are the colours of the Philippine flag. Father Lombardi noted that one of the purposes of the Pope’s journey to the Philippines is to offer comfort to the many victims of natural disasters, especially the victims of last years’ devastating typhoon.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis thanked all mothers for their precious role in society and for what they give to the Church and to the world.
Speaking on Wednesday morning at the General Audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family, inspired, he said, by the Christmas image of Our Lady who presents her Son to the world.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
Reflecting on the role of mothers in society and in the Church, he pointed out that the Church too is a mother, “our mother” and that no believer is an orphan.
The Pope said that for all our symbolic glorification of mothers, their important contribution to the life of society, their daily sacrifices and their aspirations are not always properly appreciated.
Even in Christian communities – he said – often mothers are not listened to. He said that their voices should be taken more into consideration and they should be supported in their aspirations.
Mothers, Pope Francis said, “are an antidote to the spread of self-centeredness, a decline in openness, generosity and concern for others”.
And speaking of motherhood, the Pope said that it “is more than childbearing; it is a life choice, entailing sacrifice”, respect for life, and commitment to passing on those human and religious values which are essential for a healthy society.
A society without mothers, the Pope said, would be an “inhuman society” because even in the darkest moments “mothers are witnesses of tenderness, dedication and moral strength”. Mothers – he continued – are the ones who transmit “the deep sense of the practice of religion, the first prayers, the first gestures of devotion. The value of faith in the life of a human being is a message that mothers transmit without having to give too many explanations”. He said that explanations come later, but the “germ of faith is in those first, precious moments” of life, and without mothers, Francis pointed out, “not only there would be no new faithful, but faith itself would lose a good part of its simple and profound warmth.”
Recalling the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero who was assassinated while serving Mass in El Salvador in 1980, Francis said he spoke of a “martyrdom of mothers”, whose sensitivity to all that threatens human life and welfare is a source of enrichment for society and the Church. “To be a mother does not only mean to give life to a child, it is a choice of life, the choice of giving life. This is beautiful” he said.
Concluding his catechesis, Pope Francis asked all to join him in thanking mothers everywhere for what they are, and for all that they give to the Church and to our world.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis thanked all mothers for their precious role in society and for what they give to the Church and to the world. Speaking on Wednesday morning at the General Audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family, inspired, he said, by the Christmas image of Our Lady who presents her Son to…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis thanked all mothers for their precious role in society and for what they give to the Church and to the world. Speaking on Wednesday morning at the General Audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family, inspired, he said, by the Christmas image of Our Lady who presents her Son to…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis thanked all mothers for their precious role in society and for what they give to the Church and to the world. Speaking on Wednesday morning at the General Audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family, inspired, he said, by the Christmas image of Our Lady who presents her Son to…
Read more