(Vatican Radio) Sunday is the 50 th World Day for Social Communications , an annual recurrence begun by Bl. Paul VI in the wake of the II Vatican Council as a way of setting in relief the importance the Council Fathers put on recovering the genius of the Church for proclaiming the Gospel, especially in a world ever more signed by the spread and growth of communications technology and ever more starved for truth.
Pope Francis ’ Message for the 50 th World Communications Day focuses on the need to foster fruitful human encounters by communicating with mercy . “In a broken, fragmented and polarized world,” writes Pope Francis , “to communicate with mercy means to help create a healthy, free and fraternal closeness between the children of God and all our brothers and sisters in the one human family.”
You can find out more about the the 50 th World Communications Day by visiting the dedicated website space created by the new Secretariat for Communication at this link .
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis used his remarks to the faithful at Sunday’s Regina coeli to mark the 50 th annual recurrence of World Communications Day , recalling the fundamental mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News of Christ’s victory over death, and the duty of all the baptized faithful of every age and in every state of life within the Church to make themselves protagonists of that mission.
“The [II Vatican] Council Fathers,” he said, drawing on his Message for the occasion, published earlier this year, “reflecting on the Church in the contemporary world, understood the crucial importance of communications, which ‘are capable of building bridges among persons, families, social groups, and peoples – and this both in physical and in digital environments.’”
The Holy Father went on to say, “I offer cordial greetings to everyone working the field of communications, and I hope that our way of communicating in the Church will always have a clear Gospel style, [conducted in] a manner that unites truth and mercy.”
Readers can find out more about the 50 th World Communications Day by visiting the dedicated website space created by the new Secretariat for Communication at this link .
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) “Beginning the pilgrimmage this year with the Eucharistic celebration in the Basilica of Saint Peter, presided at by His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Comastri, should be for all of you the occasion of desiring to respond ever more generously to the needs of the little ones, the sick, and those who have hearts broken by moral and physical illnesses.”
That was the message of Pope Francis in a letter sent to representatives of the Rome-Lazio section of UNITALSI (Unione Nazionale Italiana Trasporto Ammalati a Lourdes e Santuari Internazionali) on the occasion of the pilgrimage to Loretto of the whole UNITALSI family for the 80th anniversary of the first pilgrimage to the Marian sanctuary.
UNITALSI is an Italian organization that accompanies the sick and the disabled on pilgrimages to Lourdes and to other international Marian sanctuaries. In 2013, UNITALSI celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding.
Pope Francis noted that, in the 80 years since the UNITALSIs first pilgrimage to Loretto, the group has accompanied thousands of people entrusted to their care and their Christian testimony – which, the Pope said, must always base itself “on the model of the Holy Family of Nazareth, in reciprocal care and tenderness and mercy.”
The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father said to the group, “who, in the Sanctuary of Loretto has always welcomed everyone, but above all so many people who live with difficulties of every kind, helps you so that all can find in you companions by the way to accompany, discern, and integrate every weakness, and to restore confidence and hope, as a beacon of light at a port, or a torch borne in the midst of the people to illuminate those who have lost the path and found themselves in the midst of the tempest. Your service,” he continued, “in our own times, should always become more like a field hospital.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On Saturday, the Holy Father Francis received in audience His Excellency Mr. Johann Schneider Ammann, president of the Swiss Confederation, who subsequently met with His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.
The cordial discussions offered the opportunity to affirm the good relations between the Holy See and Switzerland, with particular acknowledgement of the faithful and professional service rendered by the Pontifical Swiss Guard. Appreciation was expressed for the positive contribution the Church makes in different fields in the country, in an atmosphere of serene collaboration. Mention was made of the professional education of young people, which plays an effective role in access to the world of work.
Special attention was reserved to the theme of migration and policies of reception and integration, in the current European context. The parties then discussed the conflicts in the Middle East and the situation of sub-Saharan countries, revealing the need to strengthen efforts in favour of security and peace.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received officers and enlisted soldiers of the Pontifical Swiss Guard on Saturday, one day after new members of the corps took their oath of allegiance and were sworn into active service.
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The Swiss Guards hold their swearing-in ceremony each year on May 6 th , to mark the day in 1527 when 147 members of their corps gave their lives in a desperate rear-guard action that allowed Pope Clement VII to reach the safety of Castel Sant’Angelo while the soldiers of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V sacked the eternal city.
Pope Francis recalled the spirit of faithful service that animates the great legacy of sacrifice and heroism in his remarks to new recruits and their families on Saturday, saying, “Dear Guardsmen, my hope for you is that you shall live your days of service strong in the Faith and generous in charity toward the people you shall meet: may Mary, our mother, whom we honor especially in this month of May, help you to be ever more sensible each day that profound communion with God, which for us believers begins here on Earth and shall be complete in Heaven.”
(from Vatican Radio)…