(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appointed a new Director of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, who is set to take up the post on 1 January 2017.
Born in Rome on 6 October 1962, Barbara Jatta previously held the position of Vice-Director of the Vatican Museums.
She received her Liberal Arts degree in Letters from the ‘Sapienza’ University in Rome in 1986, a Diploma in Archives at the Vatican School of Paleography the following year, and a specialization in Art History in 1991.
Ms. Jatta has taught courses in ‘History of Graphic Art’ since 1994 at the University of Naples.
She also worked at the Vatican Apostolic Library from 1996 until 2010.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, visited the Catholic communities of both the Greek and the Latin rites in Donetsk and Luhansk from December 16 to 18 2016. It is customary for the Nuncio to visit different communities on the eve of major religious holidays to convey the greetings and blessing of Pope Francis.
In spring 2016, the Apostolic Nuncio visited the community of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk for the feast of Easter.
During his Christmas visit, Archbishop Gugerotti spoke about the tireless work of Pope Francis for peace in the region and his desire to be able to be with all the aggrieved peoples of the world in order to give them an embrace of solidarity.
On the occasion of his visit to Luhansk, the Apostolic Nuncio visited Metropolitan Mytrofan of Luhansk and Alchevsk, Chair of the Department for External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Throughout the trip, Archbishop Gugerotti was accompanied by Bishop Jan Sobilo, auxiliary bishop of the Latin Rite Diocese of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday welcomed to the Vatican South Korea’s new ambassador to the Holy See, Jonghyu Jeong. At a formal ceremony in the Vatican, Jeong presened his credentials to Pope Francis at the start of his diplomatic mission with the Holy See. The 66-year old father of 3 children is a law graduate and holds a doctorate in law from Kyoto University, Japan. An academic linked with several universities in Korea, Japan, Germany and the US, Jeong has served in the Korean Catholic Bishops Conference’s bioethics committee, has been president of the Korean Association for Legal History, and the Korean Civil Law Association and special envoy of the Korean president to the Holy See. Besides his native Korean, he speaks Esperanto, Japanese, English and German.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday encouraged young Catholics to cultivate their relationships with their grandparents.
Addressing a group of young people who belong to an Italian Catholic lay association called ‘Azione Cattolica Italiana’, the Pope spoke of the joy that derives from the coming of Jesus, and said that joy is increased and multiplied when we share it.
He invited the young people to receive the joy of Advent as they would receive a gift and to bear witness to it in their families, schools, parishes and in all places.
The Pope especially invited them to share it with their grandparents – and with elderly people in general – and he encouraged them to listen to the aged whom, he said, “have the wisdom of life”.
“I would like to give you a task: speak to your grandparents,(…) ask them questions, they have the memory of history, the experience of living, and this is a great gift for you that will help you in your life journey” he said.
And Francis also pointed out the grandparents themselves need “to listen to you, understand your aspirations and your hopes”
“This is your task: speak to your grandparents, listen to them” he said.
The Pope also thanked those present for their commitment for peace and remarked on a ‘solidarity’ initiative they are carrying forward in favour of young people who live in a degraded area of Naples.
“May the Lord bless this project that does good” he said.
‘Azione Cattolica Italiana’ was established in Italy by Pope Pius X in 1905 as a non-political lay organization under the direct control of bishops.
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(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis appealed for peace and reconciliation in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday.
The central African nation has been experiencing another period political crisis ahead of the expiry of President Joseph Kabila’s term of office.
The DRC is preparing for unrest – including protests and violence, when the mandate of President Joseph Kabila, whom critics accuse of seeking to stay in power indefinitely, expires on Monday.
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“I ask you all to pray that dialogue in the Democratic Republic of Congo might unfold with serenity,” the Holy Father said in remarks to pilgrims and tourists that followed the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer, “in order that all manner of violence be avoided, and [to pray] for the good of the whole country.”
In Kinshasa, the capital, police have set up checkpoints, while soldiers in armoured vehicles have been deployed to strategic points throughout the city, which has some 12 million inhabitants.
Flights into the DRC have been empty, while many members of the country’s wealthy elite have already fled.
(from Vatican Radio)…