(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday asked for prayers for his upcoming trip to Assisi.
The Holy Father will travel to the Umbrian town on Thursday, to mark the eight centenary of the “Pardon of Assisi.” This is an indulgence granted to those who on 2 August visit the “Porziuncola,” the small church located within the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (“St. Mary of the Angels”) which is where is where St. Francis of Assisi began the Franciscan Order.
The “Pardon of Assisi” was established by Pope Honorius III at the request of St. Francis in 1216.
It will be a very simple pilgrimage, but very significant in this Holy Year of Mercy,” – Pope Francis said – “I ask everyone to accompany me with prayer, invoking the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit and the heavenly intercession of Saint Francis.”
Pope Francis visited Assisi in 2013, a few months after his election to the See of Peter.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday invoked St. John Vianney – the famous “Curé d’Ars” – during his final blessing at the weekly general audience. The feast day of Saint John Vianney is celebrated on 4 August.
“A special greeting to the young people; the sick and infirm; and newlyweds,” – Pope Francis said – “Tomorrow we celebrate the memorial of St. John Vianney, patron of priests, and especially parish priests.”
He then asked for the saint’s intercession for their special intentions.
“May his great humility be an example to you, dear young people, to live life as a gift of God; may his trusting abandonment to Christ the Saviour sustain you, dear people suffering illness, in the hour of suffering; and may his Christian witness give courage to you, dear newlyweds, to profess your faith without shame,” the Holy Father said.
St. John Vianney was born in France in 1786. He served as a parish priest in the small town of Ars. His reputation for holiness drew thousands of people to listen to his sermons, and he would often spend over 12 hours a day listening to confessions.
He died on 4 August 1859. He was beatified in 1905, and canonized twenty years later.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ recent visit to Poland for the 31 st World Youth Day was the subject of his Wednesday General Audience, his first after the summer break.
During the Aug. 3 audience, which was held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, the Pope described the international youth gathering as a “mosaic of fraternity and a joyful response to the challenge of the Gospel.”
He also reflected on the Europe’s Christian heritage, as exemplified by the cultural and spirituality of Poland.
Below, please find the official English-language summary of Pope Francis’ catechesis, which was delivered in Italian.
Dear Brothers and Sisters: My recent Pastoral Visit to Poland for World Youth Day took place twenty-five years after the historic visit of Saint John Paul II following the fall of the Iron Curtain. Poland, Europe and the world have changed greatly since then, but the young continue to be a prophetic sign of hope for the future. Waving the flags of their respective countries, they formed a mosaic of fraternity and a joyful response to the challenge of the Gospel. Poland, with its rich cultural and spiritual heritage, today reminds us that Europe has no future apart from its founding values, centred on the Christian vision of man and including the message of mercy expressed so eloquently in the last century by Saints John Paul and Faustina Kowalska. At Auschwitz-Birkenau, in silence, I pondered all that happened there, remembered the victims, and sensed the mercy of God that made itself felt even in that abyss of evil. Remembrance serves as a warning and a charge for our own time, so torn by conflicts, hatred and violence. I thank all those who made possible this visit, which offered a sign of fraternity and peace to Poland, Europe and the world.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis released on Tuesday a video message on his universal prayer intentions for August where he speaks of his desire that sports may build a culture of encounter among everyone for a world of peace.
Watch the Pope’s video message which was delivered in his native Spanish:
English translation of his message:
Sports, a culture of encounter
Sports make it possible to build a culture of encounter among everyone for a world of peace. I dream of sports as the practice of human dignity, turned into a vehicle of fraternity. Do we exercise together this prayer intention? That sports may be an opportunity for friendly encounters between people and may contribute to peace in the world.
Pope Francis’ prayer intention in August for evangelization was entitled: Living the Gospel – That Christians may live the Gospel, giving witness to faith, honesty, and love of neighbor….
Pope Francis expressed deep sorrow over the
death of Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, Archbishop emeritus of Krakow, who died
on Tuesday, 2 August, at 9:37 am. In a telegram addressed to his successor,
Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, the Pontiff recalled that the episcopal motto of
the deceased prelate – Jesus, I trust in you! – which guided his life and his
ministry, “today, in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, it has become an eloquent
invocation which proclaims the fulfillment of the work that the Lord had
entrusted to him in Baptism, introducing him into the ranks of the sealed with
His Redeeming Blood, and later together with the gift of priesthood, when he
sent him with the task of sanctifying the People with the word and with the
grace of the sacraments”. Cardinal
Macharkki “carried out this mission zealously”, the Pope emphasized, “as
pastor, professor, rector of the Seminary, until the day in which the Lord
asked him to assume the task of the legacy St Stanislaw and of his immediate
predecessor Karol Wojtyla, today St John Paul II,
in the episcopal see of Krakow. With trust in the Divine Mercy he carried out
this work as father for the priests and for the faithful entrusted to his care.
He guided the Church in Krakow in the difficult period of political and social
transformation, with wisdom, with a healthy separation from reality, concerning
himself with respect for each person, for the good of the community of the
Church, and above all to keep faith alive in the hearts of mankind”. Referring
to his travels for World Youth Day, the Pope expressed gratitude “to
Providence, that I was able to visit him during my recent journey to Krakow. In
the last phase of life he was greatly tried by suffering which he accepted with
peace of mind. Even in this trial”, Francis contniued, “he remained a faithful
witness to confidence in the goodness and the mercy of God. He will thus remain
in my memory and prayers. May the Lord welcome him into his glory!”. During
his meeting with the Polish episcopate during his visit to Krakow for World
Youth Day, the Pontiff remembered Cardinal Macharski and asked the bishops to
pray for him. Franciszek Macharski was
born on 20 May 1927 in Krakow. He was ordained a priest on 2 April 1950 and was
appointed Archbishop of Krakow on 29 December 1978, as the direct successor of
Karol Wojtyła, who as John Paul II ordained him bishop on 6
January 1979 and created him Cardinal in the Consistory of 30 June 1979,
assigning him the Title of San Giovanni a Porta Latina. Cardinal Macharski
resigned from his office as Archbishop of Krakow on 3 June 2005….