(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis was making a private pilgrimage to the Italian hill town of Assisi on Thursday afternoon to visit the Porziuncola chapel there to mark the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi.”
The Porziuncola is a small chapel housed inside the town’s Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels which St. Francis of Assisi restored and where he founded the Franciscan order at the start of the 13th century.
Pope Francis previously visited Assisi on the feast day of the Italian saint, his namesake, on October the 4th, 2013.
His visit this year coincides with the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi” which is the possibility to receive a plenary indulgence during the first two days of August. The tradition began after the saint received a divine vision and asked God to grant an indulgence to all pilgrims who visit the church.
Pope Francis’ Schedule:
The Pope will arrive in Assisi by helicopter around 3.40 pm and will go to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels where he will pray inside the Porziuncola chapel. Afterwards he will offer a reflection on forgiveness taken from the Gospel of Matthew and then meet with Franciscan bishops and superiors before addressing pilgrims gathered in the square outside the basilica.
At 6pm the Pope will be taken by car to the Migaghelli sports field where he will board the helicopter for his flight back to the Vatican.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with participants in the Dominican General Chapter on Thursday ahead of his afternoon visit to Assisi, speaking to them about the need to incarnate the Gospel through preaching, witness, and charity. The audience with Pope Francis concludes the General Chapter marking 800 years since the founding of the Order of Preachers by St. Dominic. ****************************** Beginning with a joke about his day’s activities, Pope Francis laughingly said his day could be called “A Jesuit among Friars”, since it saw him meet with the spiritual children of the contemporaries St. Dominic and St. Francis. Putting jokes aside, the Holy Father got to the heart of the matter, speaking to the Dominicans gathered about the need to incarnate the Gospel through preaching, witness, and charity. He said it was God who inspired St. Dominic to found the Order of Preachers and put preaching at the heart of their mission, just as Jesus had taught his disciples. “It is the Word of God which burns from within and incites us to go out and proclaim Jesus Christ to all peoples. The Founding Father said, ‘First contemplate, and then teach’. Evangelized by God to evangelize. Without a deep personal union with Him, preaching may be very perfect, very rational, even admirable, but it will never touch the heart, which is what must change.” The Word of God also requires witness , he said. “Teachers faithful to the truth and worthy witnesses of the Gospel. The witness incarnates what is taught, makes it tangible, makes it call, and leaves no one indifferent. [The witness] adds to the truth the joy of the Gospel, aware of being loved by God and the object of His infinite mercy.” Lastly, charity is necessary for the preacher and witness. Referring to the early life of St. Dominic, the Pope said it was the living, suffering body of Christ which was inscribed in his entire existence. “It is the body of Christ, alive and suffering, which cries out to the preacher and does not leave him tranquil. The cry of the poor and discarded awakens and makes us understand the compassion which Jesus had for the people. […] It is in the encounter with the living body of Christ that we are evangelizers, that we recover the passion to be preachers and witnesses of His love, and that we free ourselves from the dangerous temptation, extremely actual today, of Gnosticism.” Preaching, witness, and charity. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) At the conclusion of his Wednesday General Audience , Pope Francis delivered his message for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro , urging Brazilians to work for a more just and safe country.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
With the Olympic Games 2016 getting underway in Rio on Saturday, August 6th, Pope Francis told all those involved to ‘fight the good fight’ and finish the race together.
He said “in a world thirsting for peace, tolerance, and reconciliation”, the prize for all participants and spectators of the Games consisted in something much more precious than a medal.
Their prize, he said, is “the construction of a civilization in which solidarity reigns and is based upon the recognition that we are all members of the same human family, regardless of the differences of culture, skin color, or religion.”
The Holy Father also expressed his desire that all Brazilians, “who with their joy and characteristic hospitality have organized the ‘Feast of Sport’, … that this will be an opportunity to overcome difficult moments and commit themselves to working as a team to build a more just and safe country, betting all on a future full of hope and joy.”
A Vatican Radio English translation of Pope Francis’ message for the Olympics is below:
I would like to send an especially warm greeting to the Brazilian people, in particular to the city of Rio de Janeiro, which is hosting the athletes and passionate fans from all over the world on the occasion of the Olympics. In a world thirsting for peace, tolerance, and reconciliation, I hope that the spirit of the Olympic Games inspires all – participants and spectators – to “fight the good fight” and finish the race together (cf. 2 Tim 4,7-8), desiring to obtain as a prize, not a medal, but something much more precious: the construction of a civilization in which solidarity reigns and is based upon the recognition that we are all members of the same human family, regardless of the differences of culture, skin color, or religion. And for all Brazilians, who with their joy and characteristic hospitality have organized the ‘Feast of Sport’, I hope that this will be an opportunity to overcome difficult moments and commit themselves to working as a team to build a more just and safe country, betting all on a future full of hope and joy. May God bless you all!
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with a group of 65 child refugees from Syria and Eritrea on Wednesday during his General Audience.
The children are staying in the small town of Castelnuovo di Porto, located 25 kilometres north of Rome.
The children were wearing shirts saying “Grazie Papa Francesco” [Thank you, Pope Francis], and gave the Holy Father a large teddy bear. They also held up a sign saying “Our house is where peace resides.”
Pope Francis washed the feet of refugees from the Centre for Asylum Seekers at Castelnuovo di Porto on Holy Thursday in March.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis this week embarks on a short pilgrimage to mark the 8 th centenary of the “Pardon of Assisi,” a feast which commemorates the establishment of a plenary indulgence for all who pass through the chapel where the Franciscan order was founded.
During his Aug. 4 pilgrimage , the Pope will visit the Porziuncola – a small chapel, located inside the larger Basilica of St Mary of the Angels.
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, Fr Michael Anthony Perry, who will meet with the Holy Father during the pilgrimage, explained the meaning behind this feast .
Listen to Blandine Hugonnet’s interview with Fr Michael Perry, OFM:
“It was his own discovery of God forgiving him for his own sins,” he said. “And as he began to forgive himself and allowed God to forgive him, he found himself wanting to forgive others, and wanting to extend that to all people, even to his enemies.”
This message, which echoes out “from the Porziuncola,” Fr Perry said, invites “everyone to stop, take a moment, listen to God saying: I forgive you. I love you. Come back to me.”
The Franciscan priest added that while the significance of the message remains unchanged between the time of St Francis and today, what has changed is “our ability to heal or not to listen.”
(from Vatican Radio)…