Pope Francis announced on Sunday that he intends to visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, on June 6.
The surprise announcement came as he addressed the crowds in St. Peter’s Square after the recitation of the Angelus prayer.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
“God willing” – the Pope said –“On Saturday 6 June I will travel to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina.” And he asked for prayers so his one-day visit would encourage Bosnia’s Catholic population as well as `’give rise to the development of good and contribute to the consolidation of brotherhood and peace, inter-religious dialogue and friendship.”
The nation, that was part of the former Yugoslavia, was ravaged by the 1992-95 war which took over 100,000 lives. Thousands of people, including Muslim Bosnians and Catholic Croats, were killed or taken to concentration camps during Serb efforts in 1992 to drive out non-Serbs. The prosecution of war crimes suspects is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, during his Sunday catechesis Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel of Mark according to whom ‘when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority’.
And the Pope invited the faithful to listen to the Word of God, to receive its teaching and to announce it to others.
He explained that in the words of a ‘human’ Jesus there was all the authority of God and every word that he utters corresponds to truth.
The Gospel, Francis continued, “does not oppress people; to the contrary: it frees those who are enslaved by the evil spirits of this world: the spirit of vanity, of attachment to money, of pride, of sensuality… the Gospel changes our hearts, it transforms evil inclinations into good proposals”.
“The Gospel is capable of changing people!” he said.
Pope Francis concluded his catechesis inviting all to have daily contact with the Gospel, to read a passage every day, to meditate upon its teachings. And he invited the faithful to carry a copy of the Gospel “in your pocket, in your bag”, allowing oneself “to be nurtured every day by this infinite source of salvation”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Pope Francis announced on Sunday that he intends to visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, on June 6. The surprise announcement came as he addressed the crowds in St. Peter’s Square after the recitation of the Angelus prayer. “God willing” – the Pope said –“On Saturday 6 June I will travel to Sarajevo, the capital…
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The general prayer intention of the Holy Father Pope Francis, for the month of February, is for prisoners, especially the young, that they may be able to rebuild lives of dignity. One of the first gestures of Pope Francis, soon after his March 13, 2013 election, moved or rather shocked the world. He broke with tradition and celebrated Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the Holy Week in a juvenile prison of Rome, instead of a Rome Basilica, washing and kissing the feet of 12 young detainees of different nationalities and faiths, including two women. “This sign is a caress from Jesus, because Jesus came exactly for this, to serve and to help us,” the Pope told them in unscripted remarks. Since then, he has shown his closeness with prisoners on several times. On one such occasion in to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2013, he told young prisoners to have courage “look to the future”. Each prisoner is a person made in the image and likeness of God, someone for whom Jesus suffered and died. They and prisoners around the world need our prayers in order to learn to live a life of dignity in often dehumanizing circumstances. In the ‘throwaway culture’ of today, as Pope Francis calls it, it’s easy to forget those who are locked away from society. This month the Holy Father wants us to join him in praying for them that they may not give up hope and be able to rebuild their lives.
(from Vatican Radio)…
The general prayer intention of the Holy Father Pope Francis, for the month of February, is for prisoners, especially the young, that they may be able to rebuild lives of dignity. One of the first gestures of Pope Francis, soon after his March 13, 2013 election, moved or rather shocked the world. He broke with…
Read more