(Vatican Radio) The Vatican has issued Pope Francis’ Message for the 49TH World Day of Social Communications, the only worldwide celebration called for by the Second Vatican Council (Inter mirifica, 1963). The theme of this year’s message: “Communicating the Family – a Privileged Place of Encounter with the Gift of Love.” The World Day of…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said confession is not a judgment but a meeting with God who forgives all our sins, without exception. His words came during his homily at his morning Mass on Friday celebrated in the Santa Marta residence. Basing his reflections on an extract from St Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, the Pope…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican has issued Pope Francis’ Message for the 49TH World Day of Social Communications, the only worldwide celebration called for by the Second Vatican Council (Inter mirifica, 1963). The theme of this year’s message: “Communicating the Family – a Privileged Place of Encounter with the Gift of Love.” The World Day of…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) The most important thing is not the grace of a physical healing, but the fact that Jesus saves us and intercedes for us: this was the focus of Pope Francis’ remarks following the readings of the day at Mass on Thursday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.…
Read more
La Vang – “As a pilgrim – also on behalf of our Missionary Congregation – I beg of Mary her protection for the work of evangelization throughout the world: she who bore Jesus, the living Gospel, the Word of God, and who has accompanied the Church from the Day of Pentecost, being thus the Mother of countless children of the Church, especially in the Continent of Asia. For this reason, I bring you the gift today of three silver roses as a perpetual memorial of this request to her”. This is what Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples said during the Mass he presided on 22 January, at the National Marian Shrine of La Vang. Beating heart of faith and Marian spirituality in Vietnam, the Shrine of La Vang, about 60 km from Hue, is linked to the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the forest near Quang Tri to a group of Vietnamese Catholics fleeing persecution, who had taken refuge there. The first apparition took place in 1798, which was followed by many others. In 1886, when the persecutions ended, a small wooden church was built on-the-spot, which became a place of intense pilgrimages. Subsequently burnt by the persecutors, the church was replaced by a brick building which was inaugurated in 1901 when Our Lady of La Vang was proclaimed “Patroness of Vietnamese Catholics”. To contain the ever-increasing flow of devotees, several chapels were built. But the various constructions of La Vang were demolished completely in 1972, during the war between the North and the South. Only after the reunification of the country , the Bishops of Vietnam gathered in Hanoi on 1 May 1980 and solemnly renewed the recognition of La Vang as “National Marian Centre”. Today the Marian Shrine is one of the best known and popular Shrines not only in Vietnam, but in the entire Asian continent. In his homily, the Cardinal invited those present to go back to the foot of the Cross, where “Jesus has made a gift of Mary to us, he stressed – and not a gift that is far away from us, because, over the course of two thousand years, Mary has often appeared in our midst… You know the beautiful story of the first persecuted Christians, who found refuge, encouragement, and protection in this place. One could say that Mary lives here, and the Bishops have rightly declared this place to be the National Marian Shrine”. The Cardinal, therefore concluded thanking Mary for this, her “gift”, which is her presence among you; “She is here with us today, and together with you, I renew the Act of Entrustment to her for the Evangelization of this Land and of the whole Asian Continent”. Link correlati : The full text of the Cardinal’s speech, in Italian
The full text of the Cardinal’s speech, in English
The full text of the Cardinal’s speech, in French…