(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday prayed at the tomb of Blessed Pope Paul VI on the 39th anniversary of his death.
Blessed Paul VI is buried in the Vatican in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica.
He was beatified by Pope Francis on 19 October 2014, and his liturgical feast is celebrated on the day of his birth (26 September).
Born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini in 1897, he became Pope on 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978.
Upon succeeding Pope St. John XXIII, he reigned over the Second Vatican Council until its close in 1965 and implemented its reforms, also fostering improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant Christians.
Click here to find out more about the papacy of Paul VI in our feature programme on his life and legacy.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a message to the 7th Asian Youth Day which took place in Indonesia, saying he prays that the young people of Asia “respond with faith and courage to their vocation”.
In the message, signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the Pope greeted the young people of Asia gathered in Yogyakarta with “prayerful best wishes” as the event came to a close on Sunday.
Pope Francis invited them “to look to the Mother of the Lord as a model of missionary discipleship, to speak to her as they would to a mother, and to trust always in her loving intercession.”
“In this way, as they seek to follow Christ Jesus more closely, they too, like the young woman of Nazareth, can truly ‘improve the world and leave an imprint that makes a mark on history'”.
Finally, the Holy Father imparted his Apostolic Blessing “as a pledge of peace and joy in the Lord.”
Please find below the full message:
His Holiness Pope Francis sends warm greetings and prayerful best wishes to all gathered in Yogyakarta for the seventh Asian Youth Day. He prays that young people from across Asia will listen ever more attentively to God’s call and respond with faith and courage to their vocation. As they prepare for the next World Youth Day, His Holiness invites them to look to the Mother of the Lord as a model of missionary discipleship, to speak to her as they would to a mother, and to trust always in her loving intercession. In this way, as they seek to follow Christ Jesus more closely, they too, like the young woman of Nazareth, can truly “improve the world and leave an imprint that makes a mark on history” (Message to Young People, 21 March 2017). Entrusting all the youth and their families to the maternal intercession of Our Lady, Pope Francis gladly imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and joy in the Lord.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis focused his Angelus reflection on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which is celebrated each year on 6 August. “The event of the Transfiguration of the Lord,” he said, “offers us a message of hope: it invites us to encounter Jesus, to be at the service of our brothers.”
The disciples’ journey to Mount Tabor, he continued, helps us “to reflect on the importance of detaching ourselves from worldly things, in order to complete our journey to the heights and to contemplate Jesus.” This involves conforming ourselves to Christ’s attitude of “attentive listening and prayer,” which allows us to welcome the Word of God into our lives. Summer time, the Pope said, can be a providential moment to grow in our commitment to seek after and encounter the Lord. “In this period, students are free from their scholastic commitments, and many families take their vacations; it is important that in the period of rest and of detachment from daily occupations, the strength of the body and of the spirit can be restored, deepening the spiritual journey.”
These spiritual heights, though, are not an end in themselves. Following the experience of the Transfiguration, the disciples came down from the mountain with “eyes and hearts transfigured by the experience of the Lord.” Pope Francis said that we too can “come down from the mountain, recharged by the power of the divine Spirit, to decide on new steps of authentic conversion, and to constantly bear witness to charity as the law of daily life.” This transfiguration will allow us to be “sign of the life-giving love of God” for all, especially those who suffer.
In the Transfiguration, the Pope said, we hear the voice of the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!” Pope Francis encouraged us to look to Mary, “the Virgin of Listening,” and pray that she might help us “to enter into symphony with the Word of God, that Christ might become the light and the guide of our lives.” He concluded his reflection by entrusting everyone’s vacations to God, and by praying for all those who are unable to take vacations, that summer may be for them, too, a time of relaxation, “gladdened by the presence of friends and joyful moments.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Following the death of Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi , Pope Francis has sent a telegram of condolence to A rchbishop Mario Delpini , Archbishop-elect of Milan.
“I think with affection and remember with gratitude the intense cultural and pastoral work accomplished by this praiseworthy brother, who in his fruitful life has borne witness with joy to the Gospel, and docilely served the Church,” the Pope said. He remembered Cardinal Tettamanzi’s service “first as a priest of the Archdiocese of Milan, then as Bishop of Ancona-Osimo, secretary of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, and Archbishop of Genoa, later as Archbishop of the beloved Ambrosian Church, and finally as Apostolic Administrator of Vigevano.”
Cardinal Tettamanzi, Pope Francis said, “always distinguished himself as a caring pastor, totally dedicated to the needs and well-being” of his priests and people. In particular, he noted the Cardinal’s expertise in the fields of family , marriage , and bioethics .
Concluding the telegram, Pope Francis prayed “that, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” the Lord “might welcome this His faithful servant, whom I loved so much, into joy and eternal peace.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi passed away on Saturday at the age of 83 after a long illness.
He served as Archbishop of Milan, Italy from 2002 until 2011.
Born in the northern Italian town of Renate on 14 March 1934, he entered the Seminary of Venegono Inferiore and received priestly ordination for the Archdiocese of Milan in 1957.
He earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Pope St. John Paul II named him Cardinal on 21 February 1998.
After serving as the Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo and then of Genova, he was appointed Archbishop of Milan in 2002.
With Cardinal Tettamanzi’s death, the College of Cardinals stands at 121 Cardinal-electors and 102 non-electors.
(from Vatican Radio)…