Pope Francis

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Video, with English commentary, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-general-audience-catechesis-galatians-mosaic-law.html
Pope at Audience: Mosaic Law fulfilled in radical newness of Christ
11 August 2021, 09:21

Pope Francis continues his catechesis on the Letter to the Galatians at the Wednesday General Audience, saying St. Paul urges Christians to look beyond the Mosaic Law to its fulfillment in Christ.
By Devin Watkins

“Why the law?” Pope Francis chose to focus his catechesis at the weekly General Audience on that question from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (3:19.21-22).

The Pope said the aim of his reflections would be to “recognize the newness of the Christian life enlivened by the Holy Spirit.”

Writing to the Galatians, St. Paul was seeking to refute his detractors’ argument that Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians had to follow all the precepts of the Mosaic Law, something the Apostles had already decided against at the “first council” of Jerusalem (Acts 15:28-29).
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-laments-murder-french-father-olivier-maire.html
Pope Francis mourns murdered French priest
11 August 2021, 10:17

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2021/documents/papa-francesco_20210811_udienza-generale.html
POPE FRANCIS
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 11 August 2021

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Video at the link

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248651/pope-francis-speaks-on-phone-at-end-of-general-audience
Pope Francis speaks on phone at end of general audience
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Aug 11, 2021 / 04:15 am

In an unusual occurrence, Pope Francis made an unknown phone call at the end of his weekly general audience on Wednesday.

A livestream video of the Aug. 11 audience in the Vatican’s Pope Paul VI Hall showed the pope giving his apostolic blessing, then being approached by one of his assistants. The two could be seen speaking together for a moment before Pope Francis was handed a cellphone which he put to his ear.

According to people present in the hall, the pope spoke on the phone for around two minutes, then gestured to the crowd that he would return soon and left the room. He came back shortly afterward to greet the people gathered to see him.
 
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/08/heaven-can-wait-maybe-but-not-a-phone-call-for-the-pope/
Heaven can wait, maybe, but not a phone call for the pope
Associated Press  Aug 11, 2021

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248657/pope-francis-meets-actor-who-plays-jesus-in-the-chosen

Pope Francis meets actor who plays Jesus in ‘The Chosen’
By Courtney Mares
Rome Newsroom, Aug 11, 2021 / 13:01 pm

The actor who plays Jesus in the internet series “The Chosen” met Pope Francis on Wednesday, fulfilling a lifelong dream as he visits Rome this week to view pilgrimage sites related to the Gospels.

Jonathan Roumie, a Catholic who since 2019 has brought Christ to the screen for the evangelical Christian-produced series, told CNA that meeting the pope was “a childhood dream realized.”

“From the time I was a kid, I always wanted to meet the pope and go to World Youth Day, and I never knew how to do that. My parents were immigrants, so that wasn’t something that they knew about,” Roumie said after meeting the pope on Aug. 11.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-letter-italian-writer-maggiani-slave-labor.html

Pope Francis: Literature and art must not exploit slave labour
12 August 2021, 12:11

Pope Francis responds to an open letter from Italian writer Maurizio Maggiani, and urges all authors to ensure their books are not printed using exploitative or slave labour.
By Devin Watkins

Maurizio Maggiani, an Italian author who writes romance novels, recently discovered that his books are printed by exploiting people in slave-like conditions in Pakistan.

The Ligurian writer then wrote an open letter to Pope Francis—published on the online news site Il Secolo XIX—asking: “Is it worth producing beauty thanks to the work of slaves?”

The Pope took up the invitation and wrote a letter of his own, which was published on Friday on the same website.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-twitter-un-international-youth-day-equitable-world.html

Pope expresses hope in young people on UN International Youth Day
12 August 2021, 14:59

Pope Francis posted a tweet for Thursday’s UN international Youth Day, saying young people can help the dream of a more just world come true.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis has great faith in young people, whose youthful spirit, he says, can bring about a more just and equitable world, especially for the poor and needy. The Holy Father expressed his feelings in a tweet on Thursday, on the occasion of the United Nations International Youth Day.

“With the help of young people and their innovative spirit, we can make the dream come true of a world where bread, water, medicine and work flow abundantly and reach those most in need first,” the Pope said in a post on his Twitter account.
 
Catholic Church’s World Youth Day

The Catholic Church also has its own World Youth Day (WYD), which is celebrated every year on Palm Sunday at the diocesan and local levels across the world. It was the initiative of Saint Pope John Paul II, who had invited the faithful to Rome to celebrate the Holy Year of the Redemption in 1983/84, marking the 1,950th anniversary of the death of Christ.

In 1984, more than 300,000 young people from all over the world took up the Pope’s invitation and came to Rome for an International Jubilee of Youth on Palm Sunday in St. Peter’s Square.

The following year, 1985, had been proclaimed by the UN as the “International Year of Youth”, and organizers in the Vatican called for another such youth rally for the occasion. More than 250,000 young people responded to the Pope’s invitation and came to Rome on Palm Sunday that year. Later, the Pope announced the institution of World Youth Day on December 20, 1985, and the first official WYD was held in 1986. 

Besides being observed locally each year on Palm Sunday, WYD is also celebrated internationally every 3 years or so at a venue chosen by the Pope, where young people from around the world come together around the Holy Father. The last such international gathering was held in Panama City, Panama, in January 2019. The Portuguese capital, Lisbon, is hosting the next WYD, scheduled for August 2023.

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https://cruxnow.com/interviews/2021/08/new-official-at-vaticans-latin-america-office-warns-against-clericalism/

New official at Vatican’s Latin America office warns against clericalism
Inés San Martín   Aug 11, 2021

ROME – If at any point beginning October you find yourself strolling around Vatican offices and you hear Pink Floyd, Genesis and some Spanish-speaking rock band, odds are, you found the office of Rodrigo Guerra López, recently appointed by Pope Francis to a key role in the Vatican.

Guerra López will soon take up his role as the Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and could potentially help shape the continental Church for years to come.

Crux spoke with Guerra López at length, discussing what Latin America can offer to the global Church, the role of the laity, the synodality experienced in the mystery of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and his fears of becoming “clericalized” by the machinery that is the central government of the Catholic Church.

What follows is the second part of his interview with Crux. The first one can be found here.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-video-message-latin-american-religious-clar.html

Pope urges Latin American religious to be joyful witnesses
13 August 2021, 16:00

Pope Francis sends a video message to a conference reuniting religious men and women in Latin America and the Caribbean, inviting them to root the Gospel in their local cultures and to be joyful.
By Devin Watkins

Consecrated men and women across Latin America and the Caribbean kicked off an online Congress on religious life on Friday, which runs through the weekend.

Organized by the Latin American Confederation of Religious, the 3-day event is focused on the theme of journeying “Toward an Inter-congregational, Inter-cultural, and Itinerant Religious Life.”
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248689/pope-francis-nostalgia-is-the-siren-song-of-religious-life
Pope Francis: Nostalgia is the 'siren song of religious life'
By Courtney Mares
Rome Newsroom, Aug 14, 2021 / 10:00 am

Pope Francis' video message to the conference at the link below--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_vmQZ9Q9r8
Videomensaje del Papa Francisco a los participantes en el Congreso de la CLAR
Aug 13, 2021

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2021-08/archbishop-hoser-apostolic-visitor-to-medjugorje-dies-at-78.html

Archbishop Hoser, Apostolic Visitor to Medjugorje, dies at 78
14 August 2021, 12:21

Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser was 78 years old. Pope Francis had sent him to Medjugorje, the small town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to accompany the parish community and visiting pilgrims, without entering into questions regarding the Marian apparitions there. Archbishop Hoser said that in Medjugorje, many people come to encounter Jesus through Mary.
By Vatican News

Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser died on Friday, August 13, at the Hospital of the Ministry of Interior in Warsaw, Poland. He was 78 years old. The Polish Bishops' Conference made the announcement. Since 2018, he had served as Apostolic Visitor to the parish of Medjugorje.

In Medjugorje with a pastoral mission

Pope Francis entrusted him with the task of accompanying, in a "stable and continuous" way, the parish community of this small town in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the many faithful who go there on pilgrimage and "whose needs require special attention" the Vatican noted. The director of the Holy See Press Office had underlined that this was a sign of the Pope's care for the pilgrims. Archbishop Hoser was sent to Medjugorje with a strictly pastoral task, without entering into questions regarding the purported Marian apparitions.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248687/archbishop-henryk-hoser-papal-envoy-to-medjugorje-has-died
Archbishop Henryk Hoser, papal envoy to Medjugorje, has died
By Courtney Mares
Rome Newsroom, Aug 14, 2021 / 06:00 am

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Video, with English commentary, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-mary-reminds-us-that-god-calls-us-to-a-glorious-destiny.html
Pope: Mary reminds us God calls us to glory through humility
15 August 2021, 12:20

On this Sunday marking the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, Pope Francis says Mary reminds us that the secret to the journey from our earthly to heavenly life is contained in the word "humility". He says Mary's Assumption shows us that God calls you too to this glorious destiny.
By Vatican News staff writer

Addressing the faithful gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the Sunday Angelus on the August 15th Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, Pope Francis offered his opening reflections on the importance of this Feast, saying "Mary’s secret is humility." God looks at the heart, he said, and Mary's humility drew God's gaze to her. He observed that often times the human eye is instead overtaken with appearances and grandeur, while overlooking the essential importance of humility.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-prays-for-peace-in-afghanistan-and-solidarity-with-haiti.html
Pope prays for peace in Afghanistan and appeals for solidarity with Haiti
15 August 2021, 13:07

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2021/documents/papa-francesco_angelus_20210815.html
hSOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
POPE FRANCIS
ANGELUS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 15 August 2021

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248693/cardinal-burke-suffering-with-covid-19-placed-on-ventilator

Cardinal Burke, suffering with COVID-19, placed on ventilator
By CNA Staff
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 14, 2021 / 22:00 pm

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke has been placed on a ventilator as he battles COVID-19, according to an update on his condition published on the cardinal's Twitter account Saturday evening.

The tweet reported: "Cardinal Burke has been admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 and is being assisted by a ventilator. Doctors are encouraged by his progress. His Eminence faithfully prayed the Rosary for those suffering from the virus. On this Vigil of the Assumption, let us now pray the Rosary for him."

A report Saturday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said the cardinal, who lives in Rome, became ill while visiting Wisconsin, where he was raised.
 

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https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-burke-in-critical-condition-with-covid-19/

Cardinal Burke in critical condition with COVID-19
Calls worldwide to pray for the recovery of the lion of Catholic orthodoxy
Peter Levinson
Tue Aug 17, 2021 - 8:47 am EDT

WASHINGTON D.C. (LifeSiteNews)  – Cardinal Raymond Burke has been placed on a ventilator after contracting COVID-19. The cardinal’s condition is rapidly deteriorating as he has developed severe pneumonia and is not responding to treatment. Calls to prayer have been issued.
 
Since then, LifeSiteNews has received regular updates from trusted sources including members of the Burke family. The cardinal’s condition is deteriorating rapidly and is now very serious. A number of Catholic organizations such as Catholic Action have issued prayer calls for him and Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan tweeted this morning:

“According to information I received, Cardinal Burke’s state of health is very serious. We pray insistently for the healing of Cardinal Burke.”
 

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Update:  Cardinal Burke

https://twitter.com/cardinalrlburke?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Cardinal Burke  @cardinalrlburke · 2h

Cardinal Burke remains in serious but stable condition. He is receiving excellent medical and sacramental care. Please pray for his recovery, particularly through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Joseph, St. Juan Diego, and St. Rocco.

https://guadalupeshrine.org/cardinalburkenews/
Cardinal Burke’s Health Update
August 17, 2021 | News, Press Releases

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (Jn 14:27)

The outpouring of love, prayers and support during His Eminence’s hospitalization has greatly consoled his family, edified those who serve him at the Shrine and elsewhere, and testified to the character and virtue of the man whom so many consider a spiritual father.  We deeply and abundantly appreciate this charity, and we give praise and thanks to our Heavenly Father, especially for the brilliant and faithful service of Cardinal Burke to the Church he loves so profoundly.

As of August 17th, His Eminence remains in serious, but stable condition.  His family, who with a team of doctors, is responsible for all medical decisions while the Cardinal remains sedated and on a medical ventilator, has great confidence in the care he is receiving.     The Cardinal has received the Sacraments from priests nearby to him.  There are several relics in his room.
 

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Video, with English commentary, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-are-we-under-the-law-or-do-we-live-as-children-of-god.html
Pope at Audience: Are we under the Law or do we live as children of God?
18 August 2021, 09:46

In his catechesis at the General Audience, Pope Francis says we should ask ourselves if we are still living “under the Law” or if we understand that, having become children of God, we are called to live in love.
By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis continued his explanation of St Paul’s Letter to the Galatians at Wednesday’s General Audience, focusing on St Paul’s understanding of the role of the Law for Christians.

St Paul, he said, "has taught us that the ‘children of the promise,’ - that is, all of us, justified by Jesus Christ - are no longer bound by the Law, but are called to the demanding life-style of the freedom of the Gospel.”
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248717/pope-francis-what-justifies-us-is-jesus-christ
Pope Francis: 'What justifies us is Jesus Christ'
By Courtney Mares
Vatican City, Aug 18, 2021 / 05:00 am

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2021/documents/papa-francesco_20210818_udienza-generale.html
POPE FRANCIS
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 18 August 2021

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Video, with English text, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-appeal-covid-19-vaccines-act-of-love.html
Pope Francis urges people to get vaccinated against Covid-19
18 August 2021, 06:30

Pope Francis launches a powerful appeal for people to get vaccinated with approved Covid-19 vaccines, calling it “an act of love.”
By Devin Watkins

The Pope has joined his voice to those of Bishops across North and South America to urge people to get jabbed against Covid-19.

In a video message produced in conjunction with the Ad Council, Pope Francis praised the work of researchers and scientists in producing safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines.

“Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from Covid-19,” he said in the video released on Wednesday.

He added that vaccines “bring hope to end the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we collaborate with one another.”
 
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/08/pope-appears-in-advertisement-promoting-covid-vaccinations/
Pope appears in advertisement promoting COVID vaccinations
By Inés San Martín
Aug 18, 2021

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248714/pope-francis-ad-council-collaborate-to-promote-covid-19-vaccines-in-the-americas
Pope Francis, Ad Council collaborate to promote COVID-19 vaccines in the Americas
By Autumn Jones
Rome, Italy, Aug 17, 2021 / 22:30 pm

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https://www.newsweek.com/pope-francis-vaccine-psa-initiated-chicago-priest-who-gave-last-rites-latino-victims-pandemic-1620596

Pope Francis Vaccine PSA Initiated By Chicago Priest Who Gave Last Rites to Latino Victims of Pandemic
BY ADRIAN CARRASQUILLO ON 8/18/21 AT 12:22 PM EDT

Anew groundbreaking PSA by Pope Francis released Wednesday urges everyone to get vaccinated, saying the vaccines bring hope to end the pandemic, but only if people work together to get the shot and make it available to all.

"Getting the vaccines that are authorized by the respective authorities is an act of love," Pope Francis says in the first Ad Council PSA to be distributed beyond the United States. "And helping the majority of people to do so is an act of love. Love for oneself, love for our families and friends."

But the story of how the Pope came to be part of a PSA that features Latin American and Caribbean archbishops and cardinals in an effort to reduce vaccine hesitancy among U.S. Latinos, many of whom still view the church as one of the community's most trusted messengers, had its beginnings in Chicago with Father Manuel Dorantes.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-message-42nd-rimini-friendship-meeting-italy.html

Pope: 'Personal responsibility key to improving post-pandemic world'
19 August 2021, 12:00

Pope Francis sends his well-wishes to participants in the Rimini Meeting for Friendship amongst Peoples, calling them to be courageous in seeking Christ-filled paths to start again after the pandemic.
By Devin Watkins

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin sent a message to 2021 Rimini Meeting on Thursday on behalf of Pope Francis.

The Pope extended his greetings to participants in the “Meeting for Friendship amongst Peoples” taking place in the Italian city of Rimini on 20-25 August.

He also expressed his joy that the meeting is once again being held in-person after last year’s Covid-related online hiatus.

Courage to say ‘I’

Pope Francis focused his message on the 42nd meeting’s theme: “The courage to say ‘I’”, a saying from Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

He said the saying is helpful as the world seeks “to start off again on the right foot, so as not to waste the opportunity provided by the crisis of the pandemic.”

Starting again, he added, requires everyone to have the courage to take risks, calling it an act of freedom.

“Despite imposing physical distancing, the pandemic has placed the person, the “I” of each person, back at the centre, in many cases provoking a reawakening of fundamental questions about the meaning of existence and the utility of living that had been dormant or, worse still, censored for too long."
 

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Press Release Update:  Cardinal Burke

https://twitter.com/cardinalrlburke?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Cardinal Burke@cardinalrlburke · 49m

Praised be Jesus Christ! Cardinal Burke’s family is pleased to announce that His Eminence has come off the ventilator and will leave the ICU today to return to his hospital room. https://guadalupeshrine.org/cardinalburkehealthnews2/

https://guadalupeshrine.org/cardinalburkehealthnews2/
His Eminence: Off Ventilator & Leaving ICU
August 21, 2021 | News, Press Releases

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Cardinal’s family is pleased to announce that His Eminence has come off the ventilator and will leave the ICU today to return to his hospital room. His sister spoke with him on the phone this morning, and His Eminence expressed his deep gratitude for the many prayers offered on his behalf. His family asks that we continue those prayers for his full and speedy recovery, and they are grateful to God for the exceptional medical care the Cardinal has received from the dedicated doctors and nurses who continue to assist him.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-message-waldesian-church-synod.html

Pope sends blessings to Waldesian church synod
21 August 2021, 14:55

Pope Francis sends a message to participants in the Waldesian church synod, and encourages Catholics and Waldesians to pursue the ecumenical path of full communion in Christ.
By Devin Watkins

Representatives of the Waldesian Church are holding their annual Synod in the northern Italian town of Torre Pellice on 22-25 August.

The pastors and heads of local churches will meet to discuss relations with the Italian state and ecumenical bodies, while examining issues about liturgical norms and administration, according to their website.

Improving relations
As the Synod prepared to meet, Pope Francis sent his “fraternal greetings” on Saturday, in a telegram signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

The Pope expressed his joy for the “reciprocal recognition which is improving relations between Waldesians and Catholics.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-message-korea-andrew-kim-first-priest-birth.html

Pope holds Korean saint as model of faith and evangelization
21 August 2021, 16:55

Pope Francis sent a message to Korean Catholics on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Korea’s first Catholic priest, on August 21.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis on Saturday held out the figure of Korea’s first Catholic priest, St. Andrew Kim Taegon, to Korean Catholics as an exemplary witness of heroic faith and a tireless apostle of evangelization in difficult times, marked by persecution and suffering.

The Pope made the remark in a message to the Korean Catholics living Rome on the occasion of the bicentenary of the birth of St Andrew Kim.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-appoints-cardinal-schonborn-envoy-ludmila-bohemia.html

Pope names Cardinal Schönborn envoy to St. Ludmila celebrations
21 August 2021, 12:13

Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Christoph Schönborn as his special envoy to the 1100th anniversary celebrations of the martyrdom of St. Ludmila of Bohemia.
By Vatican News staff reporter

The Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, OP, will be the Pope’s special envoy for the celebrations of the first Bohemian saint.

A host of commemorative event will take place throughout the Czech Republic, but the main celebration will be held on 18 September 2021 in the city of Tetin, near Prague, the site of the Saint’s martyrdom, 1,100 years ago.

St. Ludmila is remembered as the daughter of the Sorbian prince Slavibor and the grandmother of St. Wenceslaus, who is widely known as “Good King Wenceslaus”.