Pope Francis

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/18/archbishop_luigi_bonazzi_apostolic_nuncio_to_canada/en1-756756

2013-12-18 15:58:11
Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi Apostolic Nuncio to Canada



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday appointed Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi as Apostolic Nuncio to Canada.

Monsignor Bonazzi is the Titular Archbishop of Atella in Southern Italy, and previously served as Apostolic Nuncio in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/18/pope_appoints_two_new_bishops_in_the_united_states/en1-756769

2013-12-18 16:17:07
Pope appoints two new bishops in the United States

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday appointed two new American bishops to the dioceses of Portland and Marquette in the United States.
Bishop Robert Deeley was appointed as Bishop of Portland which includes all of the state of Maine and part of the province of Boston. The son of Irish immigrants, he studied at the Catholic University of America and at the Pontifical Gregorian University here in Rome before being ordained to the priesthood in 1973. He has worked in the Archdiocese of Boston and was appointed auxiliary bishop there in November 2012.

Reverend John Doerfler from the diocese of Green Bay has named Bishop of Marquette in the north-east of the United States. 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/19/pope_francis:_humility_necessary_for_fruitfulness/en1-757019

2013-12-19 12:50:40
Pope Francis: Humility necessary for fruitfulness

“Humility is necessary for fruitfulness,” Pope Francis said at Mass this morning in the Casa Santa Marta. The Holy Father said that the intervention of God overcomes the sterility of our life and makes it fruitful. Then he put us on guard against the attitude of pride that makes us sterile.

Often in the Bible we find women who are sterile, to whom the Lord gives the gift of life. That was the starting point of Pope Francis’ homily on the day’s readings, particularly the Gospel, which tells the story of Elizabeth, who was sterile but who had a son – John. “From the impossibility of giving life,” the Pope said, “comes life.” And this, he continued, happened not only for sterile women but to those “who had no hope of life,” such as Naomi who eventually had a grandson:

“The Lord intervened in the life of this woman to tell us: ‘I am capable of giving life.’ In the Prophets too there is the image of the desert, the desert land that cannot grow a tree, a fruit, to bring forth anything. ‘But the desert will be like a forest,’ the Prophets say, “it will be huge, it will flower.” But can the desert flower? Yes. Can the sterile woman give life? Yes. The promise of the Lord: ‘I can!’ From dryness, from your dryness I can make life, salvation grow. From aridity I can make fruit grow!”

And that salvation, Pope Francis said, is this: “The intervention of God who makes us fruitful, who gives us the capacity to give life.” He warned that we cannot do it by ourselves. And yet, the Pope said, many people have tried to imagine that we are capable of saving ourselves:
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-sends-christmas-greetings-to-pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi

Pope Francis Sends Christmas Greetings to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Vatican City,  December 19, 2013 

Pope Francis has sent holiday greetings to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in a telephone call.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, confirmed the telephone conversation between the Pope and his predecessor yesterday.

“In a brief conversation, [Pope Francis] greeted and wished a Happy Christmas to his predecessor,” the director of the Holy See Press Office confirmed. Fr. Lombardi said the conversation took place on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, Prefect of the Papal household and personal secretary to Benedict XVI, confirmed that the Pope Emeritus will spend the Christmas season with his brother.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/20/pope:_silence_guards_ones_relationship_with_god/en1-757349

2013-12-20 12:55:01
Pope: silence guards one's relationship with God

(Vatican Radio) Only silence guards the mystery of the journey that a person walks with God, said Pope Francis in his homily at Mass on Friday morning at the Casa Santa Marta. May the Lord, the Pope added, give us “the grace to love the silence”, which needs to be guarded from all publicity.

In the history of salvation, neither in the clamour nor in the blatant, but the shadows and the silence are the places in which God chose to reveal himself to humankind.

The imperceptible reality from which his mystery, from time to time, took visible form, took flesh. The Pope’s reflections were inspired by the Annunciation, which was today’s Gospel reading, in particular the passage in which the angel tells Mary that the power of the Most High would “overshadow” her. The shadow, which has almost the same quality as the cloud, with which God protected the Jews in the desert, the Pope said.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/20/pope_francis_meets_children_of_catholic_action/en1-757299

2013-12-20 12:47:19
Pope Francis meets children of Catholic Action

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with the children members of Italy’s Catholic Action, probably the most widespread Catholic lay organization in the country.

The Holy Father met with the young people to exchange Christmas greetings. He called the youth branch of Catholic Action a “beautiful reality”, and encouraged them to always be the “living stones of the Church, united with Jesus.”

He told them Christmas is the celebration of God, who comes among us, and saves us.

“The birth of Jesus is not a fable,” said the Pope. “It is true history, which happened in Bethlehem two thousand years ago . Faith makes us recognize that Child , born of the Virgin Mary, as the true Son of God, who for our sake became man.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/20/pope_thanks_italian_diplomats_for_cooperation,_assistance/en1-757295

2013-12-20 11:46:44
Pope thanks Italian diplomats for cooperation, assistance

(Vatican Radio) Diplomacy is an important service that can “favor the culture of encounter.” That was the message Pope Francis had on Friday for Italian diplomats. Greeting a group of Italian diplomats and protocol officers in the Clementine Hall in the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis thanked them for “all the help” they give to his ministry with their work – especially the behind the scenes work that “is not noticed but that is so precious.” The Pope expressed particular gratitude for their assistance in helping to organize the inaugural mass for his papacy on March 19th. “It is difficult to comprehend all the diplomatic activity that went on behind that great encounter,” he said.

He also expressed satisfaction with their “collaboration with the Secretariat of State and with the Prefecture of the Papal Household and the ethical and spiritual dimension” that they succeed in cultivating in their work.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/20/pope_francis:_wasted_food_could_feed_all_of_worlds_hungry/en1-757282



Pope Francis: Wasted food could feed all of world's hungry 


(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a message to world’s “cartoneros” and “recicladores” (literally, “cardboard people” and “recyclers”- the poor people who collect and pick through the trash in many cities around the globe).

He filmed the message on December 5, when meeting with leaders of the Argentina-based “Movimiento de Trabajadores Excluidos” (Excluded Workers Movement), and was released earlier this week at the meeting of the “Federación de Cartoneros y Recicladores”.

In his message, the Pope urged the workers to raise awareness of food waste.


Text from page http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/20/pope_francis:_wasted_food_could_feed_all_of_worlds_hungry/en1-757282
of the Vatican Radio website

[grace-land]

   ^^^Good article...thanks!

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/21/pope_francis_visits_pediatric_hospital/en1-757773

2013-12-21 17:41:52
Pope Francis visits pediatric hospital

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis made a visit to the Bambin Gesù pediatric hospital on Saturday afternoon, touring the facility and visiting with the young patients of the care centre and with their families, as well as with medical professionals, other staff and administrators. He was welcomed in the courtyard of the facility by as many as four thousand well-wishers. During the course of the visit, Pope Francis received the Christmas wishes of the young patients, promising prayers for their healing and offering words of encouragement. "Dear children," said Pope Francis, "I thank you for [sharing] your dreams and your prayers [with me]," which the youngsters had written on paper and collected in a basket that they then gave him. "Thank you very much," he said, adding, "we present them together to Jesus: He knows them better than anyone - He knows what is in our heart of hearts. Especially with you children, Jesus has a special bond: He is always close to you."

Founded in 1869, the Bambin Gesù hospital has developed a high level of expertise in treating children coming not only from Rome or Italy, but also from neighbouring European countries. Pope Francis’ visit continues a tradition that began in 1958, when Bl. John XXIII visited the hospital for the first time: Paul VI visited the hospital in January 1968; Bl. John Paul II continued the tradition in January of 1979; Benedict XVI visited the hospital in September of 2005.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/21/pope_extends_christmas_greetings_to_curia/en1-757655

2013-12-21 11:29:51
Pope extends Christmas greetings to Curia

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis issued his Christmas greetings to the Roman Curia on Saturday. In his message, the Pope expressed the three hallmarks of a Curial official: professionalism, service and holiness of life. He urged the Curia to be "conscientious objectors to gossip" and expressed his gratitude for the dedicated service of the retiring members of the Curia.

Read his full message below:

Your Eminences,
Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Once again the Lord has enabled us to journey through Advent, and all too quickly we have come to these final days before Christmas. They are days marked by a unique spiritual climate made up of emotions, memories and signs, both liturgical and otherwise, such as the crèche. It is in this climate that this traditional meeting takes place with you, the superiors and officials of the Roman Curia, who cooperate daily in the service of the Church. I greet all of you with affection. Allow me to extend a special greeting to Archbishop Pietro Parolin, who recently began his service as Secretary of State, and who needs our prayers!

While our hearts are full of gratitude to God, who so loved us that he gave us his only-begotten Son, it is also good to make room for gratitude to one another. In this, my first Christmas as the Bishop of Rome, I also feel the need to offer sincere thanks to all of you as a community of service, and to each of you individually. I thank you for the work which you do each day: for the care, diligence and creativity which you display; and for your effort – I know it is not always easy – to work together in the office, both to listen to and to challenge one another, and to bring out the best in all your different personalities and gifts, in a spirit of mutual respect.
 

[seahorse]

  ^^^Good article...thanks!

Hi Graceland

Thank-you for your responses  

The Pope also warned about Gossip 

Pope Francis should warn people about gambling their food bills away on lottery tickets, casinos, etc.

The Pope should just say "save your money for a rainy day" and stop throwing your life away on credit cards. 

This is a good Pope for good messages, makes us think.

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/22/pope_francis_at_angelus:_appeal_for_homeless_families/en1-757900

2013-12-22 12:34:56
Pope Francis at Angelus: appeal for homeless families



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis launched an appeal for homeless families, after praying the Angelus with faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square this Sunday – the fourth Sunday of Advent. Prompted by a banner in St Peter’s Square that read, “The Poor Cannot Wait!” Pope Francis spoke of the great difficulties that families without fixed dwelling face – not unlike the Holy Family, to whom the Lord Jesus was born in a barn, and that experienced forced flight from their native land into Egypt. “Family and home go together,” said Pope Francis. He went on to say, “I call on everyone: individuals, organs of society, authorities, to do everything possible to assure that every family has a place to live.” Listen: RealAudioMP3

Ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father shared a brief reflection on the day’s Gospel reading, which is taken from the first chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew and tells of the events that preceded the birth of Jesus from the point of view of St. Joseph, the betrothed of the Virgin Mary.

Pope Francis said that the account gives us the essentials of a true interior drama, “This Gospel,” said Pope Francis, in which Joseph learns of Mary’s unexpected pregnancy and decides to divorce her quietly, before giving himself over entirely to God’s providential goodness, “shows us St. Joseph’s greatness of soul.” Pope Francis went on to say, “[St] Joseph was a man who always listened to the voice of God, was deeply sensitive to his secret will - a man attentive to the messages that came from the heart and from above.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/12/23/pope_francis:_daily_mass_at_casa_santa_marta/en1-758096

2013-12-23 13:14:05
Pope Francis: daily Mass at Casa Santa Marta

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Monday morning in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. He focused his remarks after the readings of the day on the coming feast of the Nativity, and the threefold coming of Christ into history, at the end of time, and into our daily lives. Drawing on the lesson of St. Bernard, Pope Francis spoke of a “Third coming” of Christ – that which occurs every day in the life of the Church and of Christian faithful:

“There is a third coming of the Lord: that of every day. The Lord visits His Church every day! He visits each of us, and so our souls as well [experience something similar] : our soul resembles the Church , our soul resembles Mary. The desert fathers say that Mary, the Church and our souls are feminine, and that what is said about one can be said analogously of the others. Our soul is also in waiting, this waiting for the coming of the Lord – an open soul that calls out, ‘Come, Lord.’”

Pope Francis went on to say that the Holy Spirit moves each of us in these days to make this prayer his own, and recalled how all throughout the Advent season the Church has described herself as being in vigilant expectation – the attitude that is the hallmark of the pilgrim. “We are pilgrims,” he said:
 

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/pope-francis-christmas-visit-benedict

Pope Francis pays Christmas visit to Benedict XVI
Monday 23 December 2013 13.37 EST


Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, right, talks with Pope Francis as they exchange Christmas greetings. Photograph: AP

Pope Francis has visited his predecessor, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, to exchange Christmas greetings.

Photos released by the Vatican newspaper show the two men, dressed in identical white robes apart from the cape worn by Francis, talking in a sitting room inside Benedict's retirement home during the visit on Monday. They also prayed together in the adjoining chapel.

Benedict was looking well, using a cane for support while they stood in prayer.
 
Since Benedict's retirement in February, the two men have met only once publicly, for an official Vatican ceremony in July. They also have met privately and have spoken occasionally by telephone.

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http://www.independent.ie/world-news/pope-francis-visits-benedict-for-festive-prayers-29862955.html

Pope Francis visits Benedict for festive prayers
24 December 2013


Pope Francis being greeted by his predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Photo: EPA/L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO

Pope Francis made a Christmas visit to Pope Emeritus Benedict yesterday and said he found his 86-year-old predecessor looking well, according to television footage released by the Vatican.

Pope Francis, who was elected in March, spent about 30 minutes with Benedict in an ex-convent on the Vatican grounds where the former pope has been living in near isolation.

"It's a pleasure to see you looking so well," Francis told Benedict, who in February became the first pope in 600 years to step down.
 
When Pope Francis left Benedict, he said, "Merry Christmas, pray for me". Benedict responded, "Always, always, always".

Benedict resigned on February 28.

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http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=20047

On Christmas, Pope Francis celebrates anniversary of his Baptism
December 23, 2013

On Christmas Day, Pope Francis will be celebrating the anniversary of his baptism, Vatican Insider points out.
 
Coincidentally his predecessor, Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, was also baptized on a great feast day. Born on April 16, 1927, Joseph Ratzinger was baptized that same evening at the Easter Vigil.

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http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/111322-vatican-unveils-nativity-scene-on-pope-s-first-christmas

Vatican Unveils Nativity Scene on Pope's First Christmas
1 hour ago



Pope Francis on Tuesday prepared to celebrate his first Christmas as pontiff with a mass in St Peter's Basilica as a giant traditional Nativity scene named in his honor was unveiled on St Peter's Square.

The Nativity scene made by Naples artisan Antonio Cantone this year is entitled "Francis 1223 -- Francis 2013" -- a reference to St Francis of Assisi, who inspired the pope's choice of name when he was elected.

The saint is commonly credited with being behind the first representation of the Nativity, staged with live actors as is still done in many parts of the world.

Cantone told Agence France Presse ahead of the ceremony that he had wanted to build a Nativity to reflect the pope's humble style, giving more prominence to ordinary people dressed in simple clothes in the traditional scene of the birth of Jesus.

"I have based the scene on the message of Pope Francis," Cantone said in an interview in his workshop in the bustling center of Naples earlier this month.

"The first to arrive when Jesus was born were ordinary people, that is the core of the message I wanted."

Elaborate Nativity scenes became popular in Naples churches in the 18th century to make religious teachings more widely understandable by including snapshots of daily life that people could relate to.
 

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http://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

Official opening of the nativity Crèche in St. Peter's Square
26 minutes ago

(en) In the afternoon of Christmas Eve the Holy Father attends the official opening of the Nativity Crèche in St. Peter's Square, offered this Year by the Diocese on Naples
(it) Inaugurazione del Presepe in piazza san Pietro

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http://www.ibtimes.com/pope-francis-christmas-live-stream-where-watch-midnight-mass-urbi-et-orbi-blessing-vatican-video

Pope Francis Christmas Live Stream: Where To Watch Midnight Mass And ‘Urbi et Orbi’ Blessing From The Vatican [VIDEO]
on December 24 2013 10:28 AM

 
At 9:30 p.m. CET (3:30 p.m. EST, 2:30 p.m. CST, 12:30 p.m. PST) Pope Francis will host the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, where thousands of pilgrims are expected to attend. A live stream of the ceremony is available below:
 
On Christmas Day, Pope Francis will pronounce the traditional Christmas Day blessing and address “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world). In the past, popes have used this time to make general comments about the world concerns, including the conflict in Syria. But Pope Francis may also reference global poverty, youth unemployment and care for the elderly -- issues he has demonstrated concern for in the past.

The address will begin at 12 p.m. CET (6:00 a.m. EST). A live stream of the event is available below: