Pope Benedict XVI Attracts 3 Million Pilgrims in 2007

As evident by the above photo taken in recent months, Pope Benedict XVI is reviving many traditions. In July 2007, by the grace of God, Summorum Pontificum asserted that the Tridentine Mass was never abrogated, and the Holy Father allowed for all priests in the world to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. He continues to revive tradition, evident by his choice in miters, copes, and thrones such as at the Christmas 2007 Urbi et Orbi Address. Therefore, the news of millions of pilgrims journeying to see the Holy Father in 2007 does not surprise me.

Vatican City, Jan 8, 2008 / 10:22 am (CNA).- Recently released figures reveal that pilgrims continue to come to Rome in significant numbers under Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate.

Nearly 3 million people came to Rome in 2007 to hear the Pope speak at his weekly audiences and Sunday addresses. The number, slightly lower than 2006, compares favorably with the numbers of Vatican visitors who heard Pope John Paul II in person.

Some observers believe that the increase of visitors as compared to John Paul II is connected to the decrease in Pope Benedict’s world travels. Since people reason that they are less likely to see the Pope while he travels, they visit him at the Vatican.

Pope Benedict’s writings have also attracted attention. His book Jesus of Nazareth has sold two million copies, while his second encyclical Spe Salvi has sold 1.5 million copies in Italy alone.

''It seemed impossible to imagine a successor to John Paul II who could approach the media success that the 'great' Karol Wojtyla had, but the shy and discreet Ratzinger has done it,'' commented the Italian paper Corriere della Sera.

The Pope is expected to write two more encyclicals and the second volume of Jesus of Nazareth in 2008. He has scheduled two more trips within Italy and three trips abroad, including a visit to New York City and to World Youth Day events in Sydney.

Source: Catholic News Agency

Image Source: Copyright Holder Unknown, Found via Hallowedground

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Pope Benedict XVI in Brazil: Day Four

Today, May 12, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI continued his sixth apostolic voyage outside of Italy by visiting a center for drug rehabilitation and then praying the rosary at the famous Shrine of Aparecida. Pope Benedict XVI's first major event today was visiting Fazenda da Esperança (Farm of Hope) in Guaratinguetá, about 30 km from the town of Aparecida, which is a center for drug rehabilitation.

While at the center for drug rehabilitation, Pope Benedict XVI said, “I urge drug-dealers to reflect on the grave harm they are inflicting on countless young people and adults from every walk of life. God will call you to account for your deeds.” The Holy Father also said, “Christians are called to announce the Resurrection with force. Right here, in this ‘Fazenda da Esperança’, where people, especially young people, try to overcome drug and chemical addictions, we bear witness to the Gospel of Christ in a consumer-oriented society that is far from God. How different is the Creator’s perspective in that of His work!” More information about his visit can be read on AsiaNews.it.

Photos:

AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano

AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano

REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

REUTERS/Tony Gentile (BRAZIL)

After visiting the center, Pope Benedict XVI journeyed to the Basilica of Aparecida in Aparecida, Brazil where he prayed the Rosary with priests, religious, deacons, and seminarians. He addressed those present as well. The city of Aparecida is home to the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil, declared so by Pope Pius XI in 1929.

Photos:

AFP/Orlando Kissner

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Papal Photo of the Day

I had to share this heart-warming photo of Pope Benedict XVI in Brazil.

Source: REUTERS/Tony Gentile (BRAZIL)

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Pope Benedict XVI in Brazil: Day Three

Today, May 11, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the Mass for the Canonization for Antonio of Saint Anne, commonly called Frei Galvão. He is the first native-born Brazilian to be canonized. Pope Benedict XVI's address at the Canonization can be read on the Zenit News Agency.

Born to a deeply religious family in 1739, Frei Galvão became a Franciscan priest. On June 11, 1762, he was ordained a priest and after meeting with Sister Helena Maria of the Holy Spirit, they formed a new foundation on February 2, 1774, Our Lady of the Conception of Divine Providence. It was a home for girls who wished to live a religious life but without taking vows. St. Galvão served as a preacher, porter, and confessor to the local laity. St. Frei Galvão also was appointed guardian of Saint Francis Friary in Sao Paulo in 1798 and founded the Saint Clare friary in Sorocaba, Sao Paulo in 1811. In 1822, St. Galvão died. Over 5,000 miracles have been attributed to his intercession.

Photos:

AFP/Martin Bernetti

REUTERS/Sergio Moraes (BRAZIL)

AP Photo/Dado Galdieri

Photo/Dado Galdieri

AFP/Antonio Scorza

REUTERS/Tony Gentile (BRAZIL) REUTERS/Osservatore Romano (BRAZIL)
AFP/Martin Bernetti

In the photo below, some relics from St. Frei Galvão are brought to the altar. On this occassion, the Universal Church celebrates the canonization of St. Frei Galvão. It is now declared that he is in Heaven. Let us pray the Te Deum in thanskgiving!

REUTERS/Tony Gentile (BRAZIL)
Following the Mass of Canonization, Pope Benedict XVI addressed 400 Brazilian bishops who gathered in the Cathedral of São Paulo to pray vespers. A copy of his address is avaliable on the Zenit News Agency. In the address, Pope Benedict XVI stated that evangelising, teaching the Faith and Christian morality, seeking out Catholics who have fallen away from the Church, promoting pastoral initiatives in favour of the poor, and defending marriage are all tasks facing the bishops.

Photos:

AFP/Vincenzo Pinto
REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
AP Photo/Andre Penner

AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano

AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano

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Pope in Brazil: Day Two

Today, May 10, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI continued his visit to the country of Brazil. Tomorrow will be the first major event, though, of his journey - the canonization of Blessed Frei Galvao.

AFP/Mauricio Lima
Pope Benedict XVI began today with a private Mass at the Sao Bento monastery. Following the Mass, Pope Benedict XVI briefly met with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva at the presidential palace. According to the Guardian Unlimited: "Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, met Pope Benedict XVI today amid growing controversy over abortion. Presidential aides told reporters that the issue was not mentioned during their 30-minute meeting in Sao Paulo's Bandeirantes palace. Instead the two men focused on poverty reduction and biofuel production." At least the President voiced his opposition to the legalization of abortion in the country the previous day.

AP Photo/Andre Penner
I hope that the Holy Father does talk about abortion and ask the people of the country to condemn it. Let us pray for this! Ending the genocide against the unborn is far more important than discussing "biofuel production".

REUTERS/Osservatore Romano (BRAZIL)
Following the 30 minute meeting with the President of Brazil, Pope Benedict XVI met representatives of various religious groups from Brazil. I hope that true ecumenism was expressed at the meeting, which involves trying to convert other Christians to the one Truth - Catholicism. Real dialogue with other Christian denominations never involves compromising the truth in order to make a new creed. Rather, real dialogue involves seeking to bring non-Catholics to the truth of Catholicism. Remember: Extra ecclesiam nulla salus (there is no salvation outside of the Church).

REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker (BRAZIL)
Later in the evening, Pope Benedict XVI concluded his second day in Brazil with an appearance at a youth rally at the old soccer Stadium of Pacaembu in Sao Paulo. Below is a copy of his lengthy address. I have bolded various parts to add emphasis. Many photos are available on the blog of AmericanPapist.

Pacaembu
Meeting with the youth
Official translation

My dear young friends!

“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor…and come, follow me” (Mt 19:21).

1. I was particularly eager to include a meeting with you during this my first journey to Latin America. I have come to inaugurate the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America which, according to my wish, will take place at Aparecida, here in Brazil, at the Shrine of Our Lady. It is she who leads us to the feet of Jesus so that we can learn his teachings about the Kingdom, and it is she who stirs us up to be his missionaries so that the people of this “Continent of Hope” may have full life in him.

In their General Assembly last year, your Bishops here in Brazil reflected on the theme of the evangelization of youth and they placed a document into your hands. They asked you to receive that document and add your own reflections to it in the course of the year. At their most recent Assembly, the Bishops returned to the theme, enriched now by your collaboration, in the hope that the reflections and guidelines proposed therein would serve as a stimulus and a beacon for your journey. The words offered by the Archbishop of São Paulo and the Director of Pastoral Care for Young People, both of whom I thank, confirm the spirit that moves your hearts.

While flying over the land of Brazil yesterday evening, I was already anticipating our encounter here in the Stadium of Pacaembu, anxious to extend to all of you a warm Brazilian embrace and to share with you the sentiments which I carry in the depths of my heart, and which are very appropriately indicated to us in today’s Gospel.

I have always felt a very special joy at these encounters. I remember especially the Twentieth World Youth Day at which I was able to preside two years ago in Germany. Some of you gathered here today were also present! It is an emotional memory for me on account of the abundant fruits of the Lord’s grace poured out upon those who were there.

Among the many fruits which I could point to, there is little doubt that the first was the exemplary sense of fraternity that stood as a clear witness to the Church’s perennial vitality throughout the world.

2. For this reason, my dear friends, I am certain that today the same impressions I received in Germany will be renewed here. In 1991, during his visit to Mato Grosso, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, of venerable memory, said that “youth are the first protagonists of the third millennium … they are the ones who will be charged with the destiny of this new phase in human history” (16 October 1991). Today, I feel moved to make the same observation regarding all of you.

The Christian life you lead in numerous parishes and small ecclesial communities, in universities, colleges and schools, and most of all, in places of work both in the city and in the countryside, is undoubtedly pleasing to the Lord. But it is necessary to go even further. We can never say “enough”, because the love of God is infinite, and the Lord asks us—or better—requires us to open our hearts wider so that there will be room for even more love, goodness, and understanding for our brothers and sisters, and for the problems which concern not only the human community, but also the effective preservation and protection of the natural environment of which we are all a part. “Our forests have more life”: do not allow this flame of hope which your National Hymn places on your lips to die out. The devastation of the environment in the Amazon Basin and the threats against the human dignity of peoples living within that region call for greater commitment in the different areas of activity than society tends to recognize.

3. Today I would like to reflect on the text we have just heard from Saint Matthew (cf. 19:16-22). It speaks of a young man who ran to see Jesus. His impatience merits special attention. In this young man I see all of you young people of Brazil and Latin America. You have “run” here from various regions of this Continent for this meeting of ours. You want to listen to the words of Jesus himself — spoken through the voice of the Pope.

You have a crucial question — a question that appears in this Gospel — to put to him. It is the same question posed by the young man who ran to see Jesus: What good deed must I do, to have eternal life? I would like to take a deeper look at this question with you. It has to do with life. A life which—in all of you—is exuberant and beautiful. What are you to do with it? How can you live it to the full?

We see at once that in the very formulation of the question, the “here” and “now” are not enough; to put it another way, we cannot limit our life within the confines of space and time, however much we might try to broaden their horizons.

Life transcends them. In other words: we want to live, not die. We have a sense of something telling us that life is eternal and that we must apply ourselves to reach it. In short, it rests in our hands and is dependent, in a certain way, on our own decision.

The question in the Gospel does not regard only the future. It does not regard only a question about what will happen after death. On the contrary, it exists as a task in the present, in the “here” and “now”, which must guarantee authenticity and consequently the future. In short, the young man’s question raises the issue of life’s meaning. It can therefore be formulated in this way: what must I do so that my life has meaning? How must I live so as to reap the full fruits of life? Or again: what must I do so that my life is not wasted?

Jesus alone can give us the answer, because he alone can guarantee us eternal life. He alone, therefore, can show us the meaning of this present life and give it fullness.

4. But before giving his response, Jesus asks about a very important aspect of the young man’s enquiry: why do you ask me about what is good? In this question, we find the key to the answer. This young man perceives that Jesus is good and that he is a teacher — a teacher who does not deceive. We are here because we have the very same conviction: Jesus is good. It may be that we do not know how to explain fully the reason for this perception, but it undoubtedly draws us to him and opens us up to his teaching: he is a good teacher. To recognize the good means to love. And whoever loves—to use a felicitous expression of Saint John—knows God (cf. 1 Jn 4:7). The young man in the Gospel has perceived God in Jesús Christ.

Jesus assures us that God alone is good. To be open to goodness means to receive God. In this way, he invites us to see God in all things and in everything that happens, even where most people see only God’s absence. When we see the beauty of creation and recognize the goodness present there, it is impossible not to believe in God and to experience his saving and reassuring presence. If we came to see all the good that exists in the world—and moreover, experience the good that comes from God himself—we would never cease to approach him, praise him, and thank him. He continually fills us with joy and good things. His joy is our strength.

But we can only know in an imperfect, partial way. To understand what is good, we need help, which the Church offers us on many occasions, especially through catechesis. Jesus himself shows what is good for us by giving us the first element in his catechesis: “If you would enter life, keep the commandments” (Mt 19:17). He begins with the knowledge that the young man has surely already acquired from his family and from the synagogue: he knows the commandments. These lead to life, which means that they guarantee our authenticity. They are the great signs which lead us along the right path.

Whoever keeps the commandments is on the way that leads to God. It is not enough, however, simply to know them. Witness is even more important than knowledge; or rather, it is applied knowledge. The commandments are not imposed upon us from without; they do not diminish our freedom. On the contrary: they are strong internal incentives leading us to act in a certain way. At the heart of them we find both grace and nature, which do not allow us to stay still. We must walk. We are motivated to do something in order fulfil our potential. To find fulfilment through action is, in reality, to become real. To a large extent, from the time of our youth, we are whatever we want to be. We are, so to speak, the work of our own hands.

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Additional Photos:
REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker (BRAZIL)
REUTERS/Bruno Domingos (BRAZIL)
REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
AP Photo/Victor Caivano

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Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Brazil

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Pope Benedict XVI in Brazil: Day One

AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

On May 9, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Sao Paulo's airport for a welcoming ceremony. While there, he briefly met President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva of Brazil. Thankfully, that same day President Silva also voiced his opposition to the legalization of abortion in the country.

Below is a copy of his address at the airport's welcoming ceremony:

Mr President,
My Venerable Brothers in the College of Cardinals and in the Episcopate,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

1. I am very pleased to begin my Pastoral Visit to Brazil and to express to Your Excellency, as Head of State and Supreme Representative of the great Brazilian Nation, my gratitude for the warm welcome offered to me. I willingly extend my thanks also to the members of the Government accompanying you, as well as to the civil and military dignitaries present, and to the authorities of the State of São Paulo. In the words of welcome which you addressed to me, Mr President, I hear an echo of the sentiments of affection and love that all the Brazilian people bear towards the Successor of the Apostle Peter.

I offer my fraternal greetings in the Lord to my dear Brother Bishops who have come to receive me in the name of the Church in Brazil. I also greet the priests, religious men and women, the seminarians and the lay people dedicated to the Church’s task of evangelization and to authentic Christian living. Finally, I extend my warm greetings to all Brazilians without distinction, men and women, families, the old and the sick, young people and children. To all of you I say from my heart: thank you very much for your generous hospitality!

2. Brazil has a very special place in the Pope’s heart, not only because it was born Christian and has today the largest number of Catholics, but above all because it is a nation endowed with a rich potential and an ecclesial presence that gives joy and hope to the whole Church. My visit, Mr President, has a scope that goes beyond national borders: I have come to preside at the opening Session of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean at Aparecida. This country, in the providence and goodness of the Creator, will become the cradle of the ecclesial proposals that, with God’s help, will give renewed vigour and missionary impetus to this Continent.

3. In this geographical area, Catholics are in the majority. This means that they must make a particular contribution to the common good of the nation. The word solidarity will acquire its full meaning when the living forces of society, each in its own sphere, commit themselves seriously to building a future of peace and hope for all.

The Catholic Church, as I stated in the Encyclical letter Deus Caritas Est, “transformed by the Holy Spirit, is called to become a witness before the world of the love of the Father who wishes to make humanity a single family in his Son” (cf. no. 19). From here springs her deep commitment to the mission of evangelization at the service of the cause of peace and justice. Hence the decision to undertake an essentially missionary Conference reflects clearly the concern of the Bishops, as it does mine, to seek suitable ways by which in Jesus Christ “our peoples may have life”, as the theme of the Conference reminds us. With these sentiments I raise my eyes beyond the frontiers of this country, and I extend my greetings to all the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean in the words of the Apostle: “Peace to all of you who are in Christ” (1 Pet 5:14).

4. Mr President, I am grateful to Divine Providence for this grace of visiting Brazil, a Nation with a great Catholic tradition. I have had occasion to point out the principal motive of my visit, which is concerned with Latin America and has a fundamentally religious significance.

I am happy to be able to spend some days among the Brazilian people. I am well aware that the soul of this people, as of all Latin America, safeguards values that are radically Christian, which will never be eradicated. I am certain that at Aparecida, during the Bishops’ General Conference, this identity will be reinforced through the promotion of respect for life from the moment of conception until natural death as an integral requirement of human nature. It will also make the promotion of the human person the axis of solidarity, especially towards the poor and abandoned.

The Church seeks only to stress the moral values present in each situation and to form the conscience of the citizens so that they may make informed and free decisions. She will not fail to insist on the need to take action to ensure that the family, the basic cell of society, is strengthened, and likewise young people, whose formation is a decisive factor for the future of any nation. Last but not least, she will defend and promote the values present at every level of society, especially among indigenous peoples.

With these good wishes and with renewed gratitude for the warm reception that I have received as the Successor of Peter, I invoke the maternal protection of Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, remembered also as Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Patroness of all America, so that she may protect and inspire those who govern in their difficult task as promoters of the common good, and renew the bonds of Christian fellowship for the good of all the people. May God bless Latin America! God bless Brazil! Thank you!

© Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

AFP/Antonio Scorza
Pope Benedict XVI met the President of Brazil at the airport, and they will also briefly meet on May 10, 2007. Additional photos are available on the blog AmericanPapist.

AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano
Following the welcoming ceremony, Pope Benedict XVI journeyed to the Monastery of São Bento, where he will be spending the night. On the balcony he briefly addressed the Faithful gathered below.

Dear Friends,

Your affectionate welcome is heart-warming for the Pope! Thank you for waiting here to greet me.

These days, for all of you and for the Church, will be full of emotion and joy.

The Church is in festal mode! In every corner of the world people are praying for the fruits of this journey, the first Pastoral Journey to Brazil and to Latin America that Providence has granted me to carry out as the Successor of Peter.

The canonization of Frei Galvão and the inauguration of the Fifth Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean will be milestones in the history of the Church. I am counting on you and on your prayers!

Thank you.

© Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Upon Arrival Pope Benedict XVI prayed at a chapel in the Sao Bento Monastery in Sao Paulo. The photo is below.

AP Photo/Angela Barbour, Visita do Papa-HO

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Pope Benedict XVI Visits Brazil

AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano
Today, May 9, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI begins his trip to Brazil where he will preside at the Canonization of Blessed Frei Galvao on Friday, May 11, 2007. His appearance at the Latin American bishops' conference CELAM will also be a highlight of the trip. Let us pray for Brazil during his trip. Specifically, let us pray that the right to life will be protected there, and let us pray for the resurgence of Catholic Tradition in the highly protestanized country. Thankfully, today the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, also voiced his opposition to the legalization of abortion in the country. Deo Gratias!

Also in the news today, Pope would deny communion, not excommunicate Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.

Below is a schedule of Pope Benedict XVI's trip to Brazil from May 9, 2007 - May 14, 2007. I hope to post about the trip each day.

May 9:

• Morning: Depart from Rome's Fiumicino airport
• Mid-Afternoon (Local time): Arrive in Sao Paulo's airport for a welcoming ceremony (Video link)
• Travel by helicopter to the city of Sao Paulo
• Travel to the Sao Bento monastery, where he will spend the night

May 10:

• Private Mass
• Meet Brazil's President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva at the presidential palace
• Meet leaders of other Christian groups at the Sao Bento monastery
• Lunch with Brazilian Bishops
• Visit a soccer stadium for an evening meeting with Brazilian youth

May 11:

• Celebrate the Canonization Mass of Blessed Frei Galvao at Campo de Marte, an old airport outside Sao Paulo (Video)
• Afternoon: Address Brazilian bishops in the cathedral of Sao Paulo
• Evening: Travel by helicopter to Aparecida, where he will stay at the Bom Jesus seminary

May 12:

• Private Mass
• Visit the Fazenda da Esperanca, a facility for recovering drug addicts
• Return to the Bom Jesus seminary for lunch with the leadership of CELAM
• Afternoon: Pray the Rosary in the basilica of Aparecida, with priests, religious, and seminarians

May 13:

• Celebrate the Mass opening the 5th general meeting of CELAM (Controversy) (Address of Cardinal Hoyos to CELAM)
• Regina Caeli after Mass
• Lunch in the seminary
• Afternoon: Participate in the first sessions of the CELAM conference
• Evening: Take a helicopter back to Sao Paulo's international airport
• Night: Departure ceremony

May 14:

• Arrive at Rome's Ciampino airport shortly after midday

Other Links of Interest:

• Behind Brazil's Catholic Resurgence
• Brazil has lowest priest-to-laity Ratio
• Pope entrusts trip to Mary's protection

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Pope Benedict XVI Prays Before the Remains of St. Augustine

On April 22, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI visited the northern Italian city of Pavia, where he prayed before the remains of St. Augustine. Below is a copy of his homily.

PASTORAL VISIT TO VIGEVANO AND PAVIA (ITALY)
CELEBRATION OF VESPERS
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Basilica of St Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, Pavia
Third Sunday of Easter, 22 April 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

With this final event, my Visit to Pavia acquires the form of a pilgrimage. This is the form in which I had conceived of it from the outset, desiring to come here to venerate the mortal remains of St Augustine, to express both the homage of the whole Catholic Church to one of her greatest "fathers" and my personal devotion and gratitude to the one who played such an important part in my life as a theologian and a Pastor, but, I would say, even more as a man and a priest.

I renew with affection my greeting to Bishop Giovanni Giudici and I offer a special greeting to Fr Robert Francis Prevost, Prior General of the Augustinians, to the Father Provincial and to the entire Augustinian community. I greet you all with joy, dear priests, men and women religious, consecrated lay people and seminarians.

Providence has deigned that my journey acquire the character of a true and proper Pastoral Visit, and therefore, in this pause for prayer here at the tomb of the Doctor gratiae, I would like to identify a significant message for the Church's progress. This message comes to us from the encounter of the Word of God and the personal experience of the great Bishop of Hippo.

We have listened to the short biblical Reading for Second Vespers of the Third Sunday of Easter (Heb 10:12-14). The Letter to the Hebrews has set us before Christ, the eternal High Priest, exalted to the Father's glory after offering himself as the one perfect sacrifice of the New Covenant in which the work of Redemption was accomplished.

St Augustine fixed his gaze on this mystery and in it he found the Truth he was so ardently seeking. Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, the Sacrificed and Risen Lamb, is the Face of God-Love for every human being on his journey along the paths of time towards eternity.

The Apostle John writes in a passage that can be considered parallel to the one just proclaimed in the Letter to the Hebrews: "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (I Jn 4:10). Here is the heart of the Gospel, the central nucleus of Christianity. The light of this love opened Augustine's eyes and led him to encounter the "beauty so old and so new" (Confessions, X, 27) in which alone the human heart finds peace.

Dear brothers and sisters, here, in front of St Augustine's tomb, I would like in spirit to present anew to the Church and to the world my first Encyclical, which contains precisely this central message of the Gospel: Deus caritas est, God is love (cf. I Jn 4:8,16). This Encyclical, especially Part One, is deeply indebted to the thought of St Augustine, who was in love with the Love of God and sang of it, meditated upon it, preached it in all his writings and above all witnessed to it in his pastoral ministry.

Following in the wake of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and of my venerable Predecessors John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II, I am convinced that humanity today stands in need of this essential message, incarnate in Jesus Christ: God is love. Everything must start from here and everything must lead to here, every pastoral action, every theological treatise.

As St Paul said, "If I ... have not love I gain nothing" (cf. I Cor 13:3). All charisms lose their meaning and value without love, thanks to which instead, all compete to build the Mystical Body of Christ.

Here then is the message that still today St Augustine repeats to the whole Church and in particular, to this diocesan Community which preserves his relics with such veneration. Love is the soul of the Church's life and of her pastoral action. We heard it this morning in the dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter: "Do you love me?... Tend my sheep" (cf. Jn 21:5-17).

Only those who live a personal experience of the Lord's love are able to exercise the task of guiding and accompanying others on the way of following Christ. At the school of St Augustine, I repeat this truth for you as Bishop of Rome, while as a Christian I welcome it with you with ever new joy.

Serving Christ is first of all a question of love. Dear brothers and sisters, your membership in the Church and your apostolate always shine forth through freedom from any individual interest and through adherence without reserve to Christ's love.

The young, in particular, need to receive the proclamation of freedom and joy whose secret lies in Christ. He is the truest response to the expectations of their hearts, restless because of the many questions they bear within them.

Only in him, the Word spoken for us by the Father, is found that combination of truth and love which contains the full meaning of life. Augustine lived in the first person and explored to their depths the questions that man carries in his heart, and investigated his capacity to open himself to the infinity of God.

In Augustine's footsteps, may you also be a Church that candidly proclaims the "glad tidings" of Christ, his proposal of life, his message of reconciliation and forgiveness.

I have seen that your first pastoral goal is to lead people to Christian maturity. I appreciate this priority given to personal formation because the Church is not a mere organization of group events or, on the contrary, the sum of individuals who live a private religiosity. The Church is a community of people who believe in the God of Jesus Christ and commit themselves to live in the world the commandment of love that he bequeathed to us.

Thus, she is a community where one is taught to love, and this education happens not despite but through the events of life. This is how it was for Peter, for Augustine and for all the saints. So it is for us.

Personal maturation, enlivened by ecclesial charity, also makes it possible to grow in community discernment, that is, in the ability to read and interpret the present time in the light of the Gospel in order to respond to the Lord's call. I encourage you to progress in your personal and communal witness to active love.

The service of charity, which you correctly conceive of as always linked to the proclamation of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments, calls you and at the same time drives you to be attentive to the material and spiritual needs of your brothers and sisters.

I encourage you to pursue the "high standard" of Christian living which finds in charity the bond of perfection and which must also be expressed in a lifestyle inspired by the Gospel, inevitably against the tide by the world's standards but which must always be witnessed to with humility, respect and cordiality.

Dear brothers and sisters, it was a gift to me, truly a gift, to share with you this time at St Augustine's tomb. Your presence has given my pilgrimage a more concrete sense of Church. Let us start out from here bearing in our hearts the joy of being disciples of Love.

May the Virgin Mary, to whose motherly protection I entrust each one of you and your loved ones, accompany us always, while with deep affection I impart my Apostolic Blessing to you all.

* * *

As he left the Basilica, the Pope greeted the faithful of Pavia, including a large number of children who were waiting for him outside:

Dear Children,

In taking leave of this marvellous City of Pavia, it is a great joy for me to be able to see the children, boys and girls and young people. You are especially close to the Lord. His love is especially for you.

Let us move forward in love for the Lord! Pray for me, and I will pray for you. Good-bye!

© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Image Source: REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini (ITALY)

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Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass and leaves Turkey

Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated a very beautiful votive Mass for the Holy Spirit in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Turkey before leaving the country. The languages used at the Mass included Latin, Turkish, French, German, Syriac, Arabic and Spanish. Also, the ritual sequences represented the presence of various Eastern Rites.

According to Zenit, "The Armenians chanted the entrance song and the Sanctus; the Chaldeans chanted the responsorial Psalm and the offertory song, in Aramaic. And the Syrians chanted the Gospel in accordance with their own ritual usage." Before the Mass, the Holy Father released four doves, a symbol of peace.

At the airport, he said goodbye to the Turkish Catholic bishops, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II, and Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan Filuksinos Cetin.

Photos:

AP Photo/Patrick Hertzog, Pool

REUTERS/Osservatore Romano (TURKEY)

AFP/HO/Arturo Mari

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Pope Benedict XVI visits the Blue Mosque

Today Pope Benedict XVI also visited the Blue Mosque in Turkey becoming only the second Pope (following Pope John Paul ll) to enter a mosque. In the first photo below, Pope Benedict XVI offers a gift to Istanbul's Grand Mufti Mustafa Cagrici. I hope that this meeting will calm tensions with the Muslim community around the world. I long for the day when all peoples shall unite to praise the One True God in the Catholic Church.

According to the Catholic News Agency, Pope Benedict XVI told the Grand Mufti “this visit will help us together to find the ways, the paths to peace for the good of mankind.”

Photos:


REUTERS/Patrick Hertzog/Pool 

REUTERS/Osservatore Romano (TURKEY)

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Pope Benedict XVI visits Aya Sofya

Today Pope Benedict XVI visited the sixth century Byzantine monument St. Sofia (Aya Sofya), which was once a Church in the Byzantine Era that was converted to a mosque by the Ottman Empire. Today it is a museum in Istanbul, Turkey.

Photo of Pope Benedict XVI blessing a child as he visits the museum:


Tolga Adanali/Pool/Reuters

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Pope Benedict XVI joins in Divine Liturgy and Signs Declaration with Patriarch Bartholomew I

Today Pope Benedict XVI joined Patriarch Bartholomew I to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on the feastday of St. Andrew. This was the promise that brought the two leaders together. I am also extremely hopeful that the Orthodox Church will soon move to full Communion with Rome.

Following the Divine Liturgy, Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Bartholomew I signed a joint declaration, which should help move the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church closer to full Communion. While it didn't break new ecumenical ground, it did underline their dedication to further ecumenical work.

The Declaration:

“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
(Ps 117:24)

This fraternal encounter which brings us together, Pope Benedict XVI of Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, is God’s work, and in a certain sense his gift. We give thanks to the Author of all that is good, who allows us once again, in prayer and in dialogue, to express the joy we feel as brothers and to renew our commitment to move towards full communion. This commitment comes from the Lord’s will and from our responsibility as Pastors in the Church of Christ. May our meeting be a sign and an encouragement for all of us to share the same sentiments and the same attitudes of fraternity, cooperation and communion in charity and truth. The Holy Spirit will help us to prepare the great day of the re-establishment of full unity, whenever and however God wills it. Then we shall truly be able to rejoice and be glad.

1. We have recalled with thankfulness the meetings of our venerable predecessors, blessed by the Lord, who showed the world the urgent need for unity and traced sure paths for attaining it, through dialogue, prayer and the daily life of the Church. Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I went as pilgrims to Jerusalem, to the very place where Jesus Christ died and rose again for the salvation of the world, and they also met again, here in the Phanar and in Rome. They left us a common declaration which retains all its value; it emphasizes that true dialogue in charity must sustain and inspire all relations between individuals and between Churches, that it “must be rooted in a total fidelity to the one Lord Jesus Christ and in mutual respect for their own traditions” (Tomos Agapis, 195). Nor have we forgotten the reciprocal visits of His Holiness Pope John Paul II and His Holiness Dimitrios I. It was during the visit of Pope John Paul II, his first ecumenical visit, that the creation of the Mixed Commission between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church was announced. This Commission met with the aim of declaring and re-establishing full communion.

As far as relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople are concerned, we cannot fail to recall the solemn ecclesial act effacing the memory of the ancient anathemas which for centuries has had and still has a negative effect on relations between our Churches. We have not yet drawn from this act all the positive consequences which can flow from it in our progress towards full unity, to which the mixed Commission is called to make an important contribution. We exhort our faithful to take an active part in this process, through prayer and through significant gestures.

2. At the time of the plenary session of the mixed Commission for theological dialogue, which was recently held in Belgrade through the generous hospitality of the Serbian Orthodox Church, we expressed our profound joy at the resumption of the theological dialogue. This had been interrupted for several years because of various difficulties, but now the Commission has been able to work afresh in a spirit of friendship and cooperation. In treating the topic “Conciliarity and Authority in the Church” at local, regional and universal levels, the Commission undertook a phase of study on the ecclesiological and canonical consequence of the sacramental nature of the Church. This will permit us to address some of the principal questions that are still unresolved. We are committed to offer unceasing support, as in the past, to the work entrusted to this Commission and we accompany its members with our prayers.

3. As Pastors, we have first of all reflected on the mission to proclaim the Gospel in today’s world. This mission, “Go, make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19), is today more timely and necessary than ever, even in traditionally Christian countries. Moreover, we cannot ignore the increase of secularization, relativism, even nihilism, especially in the Western world. All this calls for a renewed and powerful proclamation of the Gospel, adapted to the cultures of our time. Our traditions represent for us a patrimony which must be continually shared, proposed, and interpreted anew. This is why we must strengthen our cooperation and our common witness before the world.

4. We have viewed positively the process that has led to the formation of the European Union. Those engaged in this great project should not fail to take into consideration all aspects affecting the inalienable rights of the human person, especially religious freedom, a witness and guarantor of respect for all other freedoms. In every step towards unification, minorities must be protected, with their cultural traditions and the distinguishing features of their religion. In Europe, while remaining open to other religions and to their cultural contributions, we must unite our efforts to preserve Christian roots, traditions and values, to ensure respect for history, and thus to contribute to the European culture of the future and to the quality of human relations at every level. In this context, how could we not evoke the very ancient witnesses and the illustrious Christian heritage of the land in which our meeting is taking place, beginning with what the Acts of the Apostles tells us in evoking the figure of Saint Paul, Apostle of the Gentiles? In this land, the Gospel message and the cultural tradition of the ancient world met. This link, which has contributed so much to the Christian heritage that we share, remains timely and will bear more fruit in the future for evangelization and for our unity.

5. Our concern extends to those parts of today’s world where Christians live and to the difficulties they have to face, particularly poverty, wars and terrorism, but equally to various forms of exploitation of the poor, of migrants, women and children. We are called to work together to promote respect for the rights of every human being, created in the image and likeness of God, and to foster economic, social and cultural development. Our theological and ethical traditions can offer a solid basis for a united approach in preaching and action. Above all, we wish to affirm that killing innocent people in God’s name is an offence against him and against human dignity. We must all commit ourselves to the renewed service of humanity and the defence of human life, every human life.

We take profoundly to heart the cause of peace in the Middle East, where our Lord lived, suffered, died and rose again, and where a great multitude of our Christian brethren have lived for centuries. We fervently hope that peace will be re-established in that region, that respectful coexistence will be strengthened between the different peoples that live there, between the Churches and between the different religions found there. To this end, we encourage the establishment of closer relationships between Christians, and of an authentic and honest interreligious dialogue, with a view to combating every form of violence and discrimination.

6. At present, in the face of the great threats to the natural environment, we want to express our concern at the negative consequences for humanity and for the whole of creation which can result from economic and technological progress that does not know its limits. As religious leaders, we consider it one of our duties to encourage and to support all efforts made to protect God’s creation, and to bequeath to future generations a world in which they will be able to live.

7. Finally, our thoughts turn towards all of you, the faithful of our Churches throughout the world, Bishops, priests, deacons, men and women religious, lay men and women engaged in ecclesial service, and all the baptized. In Christ we greet other Christians, assuring them of our prayers and our openness to dialogue and cooperation. In the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles, we greet all of you: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 1:2).

 From the Phanar, 30 November 2006

Photos:


REUTERS/Patrick Hertzog/Pool

Patrick Hertzog/Pool/Reuters

Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

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Pope Benedict XVI Celebrates Mass in Ephesus

AP Photo/Cem Oksuzl
Today Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in Ephesus, near Selcuk, Turkey. Ephesus is the ancient city where St. Paul preached, St. John the Evangelist lived the final days of his life, and an ecumenical council was held in 431 AD. Pope Benedict XVI celebrated it at the shrine of Meryem Ana Evi called "Mary's House," the place where the Most Blessed Virgin Mary lived the last years of her earthly life with St. John the Apostle before she was assumed into Heaven. Due to security measures, only around 250 people were present in the congregation.

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Pope Benedict XVI Meets With Patriarch Bartholomew I

Today His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI met His Holiness Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The Holy Father's visit was to help heal divisions following the break between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in 1054 AD. However, unlike protestants, the Orthodox Church also has a valid priesthood and therefore, valid Sacraments. In reality, only Baptism and Marriage are truly authentic Sacraments in some protestant churches.

Follow up: See the declaration issued at the end of this meeting

Photos:



REUTERS/Ecumenical Patriarchate (TURKEY) 


REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (TURKEY) 


REUTERS/Ecumenical Patriarchate (TURKEY)

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