Ad Maoirem De Gloriam

Vatican City, 30 April 2014 (VIS) – Following today's catechesis, Pope Francis greeted, among others, the compatriots of St. John Paul II, whose “witness of faith, hope, charity and trust in Divine Mercy” is, he said, particularly tangible in these days. “May his intercession support the life and good intentions of each one of you, the worries and joys of your loved ones, the development and serene future of the Church in Poland, and of your entire homeland”. Addressing the young, the sick, and newly-weds, he mentioned that yesterday was the liturgical feast of St. Catherine of Siena, patron of Italy and Europe, and he encouraged the young to “learn from her how to live with the clear conscience of those who do not bend to human compromises”, the sick to be inspired by “her example of strength in the moments of greatest pain”; and young couples to “imitate the solidity of faith of those who trust in God”.

Vatican City, 30 April 2014 (VIS) – Pope Francis' universal prayer intention for May is: “That the media may be instruments in the service of truth and peace”. His intention for evangelisation is: “That Mary, Star of Evangelisation, may guide the Church in proclaiming Christ to all nations”.

Vatican City, 30 April 2014 (VIS) – The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has published the following calendar of liturgical celebrations over which the Holy Father will preside during the month of May: Sunday 11: Fourth Sunday of Easter. At 9.30 a.m., priestly ordinations at the Vatican Basilica, and Holy Mass. Sunday 18: Fifth Sunday of Easter. At 4 p.m., pastoral visit to the parish-sanctuary of “Santa Maria del Divino Amore”. Saturday 24 to Monday 26: Apostolic trip to the Holy Land.

Pope Francis issued a message of thanks on Sunday during his Regina Coeli address, following the canonization Mass of Saints John XXIII and John Paul II. The Pope thanked all of the pilgrims and the official delegates who traveled to Rome for the occasion. He also thanked the Italian authorities for their generous work and collaboration in preparing for this event. He greeted the pilgrims from the home dioceses of the new saints—Bergamo and Krakow—exhorting them to “honour the memory of these two holy Popes by following their teachings faithfully”. He also issued a special greeting “for the sick and the aged, to whom the new saints were particularly close.” Read the full text of the Pope’s address below : Dear brothers and sisters, Before concluding this celebration of faith, I wish to greet and thank all of you! I thank my brother cardinals and the many bishops and priests from every part of the world. My appreciation goes to the official delegations from many countrie

Vatican City, 27 April 2014 (VIS) – Half a million people attended the ceremony held this morning in St. Peter's Square for the canonisation of the “two Pope saints”: John XXIII and John Paul II. Since it was opened to the public at 5 a.m., the square and its environs were filled with faithful from all over the world; Polish pilgrims, however, constituted one of the largest groups. The event was also attended by delegations from over a hundred countries, more than twenty Heads of State and many figures from the world of politics and culture, including the King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, the ex-president of the Republic of Poland Lech Walesa, the president of the Argentine parliament Julian Dominguez and the presidents of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy, and the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso. The celebration wa

John Paul II was ever obedient “to the Gospel of Jesus, and for this, he was loved”. Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, emotionally recalled this, on Monday morning, 28 April, at the Mass of Thanksgiving for the Canonization. Thousands of faithful, many from Poland, filled St Peter's Square for the Mass at which the Cardinal. In his homily the Archpriest recalled the great moments of the Pontificate of Karol Wojtyła.  He began by pointing out various teachings which came out of John Paul II's holiness, especially his courage “to speak openly of faith in Jesus in an age of 'silent apostasy from the satisfied man who lives like God does not exist'”. Cardinal Comastri also spoke of his boldness “in defending the family which is God's plan, written clearly in the book of life”. The Mass of Thanksgiving for the Canonization of John XXIII was celebrated in the Church of Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso, where Angelo Giuseppe Ronca

Blessed John Paul II was the first Roman Pontiff ever to allow the world to scrutinise him so closely in his physical failings. Perhaps the key to this lack of fear in the face of suffering lay in his great faith. Already in New Zealand back in 1986 he gave us a clue of this firmness in faith while meeting with some of the frailer members of society when he said : " It was the suffering and death of Christ which displayed the works of God most eloquently ". Five years before he pronounced these words this Polish Pope, once an energetic sportsman brimming with health, had suddenly closed ranks with these frailer members of society. It's a well- known story, one sprung on us, on a sunny and relaxed Spring afternoon in May 1981. The Pope stands Samson like and agile in his white cassock on a white jeep, in a crowded Saint Peter's Square, athletically reaching out to make physical contact with as many pilgrims as possible, when out of the blue gun shots

Vatican City, 26 April 2014 (VIS) – Blessed Pope John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli at Sotto il Monte, Italy, in the Diocese of Bergamo on 25 November 1881. He was the fourth in a family of 14. The family worked as sharecroppers. It was a patriarchal family in the sense that the families of two brothers lived together, headed by his great-uncle Zaverio, who had never married and whose wisdom guided the work and other business of the family. Zaverio was Angelo's godfather, and to him he always attributed his first and most fundamental religious education. The religious atmosphere of his family and the fervent life of the parish, under the guidance of Fr. Francesco Rebuzzini, provided him with training in the Christian life. He entered the Bergamo seminary in 1892. Here he began the practice of making spiritual notes, which he continued in one form or another until his death, and which have been gathered together in the “Journal of a

Vatican City, 26 April 2014 (VIS) – Karol Jozef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small city fifty kilometres from Krakow, on 18 May 1920. He was the youngest of three children born to Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska. His mother died in 1929. His eldest brother Edmund, a doctor, died in 1932 and his father, a non-commissioned army officer died in 1941. A sister, Olga, had died before he was born. He was baptised on June 20, 1920 in the parish church of Wadowice by Fr. Franciszek Zak, made his First Holy Communion at age 9 and was confirmed at 18. Upon graduation from Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, he enrolled in Krakow's Jagiellonian University in 1938 and in a school for drama. The Nazi occupation forces closed the university in 1939 and young Karol had to work in a quarry (1940-1944) and then in the Solvay chemical factory to earn his livi