Monthly Archives: "July 2013"

mda. “In conclusion, he asked us all a question:  “Why are youths dying in the street, hungry?  He then told us that when we had the answer, when our heart begins to cry, we will be there, closer to God,” narrated a young Columbian woman who works as a volunteer in Río and who was invited to lunch with Francis on Friday.  Pope Francis in Río, there are no longer events, there are no longer testimonies, there are no more acts, words, gentures:  it is already a feeling, theRead More
mda. “A new sun rises over the New Civilization that is born tody.  A chain stronger than hate and than death:  We know it:  The road is Love…”  This was the song that greeted Francis in his warm, spontatneous and long awaited encounter with his Argentinean young people, a song that does not seem to want to end:  The road is love…a song that seems to be the program of this week in Rio that seems like a year because it has provoked so many and such profound changes inRead More
WYD-BRAZIL, Sarah-Leah Pimentel. World Youth Day is in my blood. After having been a WYD Schoenstatt volunteer in 2005, I observe WYD activities with special interest. And Rio 2013 is no different. In addition to that, many of my friends are in Rio and provide regular updates on Facebook and Twitter, making it easier to feel what is happening on the ground. The WYD Rio 2013 social media campaign has also been extraordinary in keeping us in touch with what Pope Francis is doing and saying. But best of all,Read More
org. "We need the sandals of missionaries in order to get out of ourselves and spend our strengths in carrying out our mission!" In which of his addresses did Pope Francis say those words? To the youth last night on the rain-soaked Copacabana beach when these young people showed that rain and cold meant nothing where Jesus Christ was concerned? Or was it in the Favela? Or with the Argentinean youth when he challenged them to cause chaos? Neither the one nor the other, and not by Francis. But byRead More
JMJ-BRASIL, mda. Pope Francis entrusted the “life of the Latin American people” and World Youth Day, which is being held in Rio de Janeiro until this Sunday with around 2,000,000 young people participating,  to the protection of Our Lady of Aparecida.   And he exhorted pastors, parents and educators to help youths to build a united, “more just, and  fraternal world.  Upon celebrating the Mass in the Marian shrine, located 250 kilometers from Rio, the Pope said that to accomplish these goals, three “simple attitudes were needed:  hopefulness, openness to beingRead More
JMJ-BRASIL, mda. The Alitalia airplane descended punctually at 4:00 p.m.at the Galeao Air Base, the airplane was makred with the letters “JM” and it carried the one who left as Jorge Mario Bergoglio a little more than four months ago from the Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires, and returned to his beloved Latin America, to Brazil, as Pope Francis, where thousands of youths waited for him.  He arrived as Pope Francis, and he arrived just as he was:  being himself, spontaneous, authentic, available for any request, humble and without fearRead More
mda. "Dear Young People, I know that many of you are already on your way to Rio. ... May the Lord accompany you on your journey. Many of you, dear young people, have already arrived in Rio, and many of you are arriving. We will meet in three days' time!" In his Tweets this week Pope Francis addressed the youth from every continent who were on pilgrimage in these days to Rio de Janeiro. They are days filled with hope, anticipation, and days of powerful gestures. On Saturday afternoon PopeRead More
mda. Francis' visit to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, on July 8, 2013, is called "Francis' first encyclical". It was a visit filled with words and gestures that were so simple as well as clear and prophetic. "I believe that I have never felt so much as Church as within the Covenant solidarity", said María Paz Leiva, from Madrid.Read More
BRAZIL, Maria Rita Vianna/mda. “It's official.  Our Fr. Alexandre Awi de Mello will form part of the Papal entourage.  He was personally chosen by Pope Francis to be his translator during World Youth Day.  We will post an interview with Fr. Alexandre on the website of the Brazilian Schoenstatt Boys' Youth. Watch this space!" These were the words on the Facebook page of the Schoenstatt Boys' Youth IGNIS meeting.  The news began to spread like wildfire on 21 July.  Fr. Alexandre Awi de Mello, the national spiritual director for theRead More
org. Yesterday, Pope Francis visited the Italian island of Lampedusa, for some years now an entry point for many immigrants, a significant number of whom have lost their lives in the surrounding seas. He proceeded to Cala Pisana by car, where he boarded a boat in order to arrive at the Port of Lampedusa by water. The Holy Father was accompanied by fishermen in their boats. During the journey he committed a wreath to the sea in memory of those immigrants who have lost theirRead More