FRANCIS AT WYD2016, by Maria Fischer • Pope Francis’ first message in Poland was clear and was the topic in all of the European media on Wednesday, 27 July 2016: Also needed is a spirit of readiness to welcome those fleeing from wars and hunger, and solidarity with those deprived of their fundamental rights, including the right to profess one’s faith in freedom and safety…This means doing everything possible to alleviate the suffering while tirelessly working with wisdom and constancy for justice and peace, bearing witness in practice to human
Read More Content from Fr Egon M. Zillekens and Maria Fischer • Fr Theo Breitinger, Chairman of the German Presidium of the Schoenstatt Movement, invited representatives of the Church, politics and society to attend the May Reception and discussion of an extremely topical subject: Integration. Fr Egon M Zillekens chaired the reception on the last day of April in the Marienau, the house for priests and lay guests. The reception was supported musically by Wilfried Roehrig, Carolin Ankebauer and Amin Jan Sayed. With his music Wissam Mawuas from Syria transported the participants
Read More By María Fischer • On Saturday 16 April, Pope Francis returned from his 13th international apostolic visit, this time to the Greek island of Lesbos. As is customary, before ending each of these trips and returning to the Vatican, the Holy Father went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to give thanks to the Blessed Mother, the Salus Populi Romani, for her protection during the trip. Before going to Lesbos on Friday, he also went to the Basilica to pray for this brief and very important journey. The Pope
Read More FRANCIS AT ROME • Pope Francis washed the feet of twelve refugees: three Muslims, a Hindu, three Christian Copts and five Catholics (four men and a woman) during the Lord’s Supper that he celebrated on Holy Thursday afternoon at the Centro di Accoglienza per Richiedenti (or CARA) Reception Center for those seeking asylum. The center is located in Castelnuovo di Porto on the outskirts of Rome, where there are 892 at the center of which 554 are Muslims, 337 are Christians and two are Hindus. Mass was celebrated on the
Read More FRANCIS IN ROME • At the end of the Stations of the Cross, presided by Pope Francis this Good Friday at the Roman Colisseum, he spoke a prayer he had composed for this occasion, titled: O Cross of Crist. It is an invitation to see where we see the Cross of Christ in the realities of our world, here and now, in 2016, and to find our place at the cross, as Jesus` disciples. Here is the Vatican translation of a prayer composed and recited by Pope Francis at this
Read More GERMANY, Renate Immler • The guests of the Lenten Action at the Joseph Kentenich School, at Kempten-Leubas, were surprised at the incredible commitment of the students. They voluntarily accepted selling tickets for food and drinks as well as delivering cakes. Some students offered the visitors interesting guided tours for adults and little ones, and some school games. “I am very impressed with the students. It is evident they are very happy at this school and that they joyfully commit themselves. They behaved very well at this event, despite being watched
Read More GERMANY, by Maria Fischer • The coincidence is powerful: A few hours earlier the news was broadcast through the media that the route through the Balkans had been closed, the borders had been sealed, and refugees were standing in the open in the rain and cold. A few days previously Pope Francis had said at “America’s Lampedusa”, the deadly fence separating Mexico and the USA, “We cannot deny the humanitarian crisis which in recent years has meant migration for thousands of people, whether by train or highway or on foot,
Read More FRANCIS IN ROME – WORKS OF MERCY • During the Sunday Angelus on 6 September 2015, Francis invited all parishes, beginning with his Diocese of Rome, to host a family of refugees. Two Vatican parishes, St. Anne and St. Peter’s responded to this request in collaboration with the Papal Almoner, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski and with the St. Egidio Community. On 14 January, the Vice-director of the Press Office, Ciro Beneditini, announced that the new refugees welcomed were a woman from Eritrea along with three children and another young mother and
Read More by Maria Fischer, with material from several agencies • “Do like the Pope, raise funds for the poor and for works at the service of others,” a German Schoenstatter commented during a dialogue about what to do for works of mercy during the Year of Mercy, not having time or a “concrete call from the periphery” in their surroundings. He is right, to give alms indirectly is a work of mercy, and furthermore, one of the very few, concrete works of apostolate mentioned in the statutes of the Schoenstatt Apostolic
Read More POPE FRANCIS IN AFRICA, by Sarah-Leah Pimentel • After meeting the leaders of the Central African Republic (CAR), Pope Francis visited a refugee camp, administered the sacrament of reconciliation to a gathering of young people and celebrated two masses. Thousands came to see Francis despite a security lockdown Despite the fears of security, people turned out in large numbers to meet with Pope Francis. Journal de Bangui described the atmosphere as follows: “Despite the security threats and the fear that is now a part of their daily lives, the Central
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