CELEBRATIONS TO BE PRESIDED BY THE POPE NOVEMBER - JANUARY

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today published the calendar of celebrations to be presided over by the Holy Father between November 2012 and January 2013.

NOVEMBER

- Saturday 24: At 11 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Ordinary Public Consistory for the creation of new cardinals.

- Sunday 25: Solemnity of Christ the King, at 9.30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Mass with newly-created cardinals.

DECEMBER

- Saturday 1: At 6 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, First Vespers for the first Sunday of Advent with students of Roman and Pontifical universities.

- Saturday 8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At 4 p.m. in Rome's Piazza di Spagna, homage to Mary Immaculate.

- Sunday 16: Third Sunday of Advent, pastoral visit to the Roman parish of "San Patrizio al Colle Prenestino". At 9 a.m., celebration of the Eucharist.

- Monday 24: Vigil of the Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord. At 10 p.m., Mass in the Vatican Basilica.

- Tuesday 25: Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord. At midday from the central loggia of the Vatican Basilica, "Urbi et Orbi" blessing.

- Saturday 29: At 6 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, prayer presided by the Holy Father with young people participating in a European meeting organised by the Taize Community.

- Monday 31: At 5 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, First Vespers and "Te Deum" of thanksgiving for the past year.

JANUARY 2013

- Tuesday 1: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and forty-sixth World Day of Peace. Mass in the Vatican Basilica at 9.30 a.m.

- Sunday 6: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Mass in the Vatican Basilica at 9.30 a.m.

- Sunday 13: Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. Mass in the Sistine Chapel at 9.45 a.m., conferment of the Sacrament of Baptism upon a number of children.

- Friday 25: Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. At 5.30 p.m. in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, celebration of Vespers.

CELEBRATIONS TO BE PRESIDED BY POPE: OCTOBER - NOVEMBER

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today published the calendar of celebrations to be presided by the Holy Father in the months of October and November:

OCTOBER

- Thursday 4: Pastoral visit to Loreto, Italy.

- Sunday 7: Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. At 9.30 a.m. Mass in St. Peter's Square for the opening of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, and the proclamation of St. John of Avila and St. Hildegard of Bingen as Doctors of the Universal Church.

- Thursday 11: At 9.30 a.m. Mass in St. Peter's Square for the opening of the Year of Faith.

- Sunday 21. Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time. At 9.30 a.m. in St. Peter's Square, canonisation of the following Blesseds: Jacques Berthieu, Pedro Calungsod, Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Maria del Carmen (nee Maria Salles y Barangueras), Maria Anna Cope (nee Barbara), Kateri Tekakwitha and Anna Schaffer.

- Sunday 28: At 9.30 a.m. Mass in the Vatican Basilica for the conclusion of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

NOVEMBER

- Friday 2: All Souls Day. At 6 p.m. in the Vatican Grottoes, a moment of prayer for deceased Pontiffs.

- Saturday 3: At 11.30 a.m. Mass at the altar of the Cathedra in the Vatican Basilica for cardinals and bishops who died during the course of the year.

CELEBRATIONS TO BE PRESIDED BY THE HOLY FATHER BETWEEN APRIL AND JUNE

Vatican City, 23 April 2012 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today published the calendar of celebrations due to be presided by the Holy Father between April and June.

APRIL

Sunday 29: Fourth Sunday of Easter. Priestly ordinations at 9 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica.

MAY

Sunday 13: Sixth Sunday of Easter. Pastoral visit to the Italian towns of Arezzo, La Verna and San Sepolcro.

Sunday 27: Solemnity of Pentecost. Mass at 9.30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica.

JUNE

Friday 1 to Sunday 3: Pastoral visit to Milan for the World Meeting of Families.

Thursday 7: Solemnity of Corpus Christi. At 7 p.m., Mass in the basilica of St. John Lateran, procession to the basilica of St. Mary Major and Eucharistic blessing.

Friday 29: Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. Mass at 9 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica. Blessing and imposition of the pallium on new metropolitan archbishops.

THE POPE BEGINS HIS TWENTY-THIRD APOSTOLIC TRIP UNDER THE SIGN OF HOPE

Vatican City, 23 March 2012 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today began his twenty-third apostolic trip abroad, which is taking him to Mexico and Cuba. The Holy Father departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport at 9.30 a.m. and is due to land at Leon in the Mexican State of Guanajuato at 4.30 p.m. local time (11.30 p.m. in Rome). Leon is the fourth largest city in Mexico and lies at the geographical centre of the country.

The Holy Father will remain in Mexico until 26 March, during which time he will lodge in the Miraflores College, an educational institution named after a Carthusian monastery in Burgos, Spain, and run by the Sisters Servants of the Blessed Eucharist and of the Mother of God. The Pope's three days in Mexico will be divided as follows: On Saturday he will meet Federal President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, then greet and bless children and faithful in Leon's Plaza de la Paz. At 10 a.m. on Sunday he will preside at Mass in the Parque Bicentenario and, that evening, preside at Vespers in the cathedral of Leon. He is due to depart for Cuba on Monday 26 March.

In his weekly editorial for "Octavia Dies", Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. enumerates the reasons for the Pope's trip to Mexico and Cuba: The bicentenary of the independence of the peoples of Latin America; the Mexicans' enthusiastic desire to welcome the Pope; the twentieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Holy See, and the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the image of "Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre" in Cuba, with its concomitant Holy Year.

However, Fr, Lombardi notes, "this voyage to the heart of the Americas also has a specific purpose. It will be a journey of hope. Hope for Mexicans, a people with immense resources and potential, but currently afflicted by serious problems which weigh on their present and future, first among them the problem of violence".

The Holy See Press Office Director also speaks of "hope for Cubans, who feel they are on the threshold of what is potentially a new epoch, in which John Paul II's words on the reciprocal openness of Cuba and the world may be realised in a climate of development, freedom and reconciliation".

Finally, Fr. Lombardi mentions "the hope of all Latin America, where a Church committed to the 'continental mission' launched at the Aparecida Conference, wishes to continue making her inspirational contribution to the progress of the continent, so that human and Christian values may guarantee integral human development, despite the difficulties and dangers of our time".

NOTE CONCERNING THE RESULTS OF THE APOSTOLIC VISITATION TO IRELAND

Vatican City, 20 March 2012 (VIS) - Given below is a note released this morning by the Holy See Press Office concerning the summary of the findings of the Apostolic Visitation in Ireland. It is, the English-language text reads, "a synthesis of the results of the Visitations to the four archdioceses, to religious institutes and to the Irish seminaries. It has been approved by the offices which conducted the Visitation and it also contains some further observations from the Holy See, in addition to those that the individual dicasteries communicated to the leaders of the respective archdioceses or institutes.

"There follows a list of some of the principal elements contained in the summary:

"(a) The Holy See reiterates the sense of dismay expressed by Pope Benedict XVI in his Letter to the Catholics of Ireland and the closeness that he has often manifested towards the victims of these sinful and criminal acts committed by priests and religious.

"(b) The Visitation, which was pastoral in nature, was able on the one hand to acknowledge the seriousness of the shortcomings that gave rise, in the past, not least on the part of various bishops and religious superiors, to an inadequate understanding of and reaction to the terrible phenomenon of the abuse of minors. On the other hand, it is clearly pointed out that, beginning in the 1990s, decisive progress has been made, leading to a greater awareness of the problem and profound changes in the way of addressing it. It is recommended that bishops and religious superiors keep up their commitment to welcoming and supporting victims of abuse.

"(c) The guidelines contained in the 2008 document Safeguarding Children (which supersedes earlier documents) envisage: far-reaching involvement of the lay faithful and of ecclesiastical structures in the work of prevention and formation, close cooperation with civil authorities in swift reporting of accusations, and constant reference to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in matters that pertain to its competence. These norms have proved to be an effective instrument for handling accusations of abuse and for increasing the awareness of the entire Christian community in the area of child protection. The Guidelines are to be further updated on the basis of the Circular Letter published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 3 May 2011, and periodically reviewed.

"(d) The work of the National Board for Safeguarding Children is thorough and far-reaching. Of particular value is its auditing of the implementation of the guidelines in individual dioceses and religious institutes. It is recommended that this auditing process be extended as soon as possible to all the dioceses and religious institutes and that it be regularly repeated.

"(e) On the basis of the recently published document Interim Guidance, bishops and religious superiors, in cooperation with the National Board, will have to formulate norms for handling cases of priests or religious who have been accused, but in whose case the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to proceed. Similarly, norms should be established for facilitating the return to ministry of falsely accused priests, and for ensuring that proper pastoral attention is given to priests or religious who are found guilty of abuse of minors.

"(f) The Visitation to the seminaries was able to appreciate the commitment of the formators and the seminarians, and the attention given to intellectual, human and spiritual formation. In the seminaries, clear child protection norms are in place, with a broad understanding of all that this involves for the life of the Church. In order to improve the quality of the formation, it has been recommended, among other things, to ensure that it is rooted in authentic priestly identity, to reinforce the structures of episcopal governance over the seminaries, to introduce more consistent admissions criteria, to ensure that the seminarians are housed in buildings reserved for their exclusive use, and to include in the academic programme in-depth formation on matters of child protection.

"(g) Each religious institute is invited to design a three-year programme for focusing anew on the founding charism and on the fundamental sources, developing adequate means for revitalising individual communities in the areas of prayer, community life and apostolic mission. The institutes are invited to develop a collaborative ministerial outreach towards those who suffer the consequences of abuse.

"(h) The Visitation recognised that the painful events of recent years have also opened many wounds within the Catholic community. On the other hand, this time of trial has also brought to light the continuing vitality of the Irish people’s faith. Among the signs of hope are the dedication with which many bishops, priests and religious live out their vocation, the human and spiritual bonds that many of them have observed among the lay faithful at a time of crisis, the deep faith of many men and women and a remarkable level of involvement among priests, religious and lay faithful in the structures of child protection. In this context, a renewed call to communion is made - communion among the bishops themselves and with the Successor of Peter, communion between bishops and priests, between pastors and laypersons, between diocesan structures and communities of consecrated life.

"(i) Finally, certain pastoral priorities are mentioned which may help to guide renewal: formation in the content of the faith, a new appreciation of the commitment of the laity, the role of teachers of religion, openness to the contribution offered by movements and associations, and fidelity to the teachings of the Magisterium. It is stated, moreover, that the Holy See and the Irish bishops have already initiated a joint reflection on the present configuration of dioceses in Ireland, with a view to adapting diocesan structures to make them better suited to the present-day mission of the Church in Ireland".