(ANS - Vatican City) - On the occasion of the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, Patron Saint of Journalists, the Holy See Press Office published the Holy Father's Message for the 57th World Communications Day (WCDS), which this year will be celebrated, in many countries, on May 21, 2023. The theme chosen this year by Pope Francis is "Speaking with the Heart. 'The truth in love'."
(ANS - Vatican City) - On the parvis of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican this morning, January 5, 2023, the funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was celebrated, presided over by Pope Francis. In the presence of some 60,000 faithful and more than 3,700 concelebrating priests, 400 bishops and 130 cardinals, the final farewell to Joseph Ratzinger took place as scheduled. At 8:45 a.m. (UTC+1) the coffin with the remains of Benedict XVI was transported from the basilica to the parvis in St. Peter's Square. This was followed by the recitation of the Rosary and Mass at 9:30 a.m.
(ANS - Vatican City) - "Guide of souls, capable of reading the signs of his time." This is how Pope Francis refers to St. Francis de Sales in his Apostolic Letter "Totum amoris est," Everything Pertains to Love, published yesterday, Dec. 28, exactly four hundred years after the death of the saintly bishop from Geneva, Doctor of the Church, patron of journalists and communicators.
Vatican City - December 2022 - On Christmas Day, Pope Francis prayed together with the more than 70,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square for the traditional Urbi et Orbi Christmas blessing. Looking out at 12 noon sharp, the Holy Father addressed Rome and the world, urging the faithful to let the Light brought by Jesus' birth "envelop us, like the shepherds of Bethlehem." He then turned his thoughts to Ukraine, but also to the violence in the Holy Land, crises in Lebanon and Yemen, bloodshed in Iran and Myanmar, tensions in Haiti, and the hunger emergency in the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan. Standing facing the Blessing Loggia, but ideally on his knees pleading for peace, the Pope thus entrusted the dramas and tragedies of our times to Christ who is born.
(ANS - Vatican City) - Next January 1, on the occasion of World Peace Day, the 30th edition of the Vatican Christmas Concert, the event sponsored by the Pontifical Gravissimum Educationis Foundation of the Dicastery for Culture and Education together with other entities, will be aired on the Italian network "Canale 5." The Christmas Concert, which this year will be under the banner of peace and solidarity, supports the Turin Mission Office, "Missioni Don Bosco," and will feature the Salesian missions in Ukraine and all the Houses that find themselves in conflict/war-related contexts.
Rome, Italy - October 2022 - Yesterday afternoon, Oct. 25, Pope Francis took part at the Colosseum in the final act of the prayer meeting for peace promoted by the Community of Sant'Egidio, signing a common appeal with Christian leaders and world religions. After the moment of prayer inside the Flavian Amphitheater, the final ceremony took place on the stage set up outside with some testimonies and closing speeches followed by a minute of silence to remember the victims of war, terrorism, violence, and human trafficking. The appeal was then delivered to some boys and girls by the writer, witness of the Shoah, Edith Bruck, and symbolically to all the youth of the world. In his speech Pope Francis, after thanking all those present, said "This year our prayer has become a 'cry,' because today peace is gravely violated, wounded, trampled: and this in Europe, that is, on the continent that in the last century experienced the tragedies of the two world wars. We are in the third one. Unfortunately, since then, wars have never stopped bloodying and impoverishing the earth, but the moment we are living is particularly dramatic." The Pontiff emphasizes once again that "peace is at the heart of religions," that peace which is denied and humiliated in so many parts of the world and whose cry is often silenced "by war rhetoric," but also by hatred and indifference. Yet it is an invocation that, the Pope says, "cannot be suppressed."
Source: Vaticannews.va
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Italy – Cultivating friendship with God. Interview with Fr Marco Panero, SDB, author of "In the Tent of Meeting"
(ANS – Rome) – Today we are interviewing Fr Marco Panero, Salesian, professor of Moral Philosophy at the Pontifical Salesian University and Councillor of the Apostolic Penitentiary. His volume of meditations is in the bookstores and is particularly suitable for this time of Lent, with the intriguing title: "In the tent of meeting. Meditations on spiritual life " (Edizioni Ancora, 2023 – ISBN 978-88-514-2783-2).
EDITORIAL
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“Speaking with the Heart”: A great Antidote for the Ills of today’s world
‘Revolutionize the world with your kindness, by speaking with your heart’, is the dream that Pope Francis envisions for humanity through his 57th World Communication Day message, that falls on this Ascension Sunday, 21st May 2023. ‘Speak with your heart in truth and charity’, and this is the best antidote that can cure the ills of today’s society.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Labs To Future": the final event of the "Labs To Learn" project in Valdocco
(ANS – Turin) – The final event of the "Labs to Learn" project was held on Tuesday, 5 March 2024, entitled "Labs To Future: The path – The results – The challenges" . The project was selected by the "Con i Bambini" social enterprise within the framework of the Foundation for the Fight against Child Educational Poverty and came into being with the intention of combating early school leaving and preventing educational poverty, increasing the number of young people with difficulties who fulfil their school obligation, access higher education and/or job placement, and opening the way for personal growth according to their inclinations and aspirations.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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United States – INT’L WOMEN’S DAY: Salesian programs focus on inclusion for girls and women
(ANS – New Rochelle) - Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian organizations and countries around the globe in celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8. The day honors the economic, political and social achievements of women while focusing the world’s attention on areas requiring further action.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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CHEERFUL AND SERENE EVEN THOUGH LIVING IN A WHEELCHAIR
The Message of the Rector Major, Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime, SDB
Encounters on Epiphany with amazing people who have good hearts and luminous faith