Vatican City - April 2021 – Again this year, the celebration of Easter was marked by the restrictions of the pandemic. However, in the most solemn liturgy of the year, in a still half-empty St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis exhorted not to lose hope and to have faith in rebirth. After the Mass, the Pontiff gave the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing. In his message, there was a strong appeal to share vaccines with the poorest countries, to remove restrictions on religious freedom and to put an end to too many wars and violence. A strong message, under the banner of peace and hope. A theme, that of hope, which the Holy Father had already invoked during the Via Crucis on Friday 2 April: a Via Crucis with the meditations and prayers of the little ones, to whom the Pope's caress reached.
Vatican City - March 28, 2021 - Pope Francis presided over the solemn liturgical celebration of Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica. During the homily, Pope Francis invited the faithful to raise their gaze to the cross to receive the grace of amazement during this Holy Week. "Let us start over from amazement. Let us gaze upon Jesus on the cross and say to him: “Lord, how much you love me! How precious I am to you!” Let us be amazed by Jesus so that we can start living again, for the grandeur of life lies not in possessions and promotions, but in realizing that we are loved. This is the grandeur of life: discovering that we are loved. And the grandeur of life lies precisely in the beauty of love. In the crucified Jesus, we see God humiliated, the Almighty dismissed and discarded. And with the grace of amazement we come to realize that in welcoming the dismissed and discarded, in drawing close to those ill-treated by life, we are loving Jesus. For that is where He is: in the least of our brothers and sisters, in the rejected and discarded, in those whom our self-righteous culture condemns.”
March is traditionally the month dedicated to Saint Joseph, husband of Mary. Let's explore some aspects of the Saint, which can be an inspiration for everyone's life.
(ANS - Baghdad) - A journey to bring hope to an entire people; a journey to the roots of the Abrahamic religions; a journey to reaffirm the value of brotherhood among all peoples: there are many readings that can be given to Pope Francis' trip to Iraq. A little more than three days, but which will remain engraved in the history of the country, of the pontificate of Pope Francis and in his personal life. As he said while greeting the crowd at the "Franso Hariri" stadium in Erbil: "Iraq will always remain with me, in my heart".
Iraq - March 2021 - Pope Francis' 33rd international trip, this last to Iraq which has just ended, a land from which the Pontiff's heart will never stray far. The Journey, under the banner of the Gospel motto "You are all brothers", began on March 5th. It was a long-desired pilgrimage, to embrace a people who have suffered enormously, but who have also developed a great desire for redemption and a future of peace. There were many significant moments of this historic visit: the meeting with the great ayatollah al Sistani in Najaf, the prayer against the war in Mosul, the embrace of the Christians of the Nineveh plain and, of course, the Mass in Erbil in the stadium Hariri. “Salam, salam, salam! God bless you all! God bless Iraq”: with these words, Pope Francis greeted Iraq and the many faithful who welcomed him.
Rome, Italy - March 5, 2021 - Pope Francis’s 33rd apostolic journey began this morning with the plane taking off at 7:45 am from Fiumicino airport (Rome) and bound for Baghdad, Iraq. The journey, under the banner of the evangelical motto "You are all brothers", will end on Monday 8 March.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG – 150 years ago Fr. Orione, light of charity in the world, was born(ANS - Rome) - St. Luigi Orione was born in Pontecurone, in the province of Alessandria, Italy, on June 23, 1872. For three years, from October 1886 to August 1889, he was a student at the Valdocco Oratory in Turin. Don Bosco, who soon noticed his human qualities, counted him among his favorites, assuring him, "We will always be friends." During his time in Turin, he also became acquainted with the charitable works of St. Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo, close to the Salesian oratory, until he later started his "Little Work of Divine Providence." On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of "don Orione," as he is universally known, we post an interview with Father Tarcisio Vieira, who has just been confirmed by the General Chapter of the Oriones as the Congregation's Director-General.
EDITORIAL
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Listening With Our HeartLittle John was watching the television and the sight of the African children being shown in utter poverty made him cry, and after sobbing in desperation he got up and pulled out a few slices of bread and went near the television and started pushing those slices in every small little hole on the back of the television. In his simplicity, he thought he was offering a little bread to those hungry children. The little boy expresses best what it means to listen with the heart.
The attentive gaze of a mother by the side of her child, and the slightest cry or movement of the child makes her respond immediately with a gentle touch or a caress, and this too is perhaps another example of what it means to listen with the heart. The mother feels what the child needs.
Listening with the heart is the experience of a noble, loving, compassionate person. Looking around, we see millions of people who suffer in silence every day. Everyone longs to be heard and listened to. But the raging fire and chaos, noise and humdrums have caused so much of deafness within, and we only listen to some sounds. We have lost the quality to empathize, to listen and to feel.
The call to listen with the ear of one’s heart, is the invitation of Pope Francis in light of the 56th World Communications Day, that is popularly celebrated on the Ascension Sunday every year. Are we really truly listening? Why do we struggle to listen? How can we listen with our heart? These can be some areas of introspection as we ponder on this theme of the World Communications Day – “Listening with the ear of the heart”.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Auxilium Faculty: female perspectives for Rome as an educating city"(ANS - Rome) - An event on the theme "Auxilium Faculty: female perspectives for Rome as an Educating City" was held yesterday, Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in the Sala della Protomoteca on the Capitol Hill in Rome, organized by the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences "Auxilium," in collaboration with the Municipalities XIII and XIV of the Municipality of Rome, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (1872-2022).
SPECIAL REPORTS
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RMG – "Communication, Management and Governance": the latest article by Fr. Gildasio Mendes in the series "St. Francis de Sales Communicator. Inner pilgrimage, wisdom in the art of communication."(ANS - Rome) - On the day of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion closely linked to the figure of St. Francis de Sales, we publish the last of six articles written by Fr. Gildasio Mendes, General Councilor for Social Communication, on the theme, "St. Francis de Sales Communicator. Inner Pilgrimage, Wisdom in the Art of Communication."
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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«MY NAME IS SEAN CAYD». The Story of an Unimaginable GiftDear Readers, friends and most especially friends of Don Bosco's charism, I send you my affectionate greeting. They always come with gratitude for the sympathy you have towards Don Bosco, the saint of the world's youth, and the closeness, respect, or curiosity you feel towards those of us who try to continue his mission in the Church and the world. With all my heart, I thank you!