Still bringing this thread up to date.
Posted 7/16/09 in the BENEDICT thread:
Anticipating Sept. 6
papal visit to Viterbo
Translated from
the Italian service of
July 14, 2009
Mons. Lorenzo Chiarinelli, bishop of Viterbo, said he expects the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to his diocese on Sept. 6 to be 'serene and fruitful'.
He presented the diocesan plans for the Pope's welcome to the city council on Monday. Amedeo Lomonaco has a report:
The program for the Pope's visit will be shaped by the diocese's two patron saints. St. Rosa of Viterbo and St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, whose liturgical feast the Church observes today.
The history of Viterbo and its surroundings has been profoundly woven with the history of the Church over the centuries and with specific Pontificates. It calls itself the city of Popes because five Popes were elected there and 50 Popes have visited.
Mons. Chiarinelli said Benedict XVI's visit will favor "a reflowering of the roots of Viterbo for a fresh appreciation of its past history as a papal city".
The Pope will arrive by helicopter from Castel Gandolfo, landing at the city's sporting field, from which he will drive to the Palace of the Popes where he will give his first greeting to the citizenry. He will then proceed to the city's Faul valley to celebrate Mass and lead in the Angelus prayer.
In the afternoon, the Pope will see Viterbo's unique Macchina di Santa Rosa, an elaborate tower on which the statue of the saint is carried in a unique candlelight procession every year on Sept. 3 to commemorate the translation of her incorrupt body in 1268 from her simple grave as a Poor Clare to the Church now dedicated to her and which is the city's Cathedral.. (Rosa lived a brief life, 1233-1251, which was marked by many miraculous healings, and Viterbo believes her protection saved the city from the great pestilence of 1657.)
The 30-foot Macchina, weighing about half a ton, is carried by specially selected devotees from the Porta Romana to the Basilica of Santa Rosa through a kilometre of winding streets, up and down hill, while the lights of the city are turned off.
He will venerate the saint at the Cathedral and then proceed to the shrine of the Madonna della Quercia, where he will pray with the nuns from the cloistered orders of Viterbo.
He will then proceed to nearby Bagnoregio where he will venerate the relics of St. Bonaventure, the Seraphic Doctor, who was the subject of his habilitation dissertation in 1955. He will then address the citizens of Bagnoregio from the town square, before returning to Castel Gandolfo.
Isabella Piro spoke to Mons. Chiarinelli, who said:
"I wish for two things from this visit. One is that the Pope, who comes to confirm us in the faith, will reawaken in the hearts of everyone the need and the joy of believing. Faith, especially for the younger generations, is the energy which leads us towards the goal for which we live.
"My second wish is that it may lead to a repair of so much fragmentation in society on the level of culture, of religious experience, the economy and politics - that the sense of unity may prevail over differences, so that our society may truly be based on freedom, truth, love and justice.
"These, I hope, will be the fruits of the Pope's visit."
The bishop also spoke of St. Bonaventure's legacy:
"To live the faith in the light of the saint's theology means to walk alongside the mystery of Christ within the dynamism of changing times, sustained by hope, which is a guaranteed certainty of attaining fullness of life. We must not escape from facing the challenges of history, time, society. Bonaventure teaches us to live within our time, but with the certainty that St. Paul spoke of - we are in quest of our future homeland." (NB: Prof. Ratzinger's dissertation was about Bonaventure's theology of history).