Tuesday, July 13, 15h Week in Ordinary Time
Two of the prayer cards show the saint and his wife St. Kunegunde; second from right, the lid on their tomb in Bamberg, Germany; and the center icon shows Henry as Holy Roman Emperor.
ST. HEINRICH (Henry II) (Germany, 972-1024), Duke of Bavaria, King of Germany and Italy, Holy Roman Emperor (1014-1024)
Educated by the bishops of Freising first then Regensburg, Heinrich had thought of becoming a priest, but he became duke in 995 upon his father's death, then King of Germany in 1002. Two years later, he was also crowned King of Italy, and in 1014, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Benedict VIII. In 998, he had married Kunegunde of Luxembourg, a descendant of Charlemagne. As they never had children, many stories claim that they made a mutual vow of perpetual chastity. Heinrich fought many battles to consolidate his power and secure his borders, but he and his wife always had a reputation for helping the poor, giving away much of their own wealth. As a ruler, he founded schools and monasteries, quelled rebellions, worked to establish a stable peace in Europe and to reform the Church while respecting its independence. He supported bishops against the monastic clergy, and enforced priestly celibacy to prevent the clergy from passing on any of the public lands and goods he bestowed on the Church to personal heirs. In 1007, he established the Diocese of Bamberg which immediately became a center for scholarship and art. In 1020, Benedict VIII visited him in Bamberg to consecrate the new cathedral. He started construction of the cathedral of Basel, Switzerland, which later took him for its patron saint. When Heinrich died, Kunegunde entered a Benedictine nunnery and died in 1040. Heinrich was canonized in 1146, Kunegunde in 1200.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/071310.shtml
OR for July 12-13:
At Sunday's Angelus, the Pope remembers St. Benedict, patron of his Pontificate:
'The logic of charity is the logic of Christ'
The other papal story is a belated report on the announcement last week by the Archbishop of Compostela regarding the Pope's visit on November 7. Page 1 international news: Pakistan and China agree to build a railway line to link their countries; new reports on ongoing civil conflicts in Darfur and Somalia; at least 64 killed among soccer fans in bomb attacks in the Ugandan capital; new Japanese premier in danger of losing his coalition support; and five stories no less about the recent World Cup in South Africa and Spain's first world championship. In the inside pages, the superintendent of Rome's department of cultural properties answers the alarmism of a New York Times architecture critic who claims that Rome's imperial ruins are in danger of being lost because of the city's modernization, and cites the work and planning placed by the city and national governments in the constant restoration and maintenance of a patrimony that belongs to the world.
THEME FOR 2011
WORLD DAY FOR PEACE
The Holy Father has chosen 'Religious freedom, way to peace' as the theme for the next World Day for Peace.
RAI's Vatican news bureau
chief dies at 58
Giuseppe De Carli, the longtime director of the Vatican news bureau of RAI-TV, the Italian state broadcasting agency, died today in Rome at Gemelli hospital where he had been confined since June 9. No cause of death was given but it was known he was undergoing radiation therapy.
De Carli, 58, will perhaps be best remembered for his initiative of a live continuous telecast of the entire Bible,
La Bibbia Giorno e Notte, in October 2008. Representative Christians, led by Pope Benedict XVI, and some Jews, read the Bible over a period of seven days telecast from the Rome's Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
De Carli also wrote a number of books related to his experience in covering the Vatican. Most notably, two books on Benedict XVI -
Fare la verita nella carita: Da Joseph Ratzinger a Benedetto XVI, a biogrpahy published shortly after the Conclave of 2005, in which his title, taken from one of Joseph Ratzinger's constant themes, anticipates the encyclical of 2009; and in 2008, an account of the Ratzinger Pontificate entitled
Benedictus: Servus servorum Dei.
He also worked with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone on
L'ultima veggente di Fatima, an interview book based on Bertone's meetings with Sor Lucia, and a new edition in 2010, with a foreword from Benedict XVI,
L'ultimo segreto di Fatima.
The Pope's admirers perhaps are most grateful to De Carli for his two-part documentary to mark Benedict XVI's 80th birthday in 2008,
Benedetto XVI: Il Papa dell'amicizia con Dio (The Pope of friendship with God).
De Carli was an obvious admirer of Benedict XVI, even if RAI itself and its othrr news anchors have not always been fair in their reporting about the Pope, nor even in the time given to him compared to air time they have given John Paul II after his death.
Lella provides a videolink to the last televised interview given by Joseph Ratzinger before he was elected Pope - to Giuseppe De Carli and apparently only broadcast by RAI on 1/13/10.
www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-976c1fdd-6029-4bdd-8e77-0430f69b7088....
I haven't been able to find a date for it but it was apparently in early 2005. It includes video of the 'Habemus Papam' event on 4/19/05, at the start. And even if you do not understand Italian, the interview is a delight, for his ease, naturalness, obvious joy and the fluidity of his answers. I don't believe he has ever said Uh... in all his life!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 14/07/2010 15:16]