Wednesday, December 15, Third Week of Advent
BLESSED MARIA FRANZISKA [Mary Frances] SCHERVIER (Germany, 1819-1875)
Born to a wealth family in Aachen, she was cured of asthma after a pilgrimage to Lourdes.
As a teenager, she ran the household when her mother died, and after losing two sisters to
tuberculosis, she became a lay Franciscan renowned for her generosity to the poor. In 1851,
she founded the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis, which set up hospitals and homes for
the aged to serve the indigent. By 1858, the order had a branch in the United States, and
in 1863, Mother Mary Frances herself went to the US to help nurse Civil War wounded, making
a second trip to the order in 1868. By the time she died, her order had 2500 members in many
countries. She was beatified by Paul VI in 1974. Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/121510.shtml
OR today.
No papal photos on Page 1 - the only papal story in this issue is the Pope's visit to the Visitation nuns who are the Vatican's resident contemplatives (story translated and posted 3 posts above). Page 1 stories: A meditation on Advent taken from the last homily of one of the Cistercian monks in Tibbhirine, Algeria, before they were kidnapped and eventually killed in May 1995; civil war threatens the Ivory Coast where a defeated president refuses to accept teh result of a recent election; Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi narrowly wins a vote of confidence in Parliament - student protesters assail Parliament and clash with riot police; a federal judge rules Obama's mandatory health care unconstitutional for penalizing persons who do not wish to buy health insurance.
THE POPE'S DAY
General Audience today - The Holy Father's catechesis was on St. Veronica Giuliani, a 17th century
Capuchin Poor Clare, abbess and mystic, who received the stigmata and whose body has been incorrupt.
The Vatican announced that the Holy Father's message for the World Day of Peace on New Year's Day 2011
will be presented at a news conference tomorrow.
German President also
announces Pope's visit
BERLIN, Dec. 15 (AP) - Germany's President says Pope Benedict XVI will visit the country in September 2011.
Benedict has visited his native Germany twice since becoming Pope in 2005, but this will be his first official state visit.
President Christian Wulff said Tuesday it is a "great joy" for him to welcome the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany during his four-day visit to the cities of Berlin, Freiburg and Erfurt.
The 83 years-old Benedict, who was once Archbishop of Munich, will be visiting Germany from Sept. 22 to Sept. 25.
Then, there's this odd report from a Romanian online newspaper in English- odd considering that the Holy Father's travel plans for 2011 have been apparently finalized:
Pope could visit Romania next year
Dec. 14, 2010
BUCHAREST - An invitation from Patriarch Daniel, the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, could bring Pope Benedict XVI on an official visit next year, according to Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi.
The foreign minister said he hoped the Orthodox Church Holy Assembly will approve the invitation to be extended during Patriarch Daniel’s visit to the Vatican next year.
[OK, so the invitation will be extended next year - not the trip itself!]
A spokesman of the Romanian patriarchy said the Holy Assembly had approved the invitation in principle last June, but “details of the visit have to be diplomatically established between the Romanian state and the Vatican, as well as agreed upon by the Romanian Patriarchy and the Catholic Church” - not usually considered a simple protocol procedure when it involves an official visit by the Pope.
In May 1999, Pope John Paul II visited Romania in the first papal trip to a predominantly Orthodox country.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/12/2010 15:09]