Tuesday, May 15, Sixth Week of Easter
SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR (Isidore the Farmer) (Spain, 1070-1130), Confessor, Patron of Farmers
Our saint was born poor and all his life, he worked on the estate of a wealthy Madrid landowner, along with his wife who would herself be canonized as Santa Maria de la Cabeza.
He was well-known for his piety, going to Mass everyday before starting work, often coming late. But his colleagues said an angel did the work for him while he was away, and
later, his master would claim seeing two angels alongside Isidro as he plowed the land. Despite his own poverty, he was known to help other poor, miraculously coming up with
food to share. More than 400 miracles were presented for his canonization. Among them, that he saved his own son from drowning in a deep well and that he brought back his
master's dead daughter to life. In 1212, almost a century after he died, his exhumed body was found to be incorrupt. He became the patron of Madrid from then on. He was
canonized in 1622 along with three other great Spanish saints - Ignacio de Loyola, Francisco Javier (Francis Xavier), and Teresa of Avila, along with Filippo (Philip) Neri. In 1960,
John XXIII proclaimed him patron of farmers and day laborers. He is one of the most popular saints in the Hispanic world. In the Philippines alone, countless farming communities
venerate him as patron saint, and his feast day is observed as a very colorful harvest festival celebrating the fruits of the earth. A major agricultural fair named for him
is held every year in Seville, Spain. He and his wife are among the patron saints of WYD 2011 in Madrid.
Readings for today's Mass: usccb.org/bible/readings/051512.cfm
No events announced for the Holy Father today.
The Vatican Press Office released the official program of the Pope's pastoral visit to Milan June 1-3,
where he will attend the concluding events of the VII World Encounter of Families.
OR for 3/14-3/15/12:
The Pope visits Arezzo and Sansepolcro but bad weather makes him unable to fly to La Verna
His message:
'To construct the city of man'
Italy must not give way to discouragement in crisis but take the way of spiritual and ehtical renewal
The issue contains a complete account and the paapl texts on the pastoral visit last Sunday. Page 1 international news: Angela Merkels Christian Democrats suffer defeat to Social Demcorats in NorthRhine-Westphalia regional elections; Greek election winners still seeking a compromise over Greek debt and remaining in the eurozone. In the inside pages, a lengthy essay on who gener ideology has infiltrated into recent declaraitons from the UN and other international bodies.
P.S. Can someone explain why the OR editors would have made the choice they made for the Page 1 picture???? In which you can hardly see the Pope, at an event which was at best, a colorful sidebar, in a day of much greater events????
Ambassadors visit IOR
May 15, 2012
Vatican press director Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. said today that a group of about 35 Ambassadors to the Holy See visited the IOR, the Vatican's major financial agency.
He said it was an opportunity to show them "the transparency, professionalism, and strict adherence to the ethical norms" practiced by the Institute.
The ambassadors were greeted with introductory words by the principal Counsellor to the Secretary of State, Msgr Peter Bryan Wells. He said this was part of the Holy See’s commitment to ensuring that the monetary activities of the Vatican remain transparent.
He was followed by IOR’s director, Paolo Cipriani, who spoke for an hour about the mission of the Institute and the services it provides. Mr. Cipriani also responded to questions, particularly those pertaining to the IOR’s response to the money laundering investigations.
A second group of ambassadors will be visiting the IOR in the coming days to ensure that the entire diplomatic body can witness firsthand the Institute’s activities. Some time back, a group of American beneficiaries also paid a similar visit to the Institute.
[The IOR, though often described in news reports as 'the Vatican bank', is an institution that does not perform all the functions of a bank, such as giving loans. It was established in 1942 by Pope Pius XII "to provide for the safekeeping and administration of movable and immovable property transferred or entrusted to it by physical or juridical persons and intended for works of religion or charity."]
- I failed to notice it earlier, but in case you didn't, and true to (his) form - however much in poor taste it is - John Allen has decided to beat everyone else to the punch by publishing his list of 'front-runners' and 'possibilities' for a successor to Benedict XVI.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/poll-average-rome-next-pope
One must remember that Allen specifically ruled out Cardinal Ratzinger from his 'papabile' lists before the 2005 Conclave, and acknowledged that possibility only two days before the Conclave! As John XXIII reportedly said after the 1958 Conclave, "The Holy Spirit does not read the newspapers".
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 18/05/2012 16:04]