Upcoming Vatican TV Events In 3D

Castrum Gandulphi

New technologies and social media, in play, at Castelgandolfo.

Angelus-12 September 2010

29 August 2010-Angelus

Castel Gandolfo Pictures

A 50-cent euro coin bearing the image of Pope Benedict XVI is pictured in Rome on July 22, 2010. For eight years the Vatican City euros served only as popular collectors' items, initially featuring the face of Benedict's predecessor John Paul II, who died in 2005. (Daylife Photos-Getty)

Photos courtesy of Daylife

Castel Gandolfo activities:



Cardinal Bertone:



Pope reading:



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Amici di Papa Ratzinger

B16 Vacation Footage

Summer Angelus @ Castel Gandolfo

The faithful are greeted by Pope Benedict XVI as he leads his Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, south of Rome July 18, 2010. (Daylife-Reuters)

"If one deserts the throne of Peter, does he still think that he is in the church?" Saint Cyprian

Full Angelus:



'The Word of God':



Sunday Angelus:



Raphael in the UK:



New consistory:



Chavez challenges the Vatican:



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Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today before praying the midday Angelus together with those gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo

"Without love, even the most important activities lose value and do not bring joy. Without a profound meaning, everything we do is reduced to sterile and disordered activism."

At his Angelus, Benedict XVI emphasizes that without the truth and love that Jesus gives us, "the most important activities lose value and give no joy...but the Word of God is eternal and gives meaning to our daily activities."

Before Sunday's Angelus prayer from the intimate courtyard of his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the need to listen to the Word of God. As Mary does in Sunday's Gospel, we must learn to choose the "best portion" in our relationship with the Lord

On Thursday, the Church will celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdelene, one of the most prominent women mentioned in the New Testament

Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said Saturday that the new norms on sexual abuse are an "important step," but, he warned, law "is not everything" in the battle against serious sins

67 million Catholics in the United States represent just six percent of the total Catholic population of almost 1.2 billion, meaning that 94 percent of Catholics in the world don’t automatically see things through American eyes

Leonid Fyodorov himself came to realize the truth of the Universal Church. For the realization of this ideal, when 23 years old he left Russia and went to Italy and converted to Catholicism

Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus

Cyprian (d. 258). Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa

Catholic Encyclopedia St. Cyprian entry

St. Cyprian of Carthage-SQPN entry

This weekend the Vatican was targeted in a cyber attack by an unknown person who used the Google Internet search engine to misdirect Web browsers searching for information

Tradition holds that the "Mona Lisa" is a painting of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, and that da Vinci started painting it in 1503

A painting found in Rome may be the work of Baroque master Caravaggio

A member of British Parliament says he fears violence at an open air mass with Pope Benedict XVI after an Islamic publication called Muslims to attend the Mass to convert Catholics and “tell the Pope in no uncertain terms what Muslims think of his evil slanders against the last Prophet of God and his message.”

Indian who was Vatican diplomat in Iraq named nuncio to United Nations

Pope preparing speeches on Cardinal Newman for UK trip

Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russias says he and Benedict XVI often see eye-to-eye on many issues, especially with regard to those of a moral nature

Fr. Paul Vlaar, a priest in the Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam in the Netherlands, was suspended last week following a World Cup-themed Mass he presided over which was seen by his bishop as disrespectful to the Eucharist

Dutch analysis from Mark de Vries & his 'In Caelo et in Terra' blog

Dutch parishioners mass behind orange priest

Some parishioners have set up a Facebook support site for Father Vlaar

Benedict XVI, following a 400-year tradition, has been at Castel Gandolfo since July 7. Unlike previous years, he did not elect for a time of vacation in the mountains, but went directly to the summer residence where he has a schedule that includes time for writing

B16 Castel Gandolfo Angelus

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he leads his Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, south of Rome, July 11, 2010. (Daylife Reuters)

Pictures courtesy of Daylife

St. Benedict of Nursia:



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Blessed Parents of St. Therese of Lisieux:



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Vatican posts financial loss for third year in a row

Chinese Christianity has grown at a meteoric rate in recent decades, swelling from around four million faithful in 1949 to over fifty million today

Irish Catholic youths rioted in Belfast before Monday's mass parades by Protestant brotherhood the Orange Order, leaving more than two dozen police officers injured

Sts. Nabor and Felix

San Benedetto è il "grande patrono del mio pontificato", ha ricordato papa Ratzinger nella preghiera dell'Angelus

Sts. John Jones and John Wall

Prince Charles snubbed as 'too busy' Pope refuses to meet him

Major renovations, infrastructure upgrades and a sluggish global economy left the Vatican City State budget in the red; however, donations to the pope were up from recent years

The Brussels public prosecutor's office confirmed Friday that Cardinal Godfried Danneels, retired archbishop of the city, did not download pornography to his computer

Here is the letter Benedict XVI sent to Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem after the Pope's apostolic visit to Cyprus

The Church in Cuba announced Saturday that 12 more political prisoners will be leaving for Spain, accounting now for a total of 17 out of 52 prisoners expected to be released

Anglicans Vote to Ordain Women Bishops. Canterbury Trail Leading to Rome?

"The imposition of a socialist state inspired by the Cuban communist regime that has been enforced through laws and facts that ignore the popular will and the Constitution is absolutely unacceptable.” Venezuelan Bishops to tyrant Hugo Chavez

Castel Gandolfo Bound, New Dutch Catholic

Pope Benedict XVI (R) shakes hands with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, senior Rabbi at Park East Synagogue in New York, during his weekly general audience on July 7, 2010. (Daylife-Getty Images)



All pictures above courtesy of Daylife

Dutch mega soccer star Wesley Sneijder, Catholic convert, and wife Yolanthe Cabau

Off to Castel Gandolfo:



Statue of Saint Hannibal of France:



Blessed Duns Scotus:



Benedict XVI's adherence to democracy:



Michelangelo, Donatello and Andrea Bregno on display:



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Dutch soccer player Wesley Sneijder and his conversion to the Catholic faith

Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen-Wesley Sneijder's Catholic girlfriend

As part of a government probe into allegations of child abuse by priests, Cardinal Godfried Danneels was questioned for several hours by Belgian police on Tuesday

Polish bishops have given a mixed reception to their country's new president, Bronislaw Komorowski, a 58-year-old Catholic father of five and former seminary history teacher

The Prefecture of the Papal Household has announced that while Benedict is at his summer residence, all private and special audiences will be suspended, and for the next three weeks (July 14, 21 and 28), there won’t be any general audiences either

Oggi e' il terzo anniversario della pubblicazione del motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum"

Pope Benedict XVI will not be tuning in to see if his fellow Germans make it to the World Cup final, sources at the Vatican press office said ahead of Wednesday night's semi-final clash with Spain

Before his general audience this morning, Benedict XVI blessed a marble statue of St. Annibale Maria di Francia (1851-1927), founder of the Congregation of the Rogationist Fathers of the Heart of Jesus and of the Daughters of Divine Generosity

There are now 107 living members of the College of Cardinals eligible to vote in a papal election, and 5 more cardinals will reach the age of 80 by mid-October of this year

Before his general audience this morning, Benedict XVI blessed a marble statue of St. Annibale Maria di Francia (1851-1927), founder of the Congregation of the Rogationist Fathers of the Heart of Jesus and of the Daughters of Divine Generosity

Greek Catholics celebrated on July 4 their first Mass in 62 years in the parish church of Bocsa, with what was described as a "festive and moving" atmosphere.
The Bosca parish is unique because, thanks to an agreement between Orthodox and Greek-Catholics, it will be shared between the two Churches

Looking forward to his time at the hilltop retreat, the Holy Father asked during the Polish greeting after the catechesis at Wednesday morning's general audience for "prayers in the days of my sojourn at Castel Gandolfo."

The Roman Catholic Church said Wednesday that Cuba has agreed to free 52 political prisoners and allow them to leave the country in what would be the island's largest mass liberation of dissidents since Pope John Paul II visited in 1998

Archbishop Burke has been made a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship (CDW)

B16 lauds St. Maria Goretti

Lord Patten of Barnes, who is in charge of the government preparations for the Pope's State visit, explained this to journalists in a press conference Monday, which he gave along with Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster

Coronation of Pope John XXIII in French

In an interview with the Globovision network, the secretary general of the Bishops' Conference of Venezuela, Bishop Jesus Gonzalez de Zarate, strongly rejected the insults President Hugo Chavez made against Cardinal Jorge Urosa of Caracas, whom the president called a "pig," a "bum" and a "disgraceful bishop."

Pope Benedict XVI named a new bishop to Germany's Augsburg Diocese, whose former bishop resigned in the wake of accusations of hitting students and financial impropriety

Is 2010 the new 2000?

According to an article in tomorrow’s L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Primate of Argentina, has said that if a proposed bill giving same-sex couples the opportunity to marry and adopt children should be approved, it will “seriously damage the family.”

Chinese Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding, who was arrested and imprisoned in March 2009, was released by the authorities Wednesday

The ingrained media defensiveness of the Roman Curia must also change: the attitude, entrenched over centuries, that the best story is no story. No, the best story is a good story that presents facts accurately and does so in such a way that the essentials of the Church’s evangelical message get communicated

The archbishop of Caracas, Venezuela, is denouncing the government's attempts to install a Marxist Socialist regime through "unconstitutional" and "illegal" methods violating the rights and will of the people

Lutherans Seek Full Communion with Catholic Church

Castel Gandolfo Regina Caeli, Sexual Abuse Updates

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St. Martin was born in Todi, Italy. He was elected pope in 649 during the period of the last christological controversy. For his defense of Christ as true God and true man, he was exiled by the Byzantine emperor Constans II to Crimea where he died, broken by his sufferings

"Many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and pedophilia. But many others have demonstrated, I have been told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality and pedophilia. That is true. That is the problem." Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone

Why did I greet his successor, Pope Benedict, with relief? Well, rarely in the history of the Church have two men so extraordinarily different in style, origins, tastes and even outlooks toward the future ascended back-to-back to the papacy. Yet they were close friends and collaborators in the preservation and proclamation of the faith

The Holy See released a document today outlining the procedures used by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to respond to legitimate reports of sexual abuse

Dawn Johnsen has withdrawn her bid to head the White House´s Office of Legal Counsel, throwing in the towel after interminable delays and bipartisan opposition in the Senate, in part due to some of her radical pro-abortion views

Ignatius Press founder Fr. Fessio took on additional inaccuracies in the AP story, stressing that the 1985 letter from Cardinal Ratzinger regarding the removal of Fr. Kiesle from the priesthood concerned the issue of dispensing him from his vows, not punishing him for sexual misconduct

A jury in the Brazilian city of Belém has sentenced a rancher to 30 years in prison for the murder of an American-born nun, news agencies reported

Pope Benedict XVI will meet with victims of sexual abuse by priests, but away from the media spotlight, the Vatican said Tuesday

Pope will NOT be intimidated by socialist thugs in the UK

Vicious attack against Pope's baptismal home

Polish first lady is returned to her homeland

"Nine Days That Changed The World" movie

Pope Benedict, both before he became Pope and since, has done a great deal to confront the issue. He changed the policy that kept allegations of abuse within the authority of local bishops (Alan Dershowitz's defense of B16)

A review of this pontificate demonstrates this Pope´s effort to lead Europe to a future which embraces its Christian roots in order to flourish

UPDATED-Wed. Audience St. Peter's-Castel Gandolfo, Changes In LA Diocese

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Striking Benedict XVI means striking the very man who has worked and is working, on that same terrain, with the greatest foresight, resolve, and success

Mr. Anderson isn't just any old lawyer. When it comes to suing the church, he is America's leading plaintiffs attorney. Back in 2002, he told the Associated Press that he'd won more than $60 million in settlements from the church, and he once boasted to a Twin Cities weekly that he's "suing the s--t out of them everywhere." Nor did the Times report another salient fact about Mr. Anderson: He's now trying to sue the Vatican in U.S. federal court

French Revolution and progressive, cultural elite's anti-Papal bigotry

Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (Daylife)




Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio takes questions from the media at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Tuesday, April 6, 2010, in Los Angeles. Archbishop Jose Gomez was named Tuesday to succeed the archbishop of Los Angeles, the Holy See's most significant acknowledgment to date of the growing importance of Latinos in the American church. The appointment also was evidence that Pope Benedict XVI wants a strong defender of orthodoxy leading the largest diocese in the nation. Gomez, 58, is an archbishop of Opus Dei, the conservative movement favored by the Vatican. (Daylife-AP)


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Complete dedication to what he saw as God's will for him dominated the life of John Baptist de la Salle. In 1950, Pope Pius XII named him patron of schoolteachers for his efforts in upgrading school instruction

If Archbishop Gomez helps lead a repetition in LA of the pattern of his San Antonio diocese, Los Angeles' Catholics will soon be experiencing a spiritual renewal accompanied by a surge in vocations and devotions

Hong Kong surge in Catholics

In an interview with CNA on Tuesday, Rabbi Jack Bemporad commented on the recent media onslaught concerning the Holy Father, calling the coverage “one dimensional” and saying that the depiction of the Church in the media has not been given “proper context.”

The truth about the scandal, terminology, statistics, cultural overview, history etc.

The real translation, not the amateur one by the NYT

Benedict's Opus Dei revenge

Religious freedom is worsening in the Middle East but there is a general trend worldwide against State discrimination of religious minorities

But paradoxically, the pedophilia cases aimed like weapons at Cardinal Ratzinger by the world’s media help one understand at least this: that the current pope was truly the leader of a change in the Church’s way of facing this plague

Sexual abuse of the young is a global plague. Portraying the Catholic Church as its epicenter is malicious and false

Voistynu Voskres, Cardinal Bertone Update Regarding "Scandals"

(ANSA)

Santiago, April 6 - Vatican No.2 Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone on Tuesday said he was tired of hearing about an alleged cover-up by himself and Pope Benedict XVI of the case of a US priest who abused 200 deaf boys.

"Basta, basta on this subject," exclaimed Bertone, currently secretary of state, who was also No.2 to the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger during the future pope's 14-year tenure at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with abuse cases.

Bertone was responding to a fresh charge from German weekly Die Welt, which echoed the New York Times in claiming the pair refused to heed appeals from Milwaukee bishops in the late 1990s about the abuse committed by Father Lawrence Murphy at a Wisconsin school for deaf children between 1950 and 1974.

"It's not true, we have produced documentary evidence of the contrary," Bertone said, reiterating that the Murphy case was only brought to his then office's attention in 1998, a few months before the priest died.

Quizzed by reporters why the pope did not take advantage of his Easter message to touch on the widening abuse and cover-up scandals, Bertone added: "Let's not talk about this subject now, otherwise we'll be here all day verifying with precision the actions of myself and His Eminence (the pope)".

Bertone, who was bringing Benedict's support to the quake-stricken people of Chile, adamantly refused to be drawn on why the pope did not speak out on widening abuse cases around Europe, and has not personally responded to a claim that he knew about a predator priest who returned to pastoral work when Benedict was Munich Archbishop in the mid-1980s. "Let's talk about Chile, let's talk about the future. The Pope is strong, and he is all the people".

Bertone stressed that Benedict had been seen to enjoy the unequivocal support of the massed faithful on Easter Sunday, "including many young people", and added: "He is a strong Pope, the Pope of the third millennium".

Two days before, at a Good Friday Mass in the Basilica, Papal Household Preacher Raniero Cantalamessa angered Jews by apparently comparing the criticism the Church has undergone with the anti-Semitism that fuelled the Holocaust.

He later apologised and the Vatican said he had not meant to draw such a comparison.

But the impression that the Vatican hierarchy is closing ranks around the pope was reinforced when Bertone's predecessor as secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, made an unprecedented encomium of the pope at Easter Mass, saying "all the Church" was behind him and would ignore the "idle chatter" of the alleged media campaign.

'CULTURE CLASH'.

On Tuesday Sodano, who is now Dean of the College of Cardinals, returned to the theme in an interview with Vatican daily l'Osservatore Romano.

"The failings and mistakes of priests are being used as weapons against the Church," Sodano said.

"It is a culture clash. The Pope embodies moral verities that are not accepted".

The cardinal compared media reporting of the abuse cases to 19th-century criticism of Pope Pius X, who refused to accept the unification of Italy, to longstanding allegations that WWII Pope Pius XII did not speak out against the Holocaust, and to criticism of 1960s Pope Paul VI for his stance against birth control.

"In the face of these unjust attacks we are told that we are adopting the wrong strategy, that we should react differently. (But) the Church has its style and does not adopt the methods that are being used against the Pope. The only strategy we have comes from the Gospel," Sodano said, echoing Benedict who in an Easter Thursday sermon said "Jesus did not respond when he was insulted".

Vatican Radio on Tuesday said "there are those who fear that the media campaign of anti-Catholic hate may degenerate," citing among "the first worrying signs" an attack by a mentally unstable man on a German bishop; anti-Catholic slogans daubed on a church near Viterbo; and attempts by "several groups and individuals" to disrupt Easter services across Europe.

The broadcaster recalled that the first Christians were accused of terrible crimes and lynched.

It praised the Wall Street Journal for being among the few media outlets who have noted that "Cardinal Ratzinger did more than anyone else" to force paedophile priests "to answer for what they had done". The Vatican has insisted that, starting with new abuse guidelines as doctrinal chief in 2001, Benedict has done all he can to rid the Church of "filth" he referred to after he became pope in 2005.

But critics say a new, strong and detailed statement of strategy is needed in the face of scandals in Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany and, most recently, Italy itself.

Jesus The Angel:

CASTEL GANDOLFO (AsiaNews) - All Christians have the mission to be "angels", heralds of the message of love, brought by Jesus through the sacraments of baptism and confirmation announced the Pope. This was Benedict XVI´s message this Easter Monday to two thousand people present for the Regina Caeli in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope arrived yesterday afternoon for a short period of rest.

"As you know - said Benedict XVI - "the Monday after Easter Sunday is traditionally called 'Angels´ Monday'. It is very interesting to deepen this reference to the Angels. Naturally, our thoughts turn immediately to the Gospel accounts of Jesus' resurrection, which refers to the figure of a messenger of the Lord ", who announced the resurrection to the women who came to the tomb".

"But the Angel of the Resurrection" - Pope Benedict XVI continued - "has another meaning. It must be borne in mind that the term 'angel' in addition to defining the Angels, spiritual beings endowed with intelligence and will, servants and messengers of God, is also one of the oldest titles attributed to Jesus himself.

"We read, for example, in Tertullian: 'He – that is Christ - was also called "angel of good council" that is the herald, which is a term denoting an office, not nature. In fact, he had to announce to the world the Father's great plan for the restoration of man '(De carne Christi, 14). Thus says the ancient Christian writer. "

"Jesus Christ, the Son of God, therefore, is also called the Angel of God the Father: He is the messenger par excellence of his love. Dear friends - said the Pope – we now think of what the Risen Jesus told the Apostles: 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you' (Jn 20:21) and he communicated to them his Holy Spirit. This means that, as Jesus was the herald of the love of God the Father, we too must be the love of Christ.

"We are messengers of his resurrection and victory over evil and death, the bearers of his divine love. Of course, we are by nature men and women, but we receive the mission of the 'angels', messengers of Christ. It is given to all in Baptism and Confirmation. Especially through the Sacrament of Holy Orders it is received by priests, ministers of Christ, I like to emphasize this in this Year for Priests."

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A “very rough” computer translation of a memo recounting a key Vatican meeting about a Milwaukee priest who abused deaf children appears to have skewed media attempts to implicate Pope Benedict. Contradicting the New York Times and the Associated Press, the memo shows that the Vatican never ruled out defrocking the cleric

The Smoking Gun memo clears Cardinal Ratzinger

British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, published an article in which it defended the actions of Pope Benedict XVI in his work to eradicate pedophilia within the Church

Our Easter joy should be overflowing. A wonderful Ukrainian (and Polish and Slovakian) custom is the greeting of one another with the words: Khrystos Voskres (Christ is risen). The answer to this greeting is Voistynu Voskres (He is risen, indeed or He is truly risen)

The new coadjutor archbishop of Los Angeles, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, is the only U.S. bishop who was ordained for or incardinated in the Prelature of Opus Dei

Reacting to the Vatican’s appointment of Archbishop Jose H. Gomez as coadjutor archbishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Denver’s Archbishop Charles Chaput noted that his confrere has a “great gift for bringing people together” and is the “perfect choice to lead the Archdiocese of Los Angeles after Cardinal Mahony retires.”

Papal Pics of The Year-My Favorites

Pope Bemoans Loss of Italian Soldiers

Benedict XVI @ Castel Gandolfo

Pope Benedict XVI waves during the Angelus prayer from his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. The Pope said he was "deeply pained" by a deadly attack on Italian soldiers in Afghanistan and is praying for civilians and international troops in the country. During his traditional Sunday prayer, Benedict said he was close to families of the victims of Thursday's roadside bombing in Kabul, which killed 10 Afghans and six Italian soldiers. (Daylife-AP Photo)

Photos courtesy of Daylife-Getty Images, AP

Benedict XVI: "Love Your Neighbor"

Pope Benedict XVI is seen on a videocamera as he leads his Sunday Angelus prayer at his summer residence of Castelgandolfo, south of Rome, September 13, 2009. (Daylife-Reuters)

Photos courtesy of Daylife-Reuters, AP, Getty Images

B.XVI Reflects Upon St. Monica-Angelus

Pope Benedict XVI looks waves to the faithfuls as he gives his blessing during the Angelus outside of his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, south of Rome, on August 30, 2009. (Daylife-Getty)

Pope Benedict XVI gestures as his personal secretary Bishop Georg Gaenswein (R) looks on during his Sunday Angelus prayer at his summer residence of Castelgandolfo, south of Rome, August 30, 2009. (Daylife-Reuters photos)

Pope cites St. Monica:

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug 30, 2009 / 11:14 am (CNA).- At Sunday’s Angelus prayer in the courtyard of Castel Gandolfo’s apostolic palace, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the previous week’s liturgical memorial of St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine of Hippo and model and patron of Christian mothers.

“Much is recounted about her in her son’s autobiography ‘The Confessions,’ a masterpiece among the most read works of all time,” Pope Benedict said. “There, we understand that St. Augustine imbibed the name of Jesus with maternal milk and was educated in the Christian religion by his mother, the principles of which remained impressed on him even in the years of spiritual and moral wavering.”

Monica, Benedict XVI explained, never stopped praying for her son and his conversion and she had the consolation of seeing him return to the faith and receiving baptism. The Pope added, “God heard the prayers of this holy mother, to whom the Bishop of Tagaste said: ‘It is impossible that a child of so many tears should go lost.’ In truth, St. Augustine does not only convert, but decides to embrace the monastic life and back in Africa, and himself establishes a community of monks.”

“The final spiritual conversations between him and his mother in the quiet of a house in Ostia, in anticipation of departure for Africa, are moving and edifying,” the Holy Father explained. “By then St. Monica had become for this her child ‘more than a mother, the source of his Christianity.’ Her lone desire had been for years the conversion of Augustine, who then was positively oriented toward a life of consecration to God’s service.”

She could only die content, the Pontiff said, on August 27, 387, 56 years old, after having asked her children to not worry about her burial, but to remember her, where ever they were, at the altar of the Lord. St. Augustine repeated that his mother had “twice given birth” to him.

Pope Benedict continued: “The history of Christendom has numerous examples of holy parents and authentic Christian families, who accompanied the life of generous priests and pastors of the Church.”

He recounted Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianen, who both came from families of saints, and spouses Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini, who lived from the end of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century and were beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 2001 on the twentieth anniversary of his Apostolic Exhortation “Familiaris consortio.”

“This document,” the Pope expounded, “in addition to illustrating the value of marriage and the responsibilities of the family, calls spouses to a particular task on the way of holiness that, drawing grace and strength from the Sacrament of Matrimony, they follow their entire life.”

“When spouses dedicate themselves generously to the education of children, guiding them and orienting them to discover the design of God’s love, they prepare that fertile spiritual terrain where vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life spring and mature.

Pope Benedict concluded his Angelus message by asking the faithful to seek the intercession of St. John Mary Vianney and the Blessed Virgin Mary in this Year for Priests.

Addressing English-speaking pilgrims and visitors after the Angelus, he singled out the first year seminarians from the Pontifical North American College.

“May your time here at Castel Gandolfo and in Rome deepen your integral understanding of our faith and strengthen in you the desire to be consistent in word and deed, following the heart and mind of our Lord. Upon each of you present and your families, I invoke God’s blessing of peace and joy!”

Pope Cast Free

In his first public appearance since having the cast removed from his broken right wrist, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his address during the Angelus prayer from his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, on the outskirts of Rome, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. The pontiff jokingly said that his hand was "freed" but still a bit sluggish. Benedict clearly favored his left hand while blessing the faithful gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence, but he was able to bless the crowd with his right hand. The wrist remained covered with a white bandage. (Daylife-AP)

Pope Meets with Amputee

Sri Lankan amputee Rajiv Janine, 18, meets with Pope Benedict XVI (L) before the weekly general audience at Castelgandolfo near Rome August 19, 2009. Janine lost his arms and legs in a rail accident until he was fitted with prosthetics by an Italian charity. (Daylife-Reuters)

Pictures courtesy of Daylife

Pope: "Pray for Priests and Seminarians"

Pope Benedict XVI waves during his general audience in Castel Gandolfo, in the outskirts of Rome, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. (Daylife-AP)

Vatican Radio:

I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, including the pilgrims from India and Nigeria. Our catechesis considers Saint John Eudes whose feast we celebrate today. He lived in seventeenth-century France which, notwithstanding considerable trials for the faith, produced many outstanding examples of spiritual courage and insight.

Saint John Eudes’ particular contribution was the foundation of a religious congregation dedicated to the task of giving solid formation to the diocesan priesthood. He encouraged seminarians to grow in holiness and to trust in God’s love revealed to humanity in the priestly heart of Jesus and in the maternal heart of Mary.

During this year let us pray in a special way for priests and seminarians that, inspired by today’s saint, they may spiritually “enter into the heart of Jesus”, becoming men of true love, mercy, humility and patience, renewed in holiness and pastoral zeal. My dear Brothers and Sisters, upon you and your families I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!