Encounter with families: combat uncertainty and isolation

By VISarchive 02 Vatican City, 16 February 2016 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon, after visiting the Cathedral of San Cristobal de Las Casas, the Pope departed by helicopter to Tuxtla Gutierrez where he met with families in the Victor Manuel Reyna stadium. Upon arrival at the stadium, by popemobile, he was greeted by thousands of people and received the keys to the city from the hands of the governor of the state of Chiapas.The meeting began with testimonies from a young couple; a family made up of divorced parents in a new relationship; Manuel, a disabled adolescent; Beatriz, a single...

Other Pontifical Acts

By VISarchive 02 Vatican City, 16 February 2016 (VIS) – On 14 February, the Holy Father appointed Bishop George Bugeja, O.F.M., as apostolic administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of the apostolic vicariate of Benghazi, Libya. He is currently coadjutor of the apostolic vicariate of Tripoli, Libya, and succeeds Bishop Sylvester Carmel Magro, O.F.M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same apostolic vicariate upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father. Source:: Vatican Information Service

Mass at Ecatepec: Lent is a time for opening our eyes to the injustices that stand in the way of God’s plan

By VISarchive 02 Vatican City, 15 February 2016 (VIS) – After leaving the apostolic nunciature in Mexico City, the Pope travelled by helicopter to Ecatepec to celebrate Holy Mass. It is the first time that this satellite city has received a papal visit. Ecatepec is located on a hill approximately 28 kilometres from the capital, and is densely populated, with more than a million and a half inhabitants who commute daily to Mexico City to work. It was originally a city-state governed by a chief closely related to the reigning dynasty of the Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. Ecatepec was...

Angelus: thanksgiving is born among a people capable of remembering

By VISarchive 02 Vatican City, 14 February 2016 (VIS) – Following Mass, the Pope invited those present to pray the Angelus and to reflect, before the Marian prayer, on the first reading in which Moses addresses his people during harvest time, a moment of abundance, so they do not forget their origins and provenance, nor the difficulties they have had to overcome. “Thanksgiving is something which is born and grows among a people capable of remembering”, explained the Holy Father. “It is rooted in the past, and through good and bad times, it shapes the present. … On this...

Cure not only with medicine but also with “kindness-therapy”

By VISarchive 02 Vatican City, 14 February 2016 (VIS) – At 4.30 p.m. the Holy Father transferred by helicopter to Ecatepec and from there to the “Marte” military camp to visit the Federico Gomez Paediatric Hospital, which was also visited in 1979 by St. John Paul II, and which assists around eight hundred children each day.The Pope met with the young patients of the hospital and told them the story of when Jesus’ parents took Him to the Temple to present Him to God. “And while there they met an old man called Simeon who, upon seeing Jesus, was...

Statement of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors

By VISarchive 02 Vatican City, 15 February 2016 (VIS) – Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap., president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, together with all the Commission Members, issued today the following statement on the obligation to report suspected sexual abuse to civil authorities:“As Pope Francis has so clearly stated: ‘The crimes and sins of the sexual abuse of children must not be kept secret for any longer. I pledge the zealous vigilance of the Church to protect children and the promise of accountability for all’. We, the President and the Members of the Commission, wish...