BLESSING OF BABY LAMBS FOR FEAST OF ST. AGNES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 1999 (VIS) - This morning in the Sala del Tronetto, or Little Throne Room, Pope John Paul blessed two baby lambs whose wool will be used to make the palliums to be bestowed on new metropolitan archbishops in St. Peter's on the June 29th feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles.

For centuries lambs have been blessed each year by the pontiff on the January 21 feast of St. Agnes, for whom the traditional symbol is a lamb. This virgin-martyr died about 350 and is buried in the basilica named for her on Rome's Via Nomentana.

The lambs are raised by the Trappist Fathers of the Abbey of the Three Fountains and, when shorn, their wool is made into the palliums by the Sisters of St. Cecelia.

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PRIESTS SHOULD BE WITNESSES OF TRUE RENEWAL

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 1999 (VIS) - John Paul II today received, as he does every year on or near the January 21 feast of St. Agnes, their patron, the rector and students from the Roman diocesan seminary "Almo Collegio Capranica."

"Agnes, virgin and martyr," said the Pope, "made her very life an 'eloquent and attractive example of a life completely transfigured by the splendor of moral truth' and for this reason, she was able to 'light up every period of history, by reawakening its moral sense'. Her example has encouraged so many believers to follow in her footsteps throughout the centuries. Your College has very appropriately chosen her as its patron saint, and you also see her as a model to imitate."

Later, referring to the Jubilee, he said: "This event should be approached with a renewed heart. It is up to priests, in the first place, to be witnesses and apostles of a true renewal in their personal lives and in their communities."

The Holy Father ended by saying that "the world is waiting for the total commitment and holiness of life of those whom the Lord calls to his close service. May this be your primary concern."

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LENT, AN INVITATION TO GIVE WITNESS TO DIVINE CHARITY

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 1999 (VIS) - Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," this morning presented at the Holy See Press Office the Holy Father's message for Lent 1999: "The Lord will prepare a banquet for all peoples."

Archbishop Cordes made reference to that part of the message in which the Pope speaks of the areas in which the Church has given witness to the love of God: "The commitment to the promotion of human dignity, the fight against hunger, under-development, ignorance, violence, desperation and the exclusion of others."

The charity of God, continued the archbishop, should be seen on a daily basis, for example, with "elderly and abandoned neighbors, exiles and refugees, the terminally ill, even those who clean windows at street corners. Lent is a concrete opportunity for seeing to their problems, seeking moments each day to act prudently and efficiently as Christians, without being closed to others, but also without simplification."

He then spoke of the Cor Unum project in Italy, "Panis Caritatis," which began last year. This program is based on the sale of a type of bread, from which a percentage is destined to the Holy Father's charitable initiatives. Practically speaking, "the first donation for the first three months totalled 500 million lira ($300,000), of which $100,000 was allocated to a diocese in the Great Lakes region for the construction of ovens for bread. Another $50,000 will be sent to the diocese of Hoima, in Uganda, for a relief program for Sudanese refugees."

The Cor Unum president announced, in concluding, that on May 16, the Pope will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Square for all those involved in charity work, particularly for Catholic volunteers. "This is a singular event, and the first of its kind."

Another of Cor Unum's initiatives, explained Msgr. Frank Dewane, is the "100 Projects of the Holy Father." He said that the council proposed these 100 micro-projects, bearing in mind that "this last year of preparation for the Great Jubilee, 1999, is dedicated to God the Father, with special emphasis on the theological virtue of charity."

Msgr. Dewane pointed out that these projects, which in reality number 223 and cost on the average of between US$5-20,000 each, are on-going and should be completed by the end of this year. They are being financed in part by Catholic aid and assistance organizations (62 projects) and by the dioceses of economically developed countries (161).

The 223 projects are distributed geographically as follows: Africa 64; Latin America 40, Asia, 37, Europe 35, Central America 18, Middle East 18, North America 6, the Pacific 5.

Msgr. Dewane stated that Cor Unum has raised, within the dioceses, $2.8 million (Euros 2,443,300) for the 161 projects: North American dioceses 52 percent, Europe 45 percent and the Pacific 3 percent. Fifteen dioceses support more than one of the projects.

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TELEGRAM UPON THE DEATH OF LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 1999 (VIS) - The following is the telegram sent by John Paul II to Professor Marc Lienhard, president of the Lutheran Church of Alsace, France, for the death of Professor Oscar Cullmann, one of the major Protestant theologians of this century:

"Having learned with great sadness the news of the death of Professor Oscar Cullmann, I share in the sorrow of those close to him and of those who benefitted from his teaching and enlightened counsel. His unwavering faith and his commitment to theology and ecumenism during this century will remain a path to follow for Christians. I have a living recollection of his active participation in the Second Vatican Council during which he facilitated a renewal of ecumenical dialogue and fraternal relations between Christian communities. I entrust him to Christ the Savior whom he wished to know and serve all through his life, asking him to welcome him in his Kingdom and give to those who are in mourning the comfort of his blessings."

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"THE LORD WILL PREPARE A BANQUET FOR ALL PEOPLES"

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was Pope John Paul's Lenten Message for 1999, written on the theme "The Lord will prepare a banquet for all peoples." It was published in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese.

The Pontifical Council Cor Unum has, in recent years, assumed the responsibility of publishing this annual Message which the Pope, since 1973, has addressed to the universal Church.

Following are excerpts:

"The Lord will prepare a banquet for all peoples. These words which inspire the present Lenten Message lead us first to reflect upon the gracious providence of the Heavenly Father towards all men and women. "

"Lent is the favorable time to offer to the Lord sincere thanks for the wonders he has done for humanity in every age, and especially in the Redemption when he did not spare his own Son."

"The Lenten journey prepares us for the celebration of Christ's Passover, the mystery of our salvation. Anticipating this mystery, there is the banquet which the Lord celebrates with his disciples on Holy Thursday, offering himself under the signs of bread and wine."

"The banquet is a sign of joy, because in it we see the intense communion of all who take part. ... Many of our brothers and sisters can bear their situation of misery, discomfort and sickness only because they are certain that one day they will be called to the eternal banquet of heaven."

"Lent invites us to overcome the temptation of seeing the realities of this world as definitive and to recognize that 'our homeland is in heaven'.

"This year of preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 is meant to help us renew our sense that God is the Father who in the beloved Son shares with us his own life."

"The experience of the Father's love urges Christians to give of themselves to others, obeying a logic of service and solidarity in openness to their brothers and sisters. ... New forms of poverty and the pressing questions which trouble many hearts await a concrete and appropriate response. Those who are lonely, those on the margins of society, the hungry, the victims of violence, those who have no hope must be able to experience, in the Church's loving care, the tenderness of the Heavenly Father."

"Our thoughts go especially to those excluded from the banquet of everyday consumerism."

"It is not only individuals who have opportunities to show their readiness to invite the poor to share in their prosperity. International institutions, national governments and the centres controlling the world economy must all undertake brave plans and projects to ensure a more just sharing of the goods of the earth, both within individual countries and in relations between nations."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate adiences:

- Archbishop Mario Francesco Pompedda, dean of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota.
- Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, apostolic administrator in European Russia.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 19, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Los Angeles, as bishop of Stockton (area 25,950, population 1,035,972, Catholics 191,195, priests 95, religious 98), United States of America. He succeeds Bishop Donald W. Montrose, whose resignation from the pastoral care of this diocese was accepted by the Holy Father on having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Bishop Michael P. Driscoll, auxiliary of the diocese of Orange in California, as bishop of Boise City (area 218,277, population 1,163,000, Catholics 116,500, priests 102, religious 149), United States of America.
- Appointed Sandro Bianchini as Bureau Chief of the Ordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
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