POPE TO ARRIVE IN NEW DELHI THIS EVENING

VATICAN CITY, NOV 5, 1999 (VIS) - At 8:25 a.m. today, John Paul II left Rome's Fiumicino airport bound for New Delhi, India, where he is due to arrive at 8 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m.in Rome), after a journey of 6,021 kilometers. He thus begins his 89th pastoral visit outside Italy. After a brief and informal welcome at the airport he will travel to the apostolic nunciature where he will dine and spend the night.

Tomorrow, Saturday November 6, the Pope will celebrate Mass in private. He will then make a courtesy visit to the president of the Republic and later meet with the vice-president. At midday he is scheduled to visit Gandhi's grave and, following lunch, will go to the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart where he will promulgate the Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation, "Ecclesia in Asia." This Exhortation represents the outcome of the Special Assembly for Asia which was held in the Vatican from April 19 to May 14, 1998.

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HOLY LAND SHRINES TO CLOSE FOR TWO DAYS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 5, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a communique from the three patriarchs of Jerusalem (Greek-Orthodox, Latin and Armenian) and the Custos of the Holy Land, regarding the Israeli government's decision to authorize the building of a mosque next to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. The first stone of the mosque is to be laid on November 8.

"We, the representatives of the Christian communities of the Holy land, view this decision with grave concern. Not only is it a clear discrimination against the Christian community in Galilee, it is equally an abandonment of the rule of law by the government and an attempt to promote electoral interests at the expense of the national unity of the Palestinian people across the land.

"Consequently," they continue, "and to express the disapprobation of all the Churches at the way that their rights have been summarily violated, we wish to inform our faithful masses as well as pilgrims that all the shrines of the Holy Land will be closed on November 22 and 23, 1999."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 4, 1999 (VIS) - Today, the following prelates were invited to lunch with the Holy Father: Cardinals Pietro Palazzini; Opilio Rossi; Giuseppe Caprio; Giuseppe Casoria; Antonio Innocenti; Paul Augustin Mayer O.S.B.; Alfons M. Stickler S.D.B.; Fiorenzo Angelini; Luigi Poggi and Vincenzo Fagiolo.

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HOLY FATHER CELEBRATES NAME DAY WITH FELLOW POLES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 4, 1999 (VIS) - Today at noon in the Paul VI Hall John Paul II welcomed 4,000 Poles from the archdiocese of Danzika and the diocese of Tarnow, whom he thanked "for not forgetting the Pope." His fellow countrymen came to greet him and celebrate with him his "onomastico" or name day. The Pope was baptized Karol in honor of St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast is today.

The Holy Father reminded them that Charles Borromeo, "this bishop, and later cardinal, is an example of a zealous pastor, dedicated totally to the cause of God, who never measured any effort or sacrifice. He died young, at the age of 46, consumed by superhuman work and steeped in penance. The Church owes him a great deal." St. Charles Borromeo, recalled the Pope, is buried in the crypt of Milan's cathedral, though his heart is in a reliquary in Rome's St. Charles Basilica on Via del Corso.

"Today's world, and even our country," John Paul II remarked, "need saintly men and women, that is to say, upright people, who faithfully fulfill the will of God, filled with the spirit of service and solicitude for mankind. We need honest men and women, who love the truth, who work for the common good, sometimes at the price of generously renouncing their own (good)."

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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, NOV 5, 1999 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Jean Cadilhac of Nimes, France, on October 27, at the age of 68.
- Bishop Eugeen Laridon, auxiliary of Brugge, Belgium, on October 20, at the age of 69.
- Bishop Pierre Tchouanga S.C.I., emeritus of Doume-Abong' Mbang, Cameroon, on October 23, at the age of 71.
- Bishop Prelate Felipe Maria Zalba Elizalde O.P., of Chuquibamba, Peru, on October 19, at the age of 72.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 5, 1999 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Msgr. Andras Veres, secretary of the Hungarian Episcopal Conference, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Eger (area 11,500, population 950,000, Catholics 600,000, priests 243, permanent deacons 1, religious 86), Hungary. The bishop-elect was born in Nyirbator, Hungary, in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1986.
- Msgr. Peter Erdo, rector of the Catholic University 'Pazmany Peter' in Budapest, Hungary, as auxiliary of the diocese of Szekesfehervar (area 5,170, population 750,359, Catholics 495,242, priests 117, permanent deacons 4, religious 53), Hungary. The bishop-elect was born in Budapest in 1952 and ordained a priest in 1975.

Yesterday, Thursday November 4, it was made public that the Holy Father appointed Bishop Pablo Lizama Riquelme of Melipilla, Chile, as military ordinary of the same country.

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