POPE CONSECRATES WORLD'S FAMILIES TO THE MOTHER OF GOD

VATICAN CITY, MAR 25, 2000 (VIS) - At 8:15 this morning, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, John Paul II travelled by helicopter from Jerusalem to Nazareth. Prior to celebrating Mass in the Basilica of the Annunciation, which is entrusted to the care of the Custody of the Holy Land, he paused for a moment of prayer in the grotto.

The grotto-house of the Holy Family was incorporated in the crypt below the major altar of the Franciscan church built in 1730. The church was subsequently made a parish, enlarged in 1877, then demolished in 1959 to make way for a new church. The present basilica was visited by Paul VI in 1964 and dedicated in 1969. The upper portion of the main facade houses the statue of Christ the Redeemer, below which are depicted the scene of the Annunciation and the four Evangelists. The southern facade is dedicated to Mary as an adolescent. Inside the building there are two churches, placed one above the other, with a central opening through which the grotto-house of the Holy Family may be seen. The lower church houses the grotto and the 17th century Franciscan altar with the inscription 'Verbum caro hic factum est' (here the Word was made flesh). The upper church is dedicated to the exaltation of the Virgin, Mother of God made man. The dome is 55 meters high. The floor that unites the two churches is made of multi-colored marble and depicts, in eight inlaid illustrations, the Church's Magisterium regarding Mary: Mother of God; Assumption into heaven; Virginity; Immaculate Conception; universal mediation; perfect sanctity; regal dignity and spiritual maternity.

In his homily, the Pope recalled the words of the prophet Isaiah: "'The virgin is with child and will soon give birth to a child whom she will call Emmanuel.' Emmanuel - God with us. In these words, the unique event that was to take place in Nazareth in the fullness of time is foretold, and it is this event that we are celebrating here with intense joy and happiness."

"Like Abraham, Mary is asked to say yes to something that has never happened before. ... Mary asks not whether the promise is possible, but only how it will be fulfilled. It comes as no surprise, therefore, when finally she utters her 'fiat': "I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me.' With these words, Mary shows herself the true daughter of Abraham, and she becomes the Mother of Christ and Mother of all believers."

The Holy Father confirmed that he had come to Nazareth to plead with the Mother of God. "I pray, first, for a great renewal of faith in all the children of the Church. ... I ask the Holy Family to inspire all Christians to defend the family against so many present-day threats to its nature, its stability and its mission. To the Holy Family I entrust the efforts of Christians and of all people of good will to defend life and to promote respect for the dignity of every human being. To Mary, the 'Theotokos,' the great Mother of God, I consecrate the families of the Holy Land, the families of the world."
Following the Eucharistic celebration, John Paul II travelled by helicopter to the apostolic delegation in Jerusalem where he had lunch.

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PRIVATE VISITS TO CHURCHES IN TABGHA AND CAPERNAUM

VATICAN CITY, MAR 24, 2000 (VIS) - At 4 p.m. this afternoon, John Paul II will meet Ehud Barak, prime minister of Israel, at the Shrine of the Mount of the Beatitudes at Korazim.
At 4:30 p.m., the Pope will visit Tabgha on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee where he will visit the church of the Multiplication of the Loaves. According to tradition, the rock upon which Jesus placed the bread later became the altar of a church. The remains of this church, which was constructed in 350 A.D., lie to the right of the modern-day church which is entrusted to the care of Benedictine fathers.

The Holy Father will then visit the church of the Primacy of Peter, which was reconstructed in 1933 by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. From there he will travel to Capernaum, also on the Sea of Galilee, where he will be able to see the Shrine of the House of Peter which was inaugurated on June 29, 1990 by Cardinal Simon Lourdusamy and is tended by the Custody of the Holy Land.

Following these private visits, John Paul II will return by helicopter to the apostolic delegation where he will dine and spend the night.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 25, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Msgr. Jorge Pedro Carrion Pavlich, of the clergy of Tarma, Peru, apostolic administrator of Puno (area 19,475, population 801,000, Catholics 696,000, priests 37, religious 50), Peru, as bishop of the latter diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Tarma in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1976.
- Msgr. Tommaso Valentinetti, of the clergy of Lanciano-Ortona, Italy, pastor of the parish of St. Gabriel the Archangel in Ortona and vicar general of the same archdiocese, as bishop of Termoli-Lariano (area 1,424, population 105,350, Catholics 104,300, priests 73, permanent deacons 5, religious 161), Italy. The bishop-elect was born at Ortona in 1952 and ordained a priest in 1977.

- Fr. Stanislav Hocevar S.D.B., inspector of the Salesians in Slovenia, as coadjutor archbishop of Beograd (area 50,000, population 5,505,000, Catholics 8,400, priests 19, religious 53), Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The archbishop-elect was born in Jelendol, Slovenia, in 1945 and ordained a priest in 1974.

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PRIVATE VISIT TO GARDEN AND BASILICA OF GETHSEMANE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 25, 2000 (VIS) - This afternoon, before the ecumenical encounter at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, the Holy Father is scheduled to call on the consuls general of several countries at the apostolic delegation in Jerusalem and then proceed for a private visit to the Basilica of the Garden of Gethsemane.

Gethsemane, from the Hebrew "Gat-shemanin," for oil press, was the name of a farm at the foot of the Mount of Olives. The two holy sites of Gethsemane are the Grotto of the Oil Press and the nearby Rock of the Agony.

No church was ever built on the Grotto of the Oil Press because the grotto itself was considered a place of prayer as witnessed by the numerous graffiti. Preserved since 1392 by the Custody of the Holy Land, the grotto is 19 meters long, 9 wide and 3.5 high. In 1956 the Franciscan Friars Minor found mosaics from the fourth to sixth centuries, fragments of an altar and even older traces of an olive press and a well.

According to an account written by St. Jerome in 386, a church was built on the Rock of the Agony. This was burned by the Persians in 614, an imposing church was built during the Crusades and this too was destroyed in 1187. The current basilica was built by the Franciscans between 1919 and 1924 on the ruins of the previous church.

The Basilica of the Garden of Gethsemane has 12 small domes. In front of the main altar is the rock of the agony of Jesus, which is protected by a wrought iron fence resembling a crown of thorns. This church is also known as the Basilica of the Nations because its construction was made possible by the donations of faithful from many countries.

The adjacent Garden of Olives was acquired by the Franciscans in 1666. There are six centuries-old olive trees in the garden and one which dates back 2,500 years, as was evidenced by the carbon dating process performed on it.

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