ARCHBISHOP CORDES TO VISIT FLOOD VICTIMS IN VALLE D'AOSTA

VATICAN CITY, OCT 24, 2000 (VIS) - Tomorrow, October 25, Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum," will visit flood victims in Italy's northern region of Valle d'Aosta, at the request of the Holy Father, according to a communique released this afternoon.

"John Paul II," adds the communique, "had already expressed his pain for the victims of the floods last Wednesday. With this new gesture he wishes to underline the special closeness that he feels towards those who are suffering in northern Italy and, in particular, for the populations who, for many years now, have welcomed him with affection during the summer period."

Archbishop Cordes will meet with civil and religious officials and flood victims and will preside at a Eucharistic celebration at Donnas for the homeless and the volunteers who are assisting them.

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THE SEMINARY, AN ENVIRONMENT OF MEN OF PROFOUND FAITH

VATICAN CITY, OCT 24, 2000 (VIS) - In the Clementine Hall at 11:30 a.m. today, the Pope received the rector, teachers, students and members of the association of friends of the major seminary of the Metropolis of Warmia, "Hosianum" in Olsztyn, Poland.

John Paul II said that "the seminary must be an environment of men of profound faith, of unshakable hope and of self-denying charity. An environment of men open to the action of the Holy Spirit, that awakens in Christ's disciples the desire for active commitment to promoting the coming of the kingdom of the Father. The seminary must also be a place where humanly mature priests are formed, priests who know how to use modern culture's advances and who want to contribute to its creation."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, OCT 24, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, archbishop of Krakow, Poland.

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THEME FOR WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY 2001 IS ANNOUNCED

VATICAN CITY, OCT 24, 2000 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council for Social Communications announced today that the theme chosen by Pope John Paul for World Communications Day 2001 is "'Preach from the Housetops': The Gospel in the Age of Global Communications."

A council communique notes that "the theme reflects the intense interest of the Holy Father in the new evangelization at the dawn of a new millennium. In fact, Jesus' command to teach all nations can now be realized almost instantaneously and universally, since global communications make it possible to reach hundreds of millions of homes with the same message."

Today's press release adds that World Communications Day is the only worldwide celebration called for by Vatican Council II, in the 1963 document "Inter Mirifca." It is celebrated in most countries, on the recommendation of the bishops of the world, on the Sunday before Pentecost: In 2001 it falls on May 27.

The Holy Father's message is traditionally published in conjunction with the January 24 memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists, in order to allow bishops' conferences and diocesan offices time to prepare materials for national and local celebrations of World Communications Day.

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JUBILEE OF ATHLETES TO BE HELD OCTOBER 28 AND 29

VATICAN CITY, OCT 24, 2000 (VIS) - On October 28 in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee 2000, and Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, will inaugurate the Jubilee of Athletes.

At 10 a.m., following the welcome ceremony, an international congress will be held on the theme: "In the time of the Jubilee: the face and soul of sport." At 11 a.m., the Pope is scheduled to greet the participants who, during the afternoon, will make a pilgrimage to St. Peter's Basilica, entering through the Holy Door. In the Paul VI Hall at 5 p.m., a meeting will take place on the theme: "Champions in sport and in life."

At 9 a.m. on Sunday, October 29, athletes from all the sporting federations and associations, both civil and military, will parade in Rome's Olympic Stadium. The Holy Father is expected to make his entrance at 9:30 a.m. and half an hour later the banners of five different Italian cities will be brought into the arena.

At 10 a.m., John Paul II will celebrate Mass and at midday, following the angelus, a number of sporting competitions will be held including a running race and a 100 meter wheelchair race. The "Sport Manifesto" will then be read out in various languages. At 12:20 p.m., the Jubilee 2000 football match will begin, between the Italian national team and a team of foreign first-division footballers who play in Italy. During the interval, a RAI (Italian Radio and television) documentary will be shown. The second half of the match will begin at 1:05 and end at 1:35.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 24, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Christophe Dufour, episcopal vicar of Lille, France, as bishop of Limoges, (area 11,085, population 512,000, Catholics 434,000, priests 156, permanent deacons 8, religious 333), France. The bishop-elect was born in Armentieres, France, in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1975. He succeeds Bishop Leon Soulier, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

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