ANNIVERSARY OF PONTIFICAL APPROVAL OF HOSPITALER FRANCISCANS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 24, 2001 (VIS) - Made public today was the text of a Message from the Pope to the Superior General of the Hospitaler Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception, Sr. Maria Isilda de Freitas, on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the order's pontifical approval and it's general chapter which is being celebrated in Portugal from July 20 to August 20.

In the Message, written in Portuguese and dated March 27, John Paul II recalls that Blessed Pius IX gave pontifical approval to this congregation on March 27, 1876. He expresses his appreciation "for the stupendous evangelical path opened by the religious family of Sr. Maria Clara do Menino Jesus (1843-1899) during these years with their manifold service of charity." The religious are located on four continents, with 196 houses and 1,709 members.

The Holy Father recalls, furthermore, that in the face of the persecution which prohibited religious profession in Portugal, Sr. Maria Clara travelled with two other religious sisters to Calais, France, to spend their novitiate in the house of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi. Upon returning to Portugal they "wanted to adopt with the greatest perfection possible the same Rule, the same customs and also an identical habit," writes the Pope. "To the Hospitaler Sisters of Portugal were conferred 'the same spiritual privileges which the above-mentioned French congregation rightly enjoys'."

"In the face of the numerous problems and needs that seem at times to compromise and even overwhelm the consecrated life, may the daughters of St. Maria Clara," the Pope concludes, "seek to 'profoundly grasp the designs of providence (of God). He calls the consecrated life to devise new answers for the new problems of today's world'."

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DATA ON POPE'S SEPTEMBER TRIP TO KAZAKHSTAN AND ARMENIA

VATICAN CITY, JUL 24, 2001 (VIS) - The itinerary of John Paul II's pastoral visit to Kazakhstan and apostolic visit to Armenia on the occasion of its 1,700 years of Christianity, was published today. The trip starts on September 22 and concludes September 27.

The papal plane will depart from Rome's Fiumicino Airport on September 22 at 8:30 a.m., and arrive at Kazakhstan's Astana International Airport at 7:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. Rome time). The Pope will be in Kazakhstan until the morning of September 25.

Kazakhstan has been an independent republic since 1991. Its capital is Astana. Of the 16,320,000 inhabitants, 47 percent are Muslim, 44 percent are Orthodox, and 1.8 percent are Catholic. It has an archbishop and a bishop, 64 parishes, 45 priests (27 diocesan and 18 religious), 20 seminarians and 53 religious. In 1991, a Latin-rite apostolic administration was established and in 1999, a diocesan structure with one diocese and two apostolic administrators.

The second leg of the Pope's trip starts on September 25 at 11:00 a.m. local time when John Paul II will depart Kazakhstan for Zvartnotz International Airport in Yerevan, Armenia, arriving at 1:00 p.m. local time (10:00 a.m. Rome time). He will be in Armenia through September 27.

Armenia is a republic in Asia Minor, which declared its sovereignty in 1991. Its capital is Yerevan. Of the 3,540,000, inhabitants, 147,000, or 4.1 percent, are Catholic. There is an ecclesiastical circumscription for the Armenian Catholics of Eastern Europe, with its seat in Armenia. It has an archbishop, 29 parishes, 17 priests (1 diocesan and 16 religious), 9 seminarians and 14 religious.

The Holy Father is scheduled to depart Armenia on Thursday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m., arriving at Rome's Ciampino Airport at 8:45 p.m. local time, after a flight of four and a quarter hours.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 24, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation of Archbishop Benedict To Varpin from the pastoral care of Madang (area 27,752, population 283,154, Catholics 138,494, priests 34, permanent deacons 2, religious 152), Papua New Guinea, in conformity with canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop William Joseph Kurtz of the same archdiocese.

- Appointed Bishop John Joseph Myers of Peoria, U.S.A., as metropolitan archbishop of Newark (area 1,328, population 2,666,569, Catholics 1,319,558, priests 957, permanent deacons 255, religious 1,861), U.S.A.

RE; NER;...;...;TO VARPIN; KURTZ; MYERS ;VIS;20010724;Word: 90;