AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 2002 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Mathieu Kerekou, president of the republic of Benin, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.
- Archbishop Telesphore Placidus Toppo of Ranchi, India.
- Bishop Jerzy Mazur of St. Joseph at Irkutsk, Russian Federation.
- Desai Niranjan Natverlal, ambassador of India, on his farewell visit.
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

AP;...;...;...;VIS;20020617;Word: 70;

SPECIAL ENVOY: MILLENNIUM OF POPE ST. LEO IX

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 2002 (VIS) - Made public today was a letter by the Holy Father in which he names Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, as his special envoy for the closing celebrations of the millennium of the birth of Pope St. Leo IX which will take place in Eguisheim, France on June 23. The letter is written in Latin and dated March 23.

The entourage to accompany the cardinal includes Msgr. Joseph Gaschy, vicar general of the archdiocese of Strasbourg, Fr. Aloys Kieffer of the same archdiocese and Fr. Jean-Marie Mazas, F.S.J., official of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

JPII-LETTER;SPECIAL ENVOY;...;FRANCE; POUPART;VIS;20020617;Word: 120;

DAUGHTERS OF ST. CAMILLO: MAKE CHRIST PRESENT FOR FELLOW MAN

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in audience participants in the general chapter of the Institute of the Daughters of St. Camillo who are reflecting upon the spiritual patrimony received by the blessed founders Giuseppina Vannini and Luigi Tezza "to consciously and enthusiastically follow the way of holiness."

John Paul II praised "the generous effort in the service of the poor and sick", as well as the impulse of the religious, present on four continents, "to missionary activity in South America, the East and Eastern Europe," and he encouraged them to "continue on this path."

"Make Christ, ever-merciful, present in every encounter with your neighbor, beginning with your congregation. May the spirit of fraternal charity reign among you so that every sister feels understood and valued in her capacities and may nobody complain of injustice or abuse."

The Pope underlined that the Daughters of St. Camillo were "called to be concrete signs of the mercy of Christ, especially where suffering oppresses human beings in body and spirit. ... Following the example of St. Camillo and of the blessed founders, do not hesitate to proclaim with words, but above all with action, the joy of sacrificing your existence for your brothers in need."

"Through your health institutions and schools," he concluded, "may you be promoters of authentic humanity and charity, capable of sustaining in those who have contact with the sick the desire to transform 'curing' into 'caring' and 'profession' into 'vocation'."

AC;...;...;DAUGHTERS OF ST. CAMILLO;VIS;20020617;Word: 260;

MORE THAN 300,000 PEOPLE AT CANONIZATION OF PADRE PIO

VATICAN CITY, JUN 16, 2002 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. today in the presence of more than 300,000 people who filled St. Peter's Square and the surrounding streets, John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist and canonized the Italian, Blessed Pio of Pietrelicna (Francesco Forgione), priest of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins.

The two subjects of the friar's miracles were present at the ceremony: Consiglia de Martino and Matteo Colella. In 1992, the former was inexplicably cured of the rupture of a lymph vessel, something which would normally result in death; the latter, a child now almost ten years old, recovered two years ago from an irreversible coma caused by the sudden onset of meningitis.

In his homily the Pope affirmed that Jesus' words to His disciples, "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light," are "a magnificent synthesis of the life of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who today is pronounced a saint. The gospel image of the 'yoke' evokes the many trials that the humble Capuchin of St. Giovanni Rotondo had to face. ... The life and mission of Padre Pio provide testimony that difficulty and pain, if accepted with love, become a privileged path to sanctity."

"Padre Pio generously distributed divine mercy, making himself available to everyone through openness, spiritual guidance and, especially, administration of the sacrament of penance. The ministry of the confessional, one of the distinguishing traits of his apostolate, attracted huge crowds of faithful to the monastery of St. Giovanni Rotondo," said the Pope during his homily, recalling that he himself had received confession from Padre Pio. He went on: "Even when that most particular of confessors treated pilgrims with apparent harshness they, conscious of the gravity of their sin and sincerely repentant, almost always turned back and yielded to the embrace of sacramental forgiveness." He requested that "Padre Pio's example may encourage priests to perform this ministry happily and diligently."

The Holy Father stressed that "the profound roots of this spiritual fertility are to be found in that intimate and constant union with God; eloquent testimony of which are the long hours he spent in prayer. ... That fundamental characteristic of his spirituality continues in the 'Prayer Groups' founded by him, which offer the Church and society the formidable contribution of incessant and faithful invocation. Padre Pio united prayer with intense charitable activity of which the 'House for the Relief of Suffering' is an extraordinary expression. Prayer and charity, a concrete synthesis of Padre Pio's teaching, which today is again proposed to everyone."

Following Mass and before praying the angelus, the Pope greeted all those who had taken part in the celebration: cardinals, archbishops, bishops, the minister general of the Capuchins, the members of Padre Pio's order and Italian civil and military authorities.

The Pope added: "My thoughts go out particularly to all the pilgrims gathered in this square and the adjoining streets, especially those who have had to remain standing for such a long time. I also greet the faithful gathered in prayer at St. Giovanni Rotondo, and those following the event on television. In exhorting everyone to follow in the footsteps of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, I am happy to announce that his liturgical anniversary, with the denomination of 'obligatory,' will be inserted in the general Roman calendar on September 23, the day he died to be born in heaven."
At the end of the ceremony, the Pope travelled by 'popemobile' around St. Peter's Square and the adjoining Via della Conciliazione in order to greet the tens of thousands of faithful who had come from Italy and other countries. Those who attended the canonization ceremony had to bear temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius and were doused with water to prevent them suffering sunstroke or dehydration.

HML;CANONIZATION PADRE PIO;...;...;VIS;20020617;Word: 630;

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 15, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Eustaquio Pastor Cuquejo Verga, C.SS.R., military ordinary of Paraguay, as metropolitan archbishop of Asuncion (area 658, population 1,602,173, Catholics 774,000, priests 354, permanent deacons 51, religious 1,842), Paraguay. The archbishop-elect was born in San Estanislao, Paraguay in 1939 and was ordained a priest in 1964. He succeeds Archbishop Felipe Santiago Benitez Avalos whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted upon having reached the age limit.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Bahia Blanca, Argentina, presented by Archbishop Romulo Garcia upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Fr. Luis Antonio Sanchez Armijos, S.D.B., vicar and bursar of the Post-Noviciate Community and professor in the Department of Religious Sciences of the Salesian Polytechnic University of Quito, Ecuador, as bishop of Tulcan (area 3,699, population 231,810, Catholics 213,000, priests 113, permanent deacons 6, religious 102), Ecuador. The bishop-elect was born in Olmedo, Ecuador in 1943 and was ordained a priest in 1975.

- Appointed Fr. Leopoldo Hermes Garin Bruzzone, vicar general of Canelones (area 4,532, population 443,660, Catholics 365,821, priests 38, permanent deacons 10, religious 178), Uruguay, as auxiliary of the same diocese. The bishop-elect was born in San Ramon, Uruguay in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1973.

- Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Chicoutimi, Canada, presented by Bishop Roch Pedneault upon having reached the age limit.

NER; NEA; RE;...;...;...;VIS;20020617;Word: 230;

ST. PIO: EXAMPLE OF LOVE FOR GOD AND SOLIDARITY WITH FELLOW MAN

VATICAN CITY, JUN 17, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father received this morning in the Paul VI Hall thousands of pilgrims who participated yesterday in the canonization of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, "a credible witness of Christ and His Gospel," said the Pope. "His example and intercession encourage each one of us to an ever-greater love of God and toward real solidarity with our fellow man, especially those in most need."

The Pope said that St. Pio "was a 'friar of the people'" and "a miracle-worker saint, as the extraordinary events that characterize his life testify. Padre Pio was above all a religious who sincerely loved the crucified Christ. He participated in the mystery of the Cross, even physically, during his entire life."

"His ascetic and spiritual path brought him to deep communion with the Church. Momentary misunderstandings with ecclesiastical authorities did not inhibit his attitude of filial obedience. Padre Pio was at the same time a faithful and brave son of the Church, following the luminous example of St. Francis of Assisi."

John Paul II emphasized that to the numerous faithful who used to go to him, Padre Pio "would convey the consoling and illuminating Word of God, allowing each one to drink from the fonts of grace by his assiduous dedication to the ministry of Confession and the fervent celebration of the Eucharist."

"Holy Mass," concluded the Pope, "was the center and the source of all his spirituality. ... The faithful who gathered around his altar remained deeply impressed by the intensity of his 'immersion' in the mystery and they perceived that 'Father' was participating first hand in the Redeemer's suffering."

AC;CANONIZATION PADRE PIO;...;...;VIS;20020617;Word: 290;