IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2005 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

 - Bishop Aldo Del Monte, emeritus of Novara, Italy, on February 16 at the age of 89.

 - Bishop Efren Ramos Salazar of Chilpancingo - Chilapa, Mexico, on February 19 at the age of 65.
.../DEATHS/...                                    VIS 20050303 (60)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Bishop Mario Espinosa Contreras of Tehuacan, Mexico, as bishop of Mazatlan (area 19,105, population 755,023, Catholics 702,171, priests 80, religious 136), Mexico. He succeeds Bishop Rafael Barraza Sanchez, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese was accepted by the Holy Father, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Msgr. Salvatore Ronald Matano, local collaborator of the apostolic nunciature to the U.S.A., as coadjutor bishop of Burlington (area 23,651, population 608,827, Catholics 149,048, priests 168, permanent deacons 38, religious 261), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Providence, U.S.A., in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1971.
NER:RE:NEC/.../ESPINOSA:BARRAZA:MATANO            VIS 20050303 (120)

ST. MARY MAJOR: ENCOUNTERS OF REFLECTION AND MUSIC FOR LENT

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2005 (VIS) - Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, will offer a meditation this evening on the theme "The Eucharist as Sacrifice" at 8:30 p.m. at St. Mary Major Basilica. His talk, to be followed by music with the choir of Immaculate Conception Shrine in Washington, D.C., is the second of five "Encounters of Reflection and Music for Lent," organized by Cardinal Bernard Law, archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica for the five Thursdays of Lent.
.../REFLECTIONS LENT/RE:LAW                    VIS 20050303 (100)

POPE IMPROVING STEADILY, MEETING WITH COLLABORATORS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2005 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls today released the following declaration to journalists concerning the health of the Pope:

  "The health of the Holy Father John Paul II continues to improve and show progress.

  "As previously stated, the Pope is eating regularly and spends several hours each day in an armchair.

  "The surgical wound is healing.

  "The daily sessions for rehabilitation of breathing and speaking continue, with the active collaboration of the Holy Father.

  "The next bulletin will be issued on Monday, March 7 at 12:30 p.m."

  Navarro-Valls added:

  "In recent days the Pope has been receiving several of his collaborators with whom he daily follows the activity of the Holy See and the life of the Church. He usually receives one collaborator a day."

  Later, meeting briefly with the media, the press office director said that no date had been set for the Pope's release from Gemelli hospital but underscored that the next medical bulletin will be on March 7.  Asked about the Vatican's liturgical schedule for Easter, he said: "The Easter calendar is the same, but the Pope will have to decide on his participation .

  Regarding the Angelus on Sunday, March 6, Navarro-Valls said it seems "there will be the same scenario as last Sunday. I will confirm, this on Saturday but when we spoke of it today at the hospital, this seemed the orientation." Last Sunday, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri read the Pope's reflections and led the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, following which, in a surprise move, the Pope appeared at the closed window of his hospital suite."
OP/POPE:HEALTH/NAVARRO-VALLS                VIS 20050303 (130)

MAY THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY GROW IN LOVE FOR THE EUCHARIST

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2005 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from John Paul II - signed this morning in Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic - to Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and to participants in that dicastery's plenary session which concludes tomorrow in the Vatican.

  In his Message the Pope thanks Cardinal Arinze for his "words of affection and the assurance of a special prayer which you conveyed to me in everyone's name, and for the generous dedication with which you guide the dicastery."

  The Holy Father particularly expresses his gratitude "to the congregation for having quickly complied with the indications of the Encyclical 'Ecclesia de Eucharistia' and of the Apostolic Letter 'Mane nobiscum Domine', preparing first the Instruction 'Redemptionis Scaramentum' and then the 'Suggestions and Proposals' for the year of the Eucharist. It is my hope that, also by virtue of these documents, the Christian community may grow in love for the Most Holy Sacrament, and that it may be helped to celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice in an ever more worthy fashion, in conformity with liturgical norms and, above all, with true inner participation."

  Making reference to one of the themes of the plenary gathering, "ars celebrandi," the Pope highlights how, "above all in the celebration of the Eucharist, a living re-presentation of the paschal Mystery, Christ is present and His action is shared in ways appropriate to our humanity, which is so in need of words, signs and rituals. The effectiveness of such action is fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit, but it also calls for a human response."

  John Paul II indicates that the homily, another of the subjects discussed during the plenary session, "has a physiognomy different from that of ordinary catechesis, and commits the person who pronounces it to a dual responsibility: towards the Word and towards the assembly. ... It is important that the homily not be absent, especially in the Sunday Eucharist. In the context of new evangelization, the homily represents a precious - and for many people, unique - formative opportunity."

  The Holy Father also refers to another of the themes of the plenary, liturgical formation, saying: "It is urgent for parish communities, associations and ecclesial movements to guarantee appropriate formative itineraries, in order for the liturgy to become better known in the richness of its language, and for it to be fully experienced. In the measure to which this is done, beneficial effects on individual and community life will be felt."
MESS/LITURGY/ARINZE                            VIS 20050303 (440)