NOTICE

VATICAN CITY, JAN 2, 2006 (VIS) - During the year 2006, the VIS bulletin will be transmitted every week from Monday to Friday, except on the following days:

January 6 (Friday)

April 13 (Holy Thursday)
April 14 (Good Friday)
April 17 (Easter Monday)
April 18 (Tuesday)
April 19 (Wednesday)

May 1 (Monday)
May 25 (Thursday)

June 15 (Thursday)
June 29 (Thursday)

The entire month of August

November 1 (Wednesday)
November 2 (Thursday)

December 8 (Friday)
December 25 (Monday)
December 26 (Tuesday)
December 27 (Wednesday)
.../.../...                                    VIS 20051230 (90)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 2, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, of Semarang (Indonesia), Military Ordinary of Indonesia. He succeeds Cardinal Julius Riyadi Darmaatmadja, S.I., Archbishop of Jakarta (Indonesia), whose resignation from the pastoral government of the Military Ordinariate of Indonesia, was accepted in conformity with canon 401, paragraph 2 of the CIC.
RE:NER/.../HARDJOATMODJO:DARMAATNADJA            VIS 20060102 (60)

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JAN 2, 2006 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received the following in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

- Cardinal James Francis Stafford, Penitentiary Major.

- Archbishop Franc Rodé, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
AP/.../...                                    VIS 20060102 (60)

PAPAL PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2006

VATICAN CITY, JAN 2, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father's general Intention of the Apostleship of Prayer for the month of January, 2006 is: "That the effort to bring about the full communion of Christians may foster reconciliation and peace among all the peoples of the earth".

  His missionary intention is: "That Christians may know how to welcome migrants with respect and charity, recognizing in each person the image of God".
BXVI-PRAYER INTENTIONS/JANUARY 2006/...            VIS 20060102 (70)

THE PATH OF PEACE: DIALOGUE, FORGIVENESS AND SOLIDARITY

VATICAN CITY, JAN 1, 2006 (VIS) - Today at noon before the Angelus, with thousands of persons in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI said that the Liturgical time of Christmas "teaches us a lesson: to welcome the gift of peace, we must open ourselves to the truth revealed to us by Jesus, who taught us the "content" and also the "method" of peace, that is love".

  He said that "In fact, God, who is perfect and subsistent Love, revealed Himself in Jesus, joining our human condition. This is how He showed us the way of peace: dialogue, forgiveness, solidarity. This is the only way that leads to true peace".

  The Holy Father called upon the Most Holy Mary, "who today blesses the whole world showing her Divine Son, the "Prince of Peace", so that the human family may, in opening themselves to the Evangelical message, live this coming year that begins today in brotherhood and peace".

  The Pope continued by sending all those present and all those joined through the radio and television his "most cordial wishes for peace and good".
ANG/PEACE/...                               VIS 20060102 (190)

PEACE NEEDS EVERYBODY'S CONTRIBUTION

VATICAN CITY, JAN 1, 2006 (VIS) - At 10:00 am today in the Vatican Basilica, the Pope presided the Eucharistic celebration on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, for the XXXIX World Peace Day.

  In the homily, the Holy Father said that, on the theme of "In truth, Peace" for the World Peace Day of this year, he wished to express "the conviction that wherever and whenever men and women are enlightened by the splendour of truth, they naturally set out on the path of peace".

  Peace is "the great heart-felt aspiration of every man and every woman and is created every day with the contribution from everybody". The Pope stated that "faced with situations of injustice and violence that continue to oppress the different areas of the earth, faced with the challenge of the newest and most insidious menaces to peace - terrorism, nihilism and fanatic fundamentalism - it is evermore necessary to work together for peace!".

  "A 'jump' in courage and faith in God and in man in choosing the path of peace is necessary. Necessary from everyone: each individual and peoples, international organizations and world powers". On this line, he recalled that in the message for today, he invited the United Nations Organization to "renew the consciousness of their responsibilities in promoting the values of justice, solidarity and peace, in a world evermore marked by the vast phenomenon of globalization".

  Benedict XVI pointed out that "if peace is the aspiration of all men of good will, for the disciples of Christ this is a permanent mandate that commits everyone; it is a demanding mission that urges them to proclaim and witness "the Gospel of Peace", proclaiming that recognition of God's complete truth is a prior and necessary condition for the consolidation of the truth of peace. May this acknowledgement grow more and more, so that each Christian community may become the "leaven" of a humanity renewed in love".

  The Pope concluded, turning to Mary, to learn from Her "how to become attentive and docile disciples of the Lord. With her maternal help, we wish to commit ourselves to quickly work in the "task" for peace, following Christ, the Prince of Peace".
HML/WORLD PEACE DAY/...                        VIS 20060102 (370)

THE LORD MITIGATES OUR SUFFERINGS AND STRENGTHENS US

VATICAN CITY, DEC 31, 2005 (VIS) - This evening in the Vatican Basilica, the Pope presided over the First Vespers on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the Te Deum of acts of grace for the ending year.

  In the homily, Benedict XVI stated that the Church "with an abundance of gifts, accompanies man's journey, so that those who embrace Christ will have life and have it abundantly".

  He said that during the past twelve months, the Church has had visits from many other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, "to deepen the dialogue of truth in charity, which unites all the baptized, and to experience together in a livelier way the desire for full communion". He also recalled that many believers of other religions "testified their cordial and brotherly esteem for this Church and its Bishop, conscious that in the serene and respectful encounter is hidden the spirit of an act in concordance with favor to all of humanity".

  The Holy Father underlined that this year the pastoral program of the Diocese of Rome was centered on the family, and quoted in particular John Paul II, who on repeated occasions highlighted that "the crisis of the family is a serious prejudice to our own civilization". In this context, last June in an intervention at a Diocesan Congress, he "underlined the importance of the family founded on matrimony in the life of the Church and society".

  At the end, Benedict XVI specifically remembered the "poorest and abandoned persons, all those having lost hope in a fundamental sense of self, or involuntary victims of egoistic interests, without even being asked for consent or their opinion".

  He continued: "Making their sufferings ours, we entrust them to God, who knows how to turn all things towards good. (...) We ask the Lord to mitigate with His grace the pains created by evil, and to continue to give vigor to our earthly existence, giving us the Bread and the Wine of Salvation, to help on the path towards the nation of Heaven".

  After the celebration, the Pope briefly visited the Nativity Scene in St. Peter's Square.
HML/VESPERS:TE DEUM/...                            VIS 20060102 (360)

ACTIVITIES PRESIDED BY THE HOLY FATHER: JANUARY-APRIL

VATICAN CITY, DEC 31, 2005 (VIS) - Today, the Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff published the calendar for the celebrations that the Holy Father will preside from January 6th to April 16th 2006.

JANUARY

Friday, 6th: Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany. At 9:30 am in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass.

Sunday, 8th: Feast of the Lord's Baptism. At 10:00 am, in the Sistine Chapel, Holy Mass and Baptism of several children.

Wednesday, 25th: Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. At 5:30 pm in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, celebration of Vespers.

FEBRUARY

Thursday, 2nd: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, World Day for Consecrated Life. In the Vatican Basilica at 5:30 pm, blessing of the veils, procession and Holy Mass with the members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life.

MARCH

Wednesday, 1st: Ash Wednesday. At 5:00 pm in the Basilica of Santa Sabina, Mass Blessing and imposition of the ashes.

Sunday, 5th: I Sunday of Lent, In the "Redemptoris Mater" Chapel of the Apostolic Palace at 6:00 pm, the beginning of the spiritual exercises for the Roman Curia.

Saturday, 11th: At 9:00 am in the "Redemptoris Mater" Chapel, conclusion of the spiritual exercises.

Sunday, 19th: III Sunday of Lent. At 9:30 am in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass for the workers.

Sunday, 26th: IV Sunday of Lent. At 9:30 am, pastoral visit to the Roman parish of God the Merciful Father. Celebration of the Eucharist.

APRIL

Monday, 3rd: At 5:30 pm in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass in memory of Pope John Paul II.

Sunday, 9th: Palm Sunday. At 9:30 am in St. Peter's Square, blessing of the palms and the olive branches, procession and Holy Mass.

Tuesday, 11th: Holy Tuesday. At 5:30 pm in the Vatican Basilica, celebration of Penance: Rite of reconciliation, with individual confession and absolution.

Thursday, 13th: Holy Thursday. At 9:30 am in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass of the Chrism. At 5:30 pm in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, beginning of the Paschal Triduum. Mass of Our Lord's Last Supper.

Friday, 14th: Holy Friday. At 5:00 pm in the Vatican Basilica, celebration of the Lord's Passion. At 9:15 pm, Via Crucis at the Colosseum.

Saturday, 15th: Holy Saturday. At 10:00 pm in the Vatican Basilica, Paschal Vigil during the holy night.

Sunday, 16th: Easter Sunday. At 10:30 am in St. Peter's Square, daily Mass with the "Resurrexit" rite. At 12:00 noon, from the central balcony of the Vatican Basilica, blessing "Urbi et Orbi".
OCL/CALENDAR:JANUARY:APRIL/...                  VIS 20060102 (440)

THANKS TO THE VATICAN CITY GENDARMES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 31, 2005 (VIS) - This morning in the Clementine Hall in the Vatican, the Pope received the members of the Corps of Gendarmes of the Vatican City, mentioning that this visit was taking place during a "very special year for the Church", because of the death of John Paul II, the period of vacant see and the Conclave, the election of the new Bishop of Rome. He stated: "I know well that this period has been one of intense work for you all, work that you have done with commitment and spirit of sacrifice".

  Benedict XVI thanked them for the daily work achieved by them "with abnegation and faithfulness in the service of the Pope and his collaborators, together with the Pontifical Swiss Guards. (...) Your job is a delicate one and very necessary, which requires dedication, caution and great availability".

  He also asked the gendarmes "always to be vigilant even on the more spiritual level", and underlined that "it is indispensable to pray always, maintaining interior union with the Lord. He alone gives meaning and value to our existence. Therefore, He will support you in every moment and compensate you for the sacrifices that your service entails".
AC/.../VATICAN GENDARMES                        VIS 20060102 (210)