CELEBRATING THE FIFTH CENTENARY OF ST. PETER'S BASILICA

VATICAN CITY, APR 11, 2006 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at 11.30 a.m. on Thursday, April 20, a press conference will be held to present the celebrations being organized to mark the fifth centenary of St. Peter's Basilica.

  Participating in the press conference will be Cardinals Francesco Marchisano, archpriest of the basilica, and Albert Vanhoye S.J., rector emeritus of the Pontifical Biblical College; Archbishop Angelo Comastri and Bishop Vittorio Lanzani, respectively president and delegate of the Fabric of St. Peter's; Antonio Paolucci, superintendent of the Florentine Museums and curator of the exhibition, "Petros Eni;" and Maria Cristina Carlo-Stella, bureau chief at the Fabric of St. Peter's.
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PUBLICATION OF MEDITATIONS FOR VIA CRUCIS 2006

VATICAN CITY, APR 11, 2006 (VIS) - According to a communique made public this morning by the Vatican Publishing House, the text of the meditations for this year's Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) will be available from today, Tuesday April 11, in religious bookshops and at major chains of booksellers.

  The Way of the Cross on Good Friday, April 14, will be the first to be led by Benedict XVI. The meditations, written by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, prelate emeritus of Loreto and His Holiness' vicar general for Vatican City State, "invite us to reflect upon the devastating power of sin and, at the same time, encourage us to contemplate the healing power of God's love clearly expressed in the cross of Christ," the communique reads.

  Apart from Italy, the text is also to be released in Germany and the United States where it is being published by the publishing houses of Herder and Ignatius Press respectively.
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