Friday, December 28, 2007

PAPAL, HOLY SEE HIGHLIGHTS FOR AUGUST - DECEMBER 2007

VATICAN CITY, DEC 28, 2007 (VIS) - Following are highlights of the activities of Pope Benedict XVI and the Holy See for the months of August through December 2007.

AUGUST

 - 8: Cardinal Roger Etchegaray travels to Russia for the tenth anniversary of the consecration of the Catholic cathedral of the Transfiguration in Novosibirsk. While passing through Moscow, Cardinal Etchegaray is received by His Beatitude Alexis II, patriarch of Moscow and all the Russias, to whom he delivers a Message and a gift from the Holy Father.

SEPTEMBER

 - 1: Pope visits the Italian shrine of Loreto where he presides at a national meeting of young people concluding the first year of the "Agora" of Italian youth, an event promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference.

 - 5: Holy Father receives in audience Farouk al-Charaa, vice-president of the Syrian Arab Republic, who gives the Pope a personal message from Bashar al-Asad, president of Syria.

 - 6: Holy Father receives in audience Shimon Peres, president of the State of Israel.

 - 6: Holy Father receives in audience Prince Saud Al Faisal, foreign minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 - 7-9: Holy Father Benedict XVI makes an apostolic trip to Austria for the 850th anniversary of the foundation of the Shrine of Mariazell, the seventh trip outside Italy of his Pontificate.

 - 13: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Jozef Dravecky, the new ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the Holy See.

 - 14: Holy Father receives in audience Omar Hassan Ahmed El-Bashir, president of the Republic of Sudan.

 - 15: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Noel Fahey, the new ambassador of Ireland to the Holy See.

 - 15: In the Holy Father's name, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presides at the beatification of Servant of God Fr. Basile-Antonie Marie Moreau, founder of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, at Le Mans, France.

 - 16: In the Holy Father's name, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. presides at the beatification of Servant of God Fr. Stanislaus Papczynski, founder of the Congregation of Marian Clerics of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, at the Marian Shrine of Lichen-Wloclawek, Poland.

 - 16: In the Holy Father's name, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presides at the beatification of Servant of God Marie Celine of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a nun of the Second Order of St. Francis, at Bordeaux, France.

- 23: The Holy Father makes a pastoral visit pastoral visit to Velletri, south of Rome, the suburbicarian diocese of which he held the title from the year 1993 until his election to the pontificate in April 2005.

 - 24: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Jose Cuadra Chamorro, the new ambassador of Nicaragua to the Holy See.

OCTOBER

 - 4: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Antonio Zanardi Landi, Italy's new ambassador to the Holy See.

 - 11: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Francis Kim Ji-young, the new ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Holy See.

 - 12: Pope inaugurates the "Portone di Bronzo" (Bronze Door), the principal entrance to the Vatican Apostolic Palace, returning to service following almost two years of restoration work.

 - 13: Benedict XVI visits the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music at its headquarters, recently refurbished at the initiative of the Holy See and thanks to the support of various benefactors including the "Fondazione pro Musica Sacra e Arte Sacra."

 - 17: Holy Father announces the names of 23 prelates to be created cardinals in a consistory - the second of his pontificate - on November 24, the eve of the Feast of Christ the King.

 - 18: Holy Father receives in audience Michelle Bachelet, president of the Republic of Chile.

 - 19: Pope receives a delegation from the Mennonite World Conference, the first official Mennonite visit to Rome.

 - 19: Holy Father receives in audience Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, president of the United Republic of Tanzania.

 - 20: Holy Father receives in audience Francois Bozize, president of the Central African Republic.

 - 21: Pope makes a pastoral visit to Naples, Italy, where he celebrates Mass and meets with participants in an International Meeting for Peace, organized by the Sant'Egidio Community.

 - 25: Holy Father receives in audience Zeljko Komsic, president of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 - 26: Holy Father receives in audience Geir H. Haarde, prime minister of Iceland.

 - 27: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Fausto Cordovez Chiriboga, the new ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to the Holy See.

 - 27: Pope writes a Letter to Giovanni Maria Vian for the occasion of his appointment as director of "L'Osservatore Romano."

 - 28: Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presides at a ceremony in St. Peter's Square for the beatification of 498 martyrs of the 20th century in Spain.

 - 29: Holy Father receives in audience Oscar Nicanor Duarte Frutos, president of the Republic of Paraguay.

NOVEMBER

 - 6: Holy Father receives in audience King Abdallah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.

 - 7: Holy Father receives in audience Calin Popescu Tariceanu, prime minister of Romania.

 - 8: Holy Father receives in audience Armando Guebuza, president of the Republic of Mozambique.

 - 12: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Suprapto Martosemoto, the new ambassador of Indonesia to the Holy See.

 - 24: Holy Father holds an Ordinary Public Consistory, the second of his Pontificate, for the creation of 23 new cardinals.

 - 30: Publication of Benedict XVI's second Encyclical, "Spe Salvi," dedicated to the theme of Christian hope. The document takes its theme from a passage in the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans: "spe salvi facti sumus" (in hope we are saved).

DECEMBER

 - 5: Plenary Indulgence for the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes granted by the Holy Father through a decree published today and signed by Cardinal James Francis Stafford and Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, O.F.M. Conv., respectively penitentiary major and regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

 - 6: Holy Father receives in audience Bamir Topi, president of the Republic of Albania.

 - 7: Holy Father receives in audience Donald Tusk, prime minister of the Republic of Poland.

 - 11: Publication of Benedict XVI's Message for the 41st World Day of Peace. The Day falls on January 1, 2008, and has as its theme: "The Human Family, a Community of Peace."

 - 13: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of seven new ambassadors to the Holy See: Chaiyong Satjipanon of Thailand, Alain Butler-Payette of Seychelles, Peter Hitjitevi Katjavivi of Namibia, Elizabeth Ya Eli Harding of Gambia, Urmila Joella-Sewnundun of Suriname, Barry Desker of Singapore, and Suhail Khalil Shuhaiber of Kuwait.

 - 14: Publication of a "Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelization" prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, accompanied by an explanatory summary.

 - 16: On his fifth visit as Pontiff to a Roman parish community, the Holy Father visits the parish of "Santa Maria del Rosario ai Maritiri Portuensi" where he celebrates Mass and presides at the consecration of the new church.

 - 20: Holy Father receives in audience Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France.
.../ACTIVITIES 2007/...                        VIS 20071228 (1250)


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