Thursday, July 31, 2008

PAPAL, HOLY SEE HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2008: APRIL - JULY

VATICAN CITY, 31 JUL 2008 (VIS) - Following are highlights of the activities of Pope Benedict XVI and of the Holy See for the months of April to July 2008.

APRIL

 - 2: Mass in St. Peter's Square for the soul of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, presided by Pope Benedict XVI and concelebrated with members of the College of Cardinals.

 - 2-6: First World Apostolic Congress on Mercy.

 - 6: Holy Father sends a telegram of condolence for the killing in Baghdad, Iraq, on 5 April of Fr. Yousef Adel Abudi of the Syrian Orthodox Church.

 - 7: Holy Father visits the memorial to the witnesses of the faith in the 20th and 21st centuries, located in the basilica of St. Bartholomew on Rome's Isola Tiberina, to mark the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the Sant'Egidio Community.

 - 7: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Antilles Episcopal Conference at the end of their five-yearly "ad limina" visit.

 - 10: Cardinal Ernesto Corripio Ahumada, archbishop emeritus of Mexico, Mexico, dies at the age of 88.

 - 15-21: Holy Father's apostolic trip to the United States of America.

 - 19: Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, dies at the age of 72.

 - 24: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the southern Caucasus region at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 27: Benedict XVI presides at a Eucharistic celebration in the Vatican Basilica during which he ordains 28 deacons from the diocese of Rome and one from the Pontifical Urban College.

MAY

 - 2: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 3: Benedict XVI presides at the praying of the Rosary in the Roman basilica of St. Mary Major.

 - 6-9: Official visit to the Church of Rome and to the Holy Father Benedict XVI of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians.

 - 7: Holy Father attends a concert offered by the Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Opera House Chorus in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

 - 9: The Holy See website acquires a new page in Latin, the official language of the Catholic Church. Alongside the other languages in which the website (www.vatican.va) has been available for many years (Italian, German, Spanish, French, English and Portuguese), a new option, "Sancta Sedes Latine", has now been added.

 - 10: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 10: Publication of a decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary by which Benedict XVI grants the faithful Plenary Indulgence for the occasion of the two-thousandth anniversary of the birth of the Apostle Paul. The Plenary Indulgence will be valid throughout the Pauline Year which runs from 28 June 2008 to 29 June 2009.

 - 12: Presentation of the Letters of Credence of Mordechay Lewy, the new ambassador of Israel to the Holy See.

 - 13: Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, dean emeritus of the College of Cardinals, dies in Paris, France, at the age of 86.

 - 15: Holy See adheres to the Convention of Vienna for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, and to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

 - 16: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 16: Publication of a prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan, composed by Benedict XVI to mark the Day of Prayer for the Church in China (24 May).

 - 17-18: Pastoral visit of Benedict XVI to the Italian cities of Savona and Genoa.

 - 19: Press conference to present the Holy See's Pavilion in "Expo Zaragoza 2008", an international exposition being held in the Spanish city of Zaragoza from 14 June to 14 September on the theme: "Water and sustainable development".

 - 23: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Albania at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 24: Benedict XVI receives in separate audiences Nikola Gruevski, prime minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Ivajlo Kalfin, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, each leading a delegation from their respective countries on a visit to Rome for the commemoration of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.

 - 27: Press conference to present the results of the recently-completed restoration of the Valerii Mausoleum, one of the most important monuments of the Roman necropolis located under the Vatican Basilica.

 - 29: Presentation of the Letters of Credence of nine new ambassadors to the Holy See: Ahmada Rweyemamu Ngemera of Tanzania; Nyine S. Bitahwa of Uganda; Wesley Momo Johnson of Liberia, Hissein Brahim Taha of Chad; Debapriya Bhattacharya of Bangladesh; Sergei F. Aleinik of Belarus; Alexandre Cece Loua of Guinea, Tikiri Bandara Maduwegedera of Sri Lanka, and Obed Wadzani of Nigeria.

 - 30: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 31: Presentation of the Letters of Credence of Acisclo Valladares Molina, the new ambassador of Guatemala to the Holy See.

JUNE

 - 2: During the course of a meeting with faithful from the archdiocese of Turin, Italy, the Holy Father announces that in the spring of 2010 there will be another "Solemn Exposition" of the Shroud of Turin.

 - 6: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 9: Benedict XVI inaugurates the ecclesial congress of the diocese of Rome (9 to 12 June), on the theme: "Jesus has risen. Educating for hope in prayer, in action and in suffering".

 - 12: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Bangladesh at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 12: Presentation of the "Instrumentum laboris" (working document) for the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, due to take place from 5 to 26 October on the theme: "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church".

 - 13: Holy Father receives in audience George W. Bush, President of the United States of America.

 - 14-15: Pastoral visit of Benedict XVI to Santa Maria di Leuca and Brindisi, Italy.

 - 16: Presentation of the Letters of Credence of Antoine Zanga, the new ambassador of Cameroon to the Holy See.

 - 19: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 19: Holy Father receives in audience Joseph Kabila Kabange, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 - 26: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Honduras at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 26: Presentation of the Letters of Credence of Firmin Mboutsou, the new ambassador of Gabon to the Holy See.

 - 27: Holy Father appoints Cardinal Agostino Vallini, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, as his vicar general for the diocese of Rome and archpriest of the papal basilica of St. John Lateran. He succeeds Cardinal Camillo Ruini, whose resignation from the same office the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - 27: Holy Father receives in audience bishops of the Chinese dioceses of Hong Kong and Macao at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

 - 28: Holy Father receives in audience Anibal Cavaco Silva, president of the Republic of Portugal.

 - 28: In the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, Benedict XVI presides at the celebration of first Vespers for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul Apostles, marking the opening of the Pauline Year. Among those participating in the ceremony are the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and representatives from other Churches and Christian communities.

 - 29: On the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, Benedict XVI celebrates the Eucharist in the Vatican Basilica, in the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. Concelebrating with the Holy Father are 40 new metropolitan archbishops, upon whom he imposes the pallium.

JULY

 - 3: Holy Father receives in audience Sir Nathaniel Rahumaea Waena, governor general of the Solomon Islands.

 - 4: Publication of a decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary by which Benedict XVI grants the faithful Plenary Indulgence for the occasion of 23rd World Youth Day.

 - 9: Holy Father receives in audience King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain.

 - 12-21: Holy Father's apostolic trip to Australia for 23rd Word Youth Day, which has as its theme : "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses".

 - 25: Holy Father receives in audience Nouri Al-Maliki, prime minister of Iraq.
.../ACTIVITIES 2008/...                        VIS 20080731 (1490)


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