VATICAN CITY, 31 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Following are highlights of the activities of Pope Benedict XVI and of the Holy See for the months of April to July 2009.
APRIL
1: Cardinal Umberto Betti O.F.M., former rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, dies at the age of 87.
2: Benedict XVI receives a second group of prelates from the Argentinean Episcopal Conference at the conclusion of their "ad limina" visit.
2: Benedict XVI presides at Mass in the Vatican Basilica to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the death of his predecessor John Paul II.
3: Benedict XVI receives the Letters of Credence of Victor Manuel Grimaldi Cespedes, the new ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the Holy See.
5: Twenty-fourth World Youth Day, celebrated this year at a diocesan level on the theme: "We have set our hope on the living God".
16: Holy Father celebrates his 82nd birthday in the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo where he enjoys a brief period of rest following the ceremonies of Holy Week.
25: Holy Father receives in audience Amr Moussa, secretary general of the League of Arab States.
25: Holy Father receives in audience Ralph Everard Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
26: Canonisation of the Italian Blesseds Arcangelo Tadini (1846-1912), Bernardo Tolomei (1272-1348), Gertrude Comensoli (1847-1903) and Caterina Volpicelli (1839-1894), and of the Portuguese Blessed Nuno de Santa Maria Alvares Pereira (1360-1431).
27: Benedict XVI receives in audience Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus.
27: Benedict XVI receives in audience His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall.
28: Holy Father visits the Italian region of Abruzzo to visit people affected by the 6 April earthquake.
30: Holy Father receives in audience Alvaro Uribe Velez, president of the Republic of Colombia.
30: Benedict XVI receives a third group of prelates from the Argentinean Episcopal Conference at the conclusion of their "ad limina" visit.
30: Pope attends a concert offered by Giorgio Napolitano, president of the Italian Republic, to mark the fourth anniversary of his pontificate.
MAY
7: Holy Father receives in audience Elias Antonio Saca Gonzalez, president of the Republic of El Salvador.
8-15: Holy Father's pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
18: Holy Father receives prelates from the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, who have recently completed their "ad limina" visit.
19: Benedict XVI receives in audience Lech Kaczynski, president of the Republic of Poland.
22: Benedict XVI receives in separate audiences first Georgi Parvanov, president of the Republic of Bulgaria, then Gjeorge Ivanov, president of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, for the commemoration of the Feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.
24: Solemnity of the Lord's Ascension: Pope makes a pastoral visit to Montecassino, Italy.
24: Publication on the official website of the Holy See of the "Compendium of the Letter of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI to the Church in China". The Holy Father's original Letter to the bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China was dated 27 May 2007.
29: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of eight new ambassadors to the Holy See: Danzannorov Boldbaatar of Mongolia; Chitra Narayanan of India; Charles Borromee Todjinou of Benin, Robert Carey Moore-Jones of New Zealand; George Johannes of South Africa; Beyon Luc Adolphe Tiao of Burkina Faso; Neville Melvin Gertze of Namibia, and Rolf Trolle Andersen of Norway.
30: Benedict XVI receives in audience Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic.
JUNE
1: Benedict XVI receives in audience Viktor Yushchenko, president of Ukraine.
8: Holy Father receives prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela at the conclusion of their "ad limina" visit.
18: Benedict XVI receives in audience George Abela, president of Malta.
19: On today's Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Pope inaugurates the Year for Priests, called to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney.
19: Benedict XVI receives in audience His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, the new Catholic patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians.
21: Holy Father makes a pastoral visit to San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
27: Holy Father receives prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam at the end of their "ad limina" visit.
28: Holy Father presides at first Vespers in the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, officially marking the closure of the Pauline Year.
JULY
4: Holy Father presides at Vespers in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Place to mark its reopening following seven years of restoration work.
4: Benedict XVI sends a letter to Silvio Berlusconi, Italian prime minister, for the meeting of the heads of State and Government of the industrialised countries (G8), due to take place in the Italian city of L'Aquila from 8 to 10 July.
6: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Carl-Henri Guiteau, the new envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Haiti to the Holy See.
7: Press conference in the Holy See Press Office to present Benedict XVI's new Encyclical "Caritas in veritate".
7: Holy Father receives in audience Taro Aso, prime minister of Japan.
8: Publication of Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" of Pope Benedict XVI, "Ecclesiae unitatem". The document concerns the structure of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" which deals with questions involving the Society of Saint Pius X and which now becomes dependent upon the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
9: Holy Father receives in audience Kevin Rudd, prime minister of Australia.
9: Holy Father receives in audience Lee Myung-bak, president of the Republic of Korea.
10: Benedict XVI receives in audience Barack H. Obama, president of the United States of America.
10: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Hector Federico Ling Altamirano, the new ambassador of Mexico to the Holy See.
11: Benedict XVI receives Stephen Harper, prime minister of Canada.
13-29: Holy Father spends a holiday at the residence of Les Combes in Introd, in the Italian alpine region of Valle d'Aosta.
17: Holy Father undergoes a minor operation at the Umberto Parini hospital of Aosta to set a broken wrist, following a fall at his holiday villa in Les Combes.
.../ACTIVITIES 2009/... VIS 20090731 (1040)
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