MASS FOR THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF JOHN PAUL II

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAR 2010 (VIS) - At 6 p.m. on Monday 29 March, the Monday of Holy Week, Benedict XVI will preside at a celebration of the Eucharist in the Vatican Basilica to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Venerable Servant of God John Paul II (2 April 2005).
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INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FORUM TO BEGIN TOMORROW

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAR 2010 (VIS) - As it does every three years, the Pontifical Council for the Laity has organised an International Youth Forum, to be held from 24 to 28 March at Rocca di Papa near Rome. The event is due to be attended by around three hundred young people delegated by episcopal conferences and the main international movements and associations.

  The theme chosen for this forum, the tenth in the series, is "Learning to Love" and its aim, according to a communique, is to reflect on human love in its various aspects: vocation, marriage, family, consecrated life and priesthood. The meeting is due to include lectures, round table discussions, witness and work groups.

  On Thursday 25 March, the delegates will participate in the Pope's meeting with young people of Rome and Lazio for the commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first World Youth Day.

  The work of the forum will conclude with the Mass Benedict XVI is due to celebrate in St. Peter's Square on Palm Sunday 28 March, which is traditionally attended by thousands of young people from all over the world.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAR 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Charles Kasonde of the clergy of Ndola, Zambia, director of the national office for pastoral care and vice secretary general of the Zambia Episcopal Conference, as bishop of Solwezi (area 88,300, population 750,000, Catholics 80,000, priests 40, religious 51), Zambia. The bishop-elect was born in Kalulushi, Zambia in 1968 and ordained a priest in 2001.
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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, 23 MAR 2010 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:

 - Cardinal Armand Gaetan Razafindratandra, archbishop emeritus of Antananarivo, Madagascar, on 9 January at the age of 84.

 - Bishop Christopher Shaman Abba of Yola, Nigeria, on 10 January at the age of 74.

 - Bishop Roger-Emile Aubry C.SS.R., former apostolic vicar of Reyes, Bolivia, on 17 February at the age of 86.

 - Bishop Juan Angel Belda Dardina, emeritus of Leon, Spain, on 22 February at the age of 83.

 - Archbishop Lawrence Aloysius Burke S.J., emeritus of Kingston in Jamaica, on 24 January at the age of 77.

 - Bishop Jose Eugenio Correa, emeritus of Caratinga, Brazil, on 28 January at the age of 95.

 - Bishop Alfredo Mario Esposito Castro C.M.F., emeritus of Zarate-Campana, Argentina, on 1 January at the age of 82.

 - Bishop Ignatius O. Lobo, emeritus of Belgaum, India, on 17 February at the age of 90.

 - Bishop John Bernard McDowell, former auxiliary of Pittsburgh, U.S.A., on 25 February at the age of 88.

 - Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on 12 January at the age of 63.

 - Bishop John Francis Moore S.M.A. of Bauchi, Nigeria, on 20 January at the age of 68.

 - Bishop Rafael Munoz Nunez, emeritus of Aguascalientes, Mexico, on 19 February at the age of 85.

 - Bishop Donald Edmond Pelotte S.S.S., emeritus of Gallup, U.S.A., on 7 January at the age of 64.

 - Archbishop Ivan Prendja of Zadar, Croatia, on 25 January at the age of 70.

 - Bishop Joseph Ignace Randrianasolo, emeritus of Mahjanga, Madagascar, on 4 February at the age of 62.

 - Bishop Josephus Tethool M.S.C., former auxiliary of Amboina, Indonesia on 18 January at the age of 75.

 - Archbishop Paul Verdzekov, emeritus of Bamenda, Cameroon, on 26 January at the age of 79.

 - Bishop Antonio Vilaplana Molina, emeritus of Leon, Spain, on 14 January at the age of 83.
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