VATICAN CITY, 30 JUL 2010 (VIS) - Following are highlights of the activities of Pope Benedict XVI and of the Holy See for the months of April to July 2010.
APRIL
9: The Vatican Information Service (VIS), apart from its daily news bulletin, acquires its own blog which includes news items from the last few years in Spanish, English, French and Italian. The blog also allows access to the Vatican's Twitter account and YouTube portal. The website is: www.visnews.org.
12: The Vatican website, under the section "Focus", publishes a guide to understanding the procedures of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on sexual abuse allegations towards minors.
15: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Northern Region II), at the end of their "ad limina" visit.
15: Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, presides at Mass for Polish President Lech Kaczynski and other victims of the air accident that occurred on 10 April in Smolensk, Russia.
16: Czech Cardinal Tomas Spidlik S.J. dies at the age of 90.
17-18: Benedict XVI makes an apostolic trip to Malta.
18: Beatification of Servant of God Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos, priest of the order of the Society of Jesus, at the cathedral of Valladolid, Spain.
19: Fifth anniversary of Benedict XVI's election as Pope. On 19 April 2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, succeeding Pope John Paul II, became the 264th successor of St. Peter.
24: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Charles Ghislain, the new ambassador of Belgium to the Holy See.
25: Beatification of Servant of God Angelo Paoli, priest of the order of Carmelites of the Strict Observance, at the papal basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.
25: Beatification of Servant of God Jose Tous y Soler, priest of the order of Capuchin Friars Minor and founder of the Institute of the Capuchin sisters of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd, at the basilica of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona, Spain.
25: Good Shepherd Sunday and the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
29: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Jean-Pierre Hamuli Mupenda, the new ambassador to the Holy See of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
29: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone, at the end of their "ad limina" visit.
30: Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer O.S.B., president emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, dies at the age of 98.
MAY
2: Holy Father makes a pastoral visit to the Italian city of Turin, for the exposition of the Holy Shroud.
4: Cardinal Luigi Poggi, archivist and librarian emeritus of Holy Roman Church, dies at the age of 92.
6: The Pope receives in audience Doris Leuthard, president of the Swiss Confederation.
6: The Pope receives in audience His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, emir of Kuwait.
7: The Pope receives in audience Mikheil Saakashvili, president of Georgia.
8: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Belgium, at the end of their "ad limina" visit.
10: Announcement that the definitive text of the second volume of the book 'Jesus of Nazareth' by His Holiness Benedict XVI was recently consigned to the publishers. The second volume is dedicated to the Passion and the Resurrection, and starts where the first volume finished.
11-14: Benedict XVI makes an apostolic trip to Portugal.
17: The Pope receives in audience Evo Morales Ayma, president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
20: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Hissa Abdulla Ahmed Al-Otaiba, the first ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Holy See.
20: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Luvsantseren Orgil, the new ambassador of Mongolia to the Holy See.
20: The Pope receives in audience Feleti Vaka'uta Sevele, prime minister of Tonga.
21: The Pope receives in audience Leonel Antonio Fernandez Reyna, president of the Dominican Republic.
22: Beatification of Servant of God Teresa Manganiello, virgin and Franciscan tertiary, at the basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Benevento, Italy.
24: The Pope receives in audience Denis Sassou N'guesso, president of the Republic of Congo.
24: The Pope receives in audience Mihai Ghimpu, speaker of parliament and acting president of the Republic of Moldova.
28: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Theodore Loko, the first resident ambassador of Benin to the Holy See.
30: Beatification of Servant of God Maria Pierina De Micheli, virgin and sister of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception in Buenos Aires, at the papal basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
JUNE
4-6: Benedict XVI makes an apostolic trip to Cyprus.
6: Beatification of Servant of God Jerzy Popieluszko, priest and martyr, at Marshal J. Pilsudski Square in Warsaw, Poland.
9-11: International meeting of clergy to mark the end of the Year for Priests, called by Benedict XVI for the 150th anniversary of the death of the holy "Cure of Ars".
10: The Pope receives in audience Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, prime minister of Spain.
12: Beatification of Servant of God Manuel Lozano Garrido, layman, in Linares, Spain.
13: Beatification of Servant of God Lojze Grozde, Slovenian layman and martyr, in Celje, Slovenia.
19: Holy Father receives in audience prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Eastern Region II), at the end of their "ad limina" visit.
27: Beatification of Servant of God Stephen Nehme (ne Joseph), Lebanese professed religious of the Order of Maronites, in Kfifan, Lebanon.
28: The Pope creates a new organisation, in the form of a Pontifical Council, with the fundamental task of promoting renewed evangelisation in countries undergoing a progressive secularisation of society.
30: Publication of the Message for World Tourism Day by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. The Day, which is due to be celebrated on 27 December, has as its theme: "Tourism and Biodiversity".
JULY
2: Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of Habbeb Mohammed Hadi Ali Al-Sadr, the new ambassador of Iraq to the Holy See.
4: The Pope makes a pastoral visit to the town of Sulmona, in the Italian region of Abruzzo.
7: Benedict XVI moves to his summer residence at Castelgandolfo for a period of rest.
13: Announcement of the theme chosen by Pope Benedict XVI for the 2011 World Day of Peace: "Religious freedom, the path to peace".
15: The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith publishes its new "Norms concerning the most serious crimes".
22: Publication of "The Friends of Jesus", a new book for children by Benedict XVI in which he recounts the story of the twelve Apostles and St. Paul.
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