FRANCIS WILL SAY HOLY THURSDAY MASS IN A ROMAN PRISON

Vatican City, 21 March 2013 (VIS) – On Holy Thursday, 28 March, the Holy Father Francis will celebrate the Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning and then, at 5:30pm in the afternoon, will go to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Casal del Marmo youth detention centre instead of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where it had been traditionally held in past years.

The Mass of the Lord's Supper is characterized by the announcement of the commandment of love and the gesture of washing the feet. In his ministry as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio used to celebrate the Mass in a prison or hospital or hospice for the poor and marginalized. With this celebration at Casal del Marmo, Pope Francis will continue his custom, which is characterized by its humble context.

The other Holy Week celebrations will be held according to tradition, as established in a notification by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations.

Pope Benedict XVI also visited the Casal del Marmo youth detention centre, on 18 March in 2007, to celebrate Mass in the Chapel of the Merciful Father.

POPE FRANCIS' MESSAGE FOR ENTHRONEMENT OF ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

Vatican City, 21 March 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis has sent a message to the Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, on the occasion of his enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral in London, UK, this past Thursday. Archbishop Welby is the 105 Archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

“The pastoral ministry,” writes Francis, “is a call to walk in fidelity to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please be assured of my prayers as you take up your new responsibilities, and I ask you to pray for me as I respond to the new call that the Lord has addressed to me.”

“I look forward to meeting you in the near future, and to continuing the warm fraternal relations that our predecessors enjoyed.”

4 FEBRUARY: POPE BENEDICT XVI CONGRATULATED MOST REVEREND WELBY ON HIS ELECTION AS ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

Vatican City, 21 March 2013 (VIS) – Today was made public the message that Benedict XVI wrote this past 4 February to the Most Reverend Justin Welby on the occasion of his election as Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Pope wrote that the archbishop was taking up his office “at a time when the Christian faith is being called into question in many parts of the Western world by those who claim that religion is a private matter, with no contribution to offer to public debate. Ministers of the Gospel today have to respond to a widespread deafness to the music of faith, and a general weariness that shuns the demands of discipleship. Yet the hunger for God, even if unrecognised, is ever-present in our society, and the preacher's task, as a messenger of hope, is to speak the truth with love, shedding the light of Christ into the darkness of people's lives. May your apostolate yield a rich harvest and may it open the eyes and ears of many to the life-giving message of the Gospel.”

Benedict XVI concluded with the prayer that “the Lord grant you strength and wisdom” in whatever challenges the new archbishop may encounter and asking that “the Holy Spirit guide you in all that you undertake in his name.”

POPE FRANCIS INVITES ARGENTINE COMMUNITY IN ROME TO SPECIAL MEETING

Vatican City, 21 March 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday, shortly after noon, around 50 Argentine nationals resident in Rome responded to an invitation to a spur of the moment gathering with the Pope at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Those in attendance included the president of the Argentinian Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Jose Maria Arancedo of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz; Master General of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, Fr. Pablo Bernardo Ordone, O. de .M.; priests and religious; but also lay persons, families with children, and journalists.

The guests had the chance to sing and dance in front of the Pope, sharing light refreshments in a spirit of warm friendship. The Pope paid tribute to the fruitfulness of the Church in Argentina, praying that she might rise to the situation created by his pontifical election.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 21 March 2013 (VIS) – This morning in his private library on the second loggia, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Mr. Adolfo Perez Esquivel, recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize,

- Msgr. Carlos Maria Nannei,

- Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, and

- His Beatitude Louis Raphael I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, with an entourage.

This afternoon, at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, he received Mr. Peter Mizengo Kayanza Pinda, prime minister of Tanzania, in audience.