SCHEDULE OF POPE'S TRIP TO RIO DE JANEIRO FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY

Vatican City, 7 May 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis will make an apostolic trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 22 to 29 July of this year on the occasion of the 28th World Youth Day (WYD).

The Pope will depart from Rome's Ciampino Airport at 8:45am on 22 July and will arrive in Rio de Janeiro around 4:00pm (local time). The welcoming ceremony will take place an hour later in the gardens of the Guanabara Palace, seat of the state's government, where the Pope will be received by the president of the Brazilian Republic.

Until Wednesday, 24 July, the Holy Father will reside at the Sumare Residence in Rio de Janeiro. That morning, at 8:15am he will travel by helicopter to the Shrine of our Lady of Aparecida where he will celebrate Mass. After lunching with the bishops and seminarians of the province at the Bom Jesus Missionary Seminary, he will return to Rio de Janeiro by helicopter. That evening he will visit the St. Francis of Assisi of the Providence of God Hospital.

On Thursday, 25 July, the Pope will receive the keys to the city of Rio de Janeiro and will bless the Olympic flags at the City Palace. That same morning he will visit a community in Varginha (in the Manguinhos neighbourhood of north Rio de Janeiro). That evening there will be a welcoming ceremony by the youth along the Copacabana beachfront.

On Friday, 26 July, the Pope will hear the confession of some youth participating in the WYD at the Quinta da Boa Vista Park at 10:00am. At 11:30am he will meet with some juvenile detainees in the St. Joaquim Palace of the Archbishop. From the central balcony of that palace, the Pope will pray the Angelus at noon. At 12:15pm he will greet the organization committee and patrons of the 28th WYD and then will have lunch, still at the Archbishop's Palace, with a group of youth. At 6:00pm a Via Crucis will be held with the youth along the Copacabana beachfront.

On Saturday, 27 July, the 28th WYD will open with Mass celebrated with the bishops and with priests, religious, and seminarians in Rio de Janeiro's St. Sebastian Cathedral. After that, the Pope will meet with Brazil's leaders at the Municipal Theatre. Upon that meeting's conclusion he will have lunch with Brazil's cardinals, the presidency of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, bishops from the region, and the papal entourage in the refectory of the Sumare Study Centre. At 7:30 pm a prayer vigil will be held with the youth at the Campus Fidei of Guaratiba.

On Sunday, 28 July, the Pope will celebrate Mass for the 28th WYD at the Campus Fidei. That afternoon he will meet with CELAM's (the Latin American Episcopal Council) coordination committee at the Sumare Study Centre. The Holy Father will leave Sumare shortly before 5:00pm to meet with the WYD volunteers and, at 6:30pm, the pontiff's farewell ceremony will take place at the Galeao–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport. The Pope will take off from Rio de Janeiro at 7:00pm and his plane will land in Rome on Monday, 29 July, at around 11:30am.

PRESS OFFICE COMMUNIQUE ON COLLABORATION BETWEEN CONGREGATION FOR DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH AND CONGREGATION FOR INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE

Vatican City, 7 May 2013 (VIS) – “The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life have for some time been collaborating on a renewed theological vision of Religious Life in the Church. The concern of the Holy See, expressed partially in the Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the United States, is motivated by a desire to support the noble and beautiful vocation of Religious so that the eloquent witness of Religious Life may prosper in the Church to the benefit of future generations.”

“The initiatives of the Holy See in this area are concerned primarily with the faith of the Church and its expression in Religious Life. The Church’s faith—in the loving plan of the Father who sent his Son to be our Saviour, in the inspiration of Sacred Scripture, in the gift of grace through the Sacraments, in the nature of the Church guided by the Holy Spirit—this faith is at the heart of the Evangelical Counsels. It motivates the passion for justice shared by so many Religious women and men, and it seeks ever to be expressed in active charity towards those most in need.”

“Recent media commentary on remarks made on Sunday, 5 May, during the General Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General by Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, has suggested a divergence between the CDF and the Congregation for Religious in their approach to the renewal of Religious Life. Such an interpretation of the cardinal’s remarks is not justified. The prefects of these two Congregations work closely together according to their specific responsibilities and have collaborated throughout the process of the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR. Archbishop Gerhard Muller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Braz de Aviz met yesterday and reaffirmed their common commitment to the renewal of Religious Life, and particularly to the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR and the program of reform it requires, in accordance with the wishes of the Holy Father.”

TELEGRAM ON DEATH OF SENATOR GIULIO ANDREOTTI

Vatican City, 7 May 2013 (VIS) - Today, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., sent a telegram of condolence on behalf of the Holy Father to Livia Danese Andreotti, widow of Italian Senator Giulio Andreotti who died yesterday at the age of 94.

“Having learned the news of the death, at the end of a long and fruitful life, of your beloved husband, Senator Giulio Andreotti, I would like to express to you and your family my heartfelt participation in your mourning for the loss of such an authoritative protagonist in Italian political life, such a valued servant of institutions, such a man of faith and devout son of the Church. I assure you of his fervent remembrance in my prayers and I invoke the comfort of Christian hope for all who are mourning his demise.”

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 7 May 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

   - appointed Fr. Denis Nulty as bishop of Kildare and Leighlin (area 4,170, population 255,400, Catholics 239,400, priests 171, religious 369), Ireland. The bishop-elect was born in Slane, County Meath, Ireland in 1963 and was ordained a priest in 1988. Since election he has served in several pastoral and administrative roles, most recently as vicar forane for the Duleek Deanery, chairperson of the Council of Priests in the Diocese of Meath, and pastor of St. Mary's a Drogheda.

   - appointed Fr. Antoine Kambanda as the bishop of Kibungo (area 2,670, population 1,047,000, Catholics 505,000, priests 59, religious 117), Rwanda. The bishop-elect was born in the Archdiocese of Kigali in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1990 by Blessed John Paul II on the occasion of his pastoral visit to Rwanda. Since his ordination he has served in several academic, pastoral, and administrative roles, including: director of Caritas in the Diocese of Kigali; director of the Diocesan Commission on Justice and Peace; professor of Moral Theology in the Major Seminary of Nyakibanda, Butare; and spiritual director of the Major Seminary of Rutongo, Kigali. Most recently, since 2006, he has served as rector of the St. Charles of Nyakibanda Major Seminary in the Diocese of Butare.