THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES CONCLUDE

Vatican City, 14 March 2014 (VIS) – At 9 a.m. today, the five days of spiritual exercises held in the Casa del Divin Maestro in Ariccia came to an end with the song of Praise and the final meditation. The Holy Father thanked Fr. Angelo De Donatis, priest of San Marco Evangelista all'Campidoglio, for his daily meditations.

“We now return home with a good seed: the seed of the Word of God. … The Lord will send the rain and the seed will grow … and will bear fruit. We thank the Lord for the seed and for the rain he will send to us, but we also wish to thank the sower of the seed. ...We are all sinners, but all of us wish to follow Jesus more closely, without losing hope in the promise and also without losing our sense of humour”.

The Holy Father then returned to the Vatican to resume scheduled activities.

FIRST SERMON OF LENT

Vatican City, 14 March 2014 (VIS) – This morning at 9 a.m., in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa O.F.M. Cap., preacher of the Papal Household, pronounced the first sermon of Lent on the theme “On the shoulders of giants – the great truths of our faith contemplated by the Fathers of the Latin Church”.

The other four sermons will be pronounced on Fridays 21 and 28 of March, and on 4 and 11 April.

TELEGRAM FOR THE DEATH OF CARDINAL JOSE DA CRUZ POLICARPO

Vatican City, 14 March 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has sent a telegram of condolences to Bishop Jose Manuel Macario do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal and president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, for the death on the afternoon of 12 March of Cardinal Jose da Cruz Policarpo, patriarch emeritus of Lisbon, Portugal, at the age of 78.

In the text the Pope expressed his closeness and prayer “for the patriarchate of Lisbon, the family of the departed and for all those who mourn his unexpected death”, and recalled the cardinal's “important contribution in the different organs of the Holy See” and his “two encounters with this pastor, committed to the search for truth … who placed the gifts he received from the Lord to the service of the People of God and to his brother bishops, especially during his years as president of the Episcopal Conference”.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 14 March 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

- appointed Rev. Wilhelm Zimmerman as auxiliary of the diocese of Essen (area 1,877, population 2,531,280, Catholics 856,661, priests 516, permanent deacons 78, religious 505), Germany. The bishop-elect was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany in 1948 and was ordained a priest in 1980. He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including deputy priest in Hattingen, vicar and subsequently priest of the Cathedral of Essen, special secretary of Bishop Franz Hengsbach, dean of Essen-Mitte, honorary canon of the Cathedral of Essen, and priest of the “St. Gertrud” parish. He is currently provost of “St. Urbanus” at Gelsenkirchen-Buer and dean of the city of Gelsenkirchen and non-residential canon of the Cathedral of Essen. He succeeds Bishop Franz Vorrath, whose resignation from the office of auxiliary upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

- appointed Bishop Damian Denis Dallu of Geita, Tanzania as archbishop of Songea (area 38,600, population 561,000, Catholics 303,000, priests 123, religious 734), Tanzania.

On Thursday, 13 March, the Holy Father:

- appointed Rev. Antoine Sabi Bio as bishop of Natitingou (area 20,499, population 737,494, Catholics 130,053, priests 58, religious 208), Benin. The bishop-elect was born in Gounienou, Benin in 1963, and was ordained a priest in 1991. He holds a licentiate in pastoral theology from the Pontifical Salesian University, Rome. He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including chancellor and bursar of the diocese, priest of the parish of “Sainte Marie Reine” in Koussou, rector of the “St. Pierre” minor seminary of Natitingou, vicar general and priest of the Cathedral. He is currently apostolic administrator of the same diocese.

- appointed Rev. Fernando Martin Croxatto of the clergy of San Roque de Presidencia Roque Saenz Pena, Argentina, as auxiliary of the diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia (area 146,752, population 598,000, Catholics 465,000, priests 37, permanent deacons 2, religious 70), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in Moron, Argentina in 1956 and was ordained a priest in 1986. He served in a number of pastoral roles, including vicar in the parish “Cristo Rey” in Buenos Aires and vice-rector of the House of preparatory formation in the seminary; in 1991 he transferred to the diocese of San Roque de Presidencia Roque Saenz Pena, where he served as priest of the parish of “San Antonio de Padua” of Santa Sylvina, Coronel Du Graty, rector of the pre-seminary and head of diocesan vocational, youth and missionary pastoral, priest of the parish of “Santa Cruz”, vicar general, and priest of the Cathedral. He is currently priest of the parish of “San Francisco Solano” at El Sauzalito.