JUBILEE CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR DECEMBER 2000

VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2000 (VIS) - Following is the calendar of Jubilee events for the month of December 2000:

- Saturday 2: Vigil of the 1st Sunday of Advent. First Vespers in St. Peter's Basilica.

- Sunday 3: First Sunday of Advent and Jubilee of the Handicapped. Mass in the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls.

- Friday 8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope pays homage to Mary Immaculate in Piazza di Spagna. Akathistos hymn in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

- Sunday 10: Second Sunday of Advent. Jubilee of Catechists and Religion Teachers. Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.

- Saturday 16: Celebration in the Mozarabic rite in the Basilica of St. Peter's.

- Sunday 17: Third Sunday of Advent. Mass in the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls. Jubilee of the world of entertainment.

- Sunday 24: Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord. Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.

- Monday 25: Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord. Mass during the Day in St. Peter's Basilica. "Urbi et Orbi" blessing.

- Sunday 31: Vespers, and prayer vigil in St. Peter's Basilica for the passage to a new millennium.

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HOLY FATHER'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR DECEMBER

VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father's general prayer intention for December is: "That the celebration of the Jubilee may become the source of a new commitment in men and women of good will to protect and promote human life."

His missionary intention is: "That children may be respected in their dignity, and that all child abuse may stop."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:

- Hanna Nasser, mayor of Bethlehem.
- Cardinal Virgilio Noe, archpriest of the Vatican patriarchal basilica, vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City and president of the Fabric of St. Peter's.

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SEMINAR ON THE REDUCTION OF DEBT AND POVERTY

VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2000 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has organized a seminar to be held from December 3 to 6 on the theme: "From debt relief to poverty reduction." The aim of the gathering is to examine the results of the various efforts inspired by the Pope's appeals to reduce considerably the international debt.

According to a communique released by the council "the response to this appeal ... was concretized in the promotion of many popular initiatives as well as by significant commitments of governments and international institutions." The seminar will focus on "the ways in which debt relief initiatives may lead to concrete measures in the fight against poverty."

The meeting, which will be inaugurated by Archbishop Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, will be attended by bishops and experts from more than 20 heavily-indebted countries and by representatives of Catholic organizations involved in the field of development.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Philip E. Wilson of Wollongong, Australia, as coadjutor archbishop of Adelaide (area 103,600, population 1,254,751, Catholics 266,927, priests 175, permanent deacons 3, priests 529), Australia. The archbishop-elect was born in Cessnock, Australia, in 1950, ordained a priest in 1975 and consecrated a bishop in 1996.

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