TOURISM AND THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2003 (VIS) - Msgr. Piero Monni, Holy See permanent observer to the World Tourism Organization, will attend the 40th meeting of the Commission for Europe and a seminar on the theme "European Integration in the Era of the European Union's Expansion and the Development of Tourism" in Malta from May 21 to 23. He will address the seminar on Thursday, May 22.

In addition to the main theme, participants will prepare the agenda for their next plenary assembly, scheduled to take place in Beijing in October. They will take an in-depth look at the nature and effects of the expansion of the European Union, as well as the role that new countries will be expected to play in the new Union.

According to a press release from Msgr. Monni's office, he will speak on the socio-economic development of the tourism industry as well as the priority that must be given to the cultural, social and religious aspects of tourism, and the values that must inspire and constitute the project of "a Common European House."

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AUDIENCE WITH PILGRIMS WHO ATTENDED CANONIZATIONS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2003 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received pilgrims who participated in the canonizations of the Polish Blesseds Jozef Sebastian Pelczar and Urszula Ledochowska and Italian Blesseds Maria De Mattias and Virginia Centurione Bracelli which took place yesterday.

Addressing the spiritual daughters and devotees of St. Maria De Mattias, foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters, Adorers of the Blood of Christ in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope said that "during her life she spread the Christian commandment of love, reconciling separations and healing difficult situations and the contradictions of society in her day. It is easy to confirm the reality of her message."

The Holy Father asked the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge on Calvary, who also participated in the audience, to follow the example of their foundress, Virginia Centurione Bracelli in order "to live today the Gospel, precept of love, as complete adherence to the divine will and as concrete service to one's neighbor, especially those most in need."

The Pope then proceeded to St. Peter's Square where thousands of Polish pilgrims, who had participated in a Mass celebrated there this morning, were waiting for him. In his speech in Polish, John Paul II spoke about the unforgettable encounters with his fellow countrymen since the beginning of his pontificate and emphasized that St. Jozef Sebastian Pelczar, bishop and founder of the Congregation of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and St. Urszula Ledochowska, foundress of the Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Agony, were "witnesses of mercy."

Speaking about the process of European integration, the Holy Father recalled what he said in 1997 in Gniezno, Poland: "There will be no unity in Europe unless it is based on the unity of the spirit. ... European history, in fact, is a great river in which many currents flow, and the variety of traditions and cultures that form it are its great wealth."

After recalling that Poland and other former Eastern block countries are entering the European Union, he said: "I know that there are many in opposition to integration. I appreciate their concern about maintaining the cultural and religious identity of our nation. However, I must emphasize that Poland has always been an important part of Europe. ... Europe needs Poland. ... Poland needs Europe."

After delivering his speech, the Pope added: "Yesterday I turned 83, entering into my 84th year of life. I know that the day is getting close in which I will have to present myself before God in order to account for my life, from the years in Wadowice to Krakow, and then Rome. I put myself in the hands of Divine Mercy and the Mother of God."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2003 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Aleksander Kwasniewski, president of the Republic of Poland, accompanied by his wife and an entourage.

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CARDINAL SODANO COMMEMORATES POPE'S TRIP TO KAZAKHSTAN

VATICAN CITY, MAY 16, 2003 (VIS) - Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of State, left today for a four-day visit to Kazakhstan following an invitation by Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of the Republic, and other officials. The purpose of the trip is to commemorate the apostolic pilgrimage that the Holy Father made to Astana, the country's capital, in 2001.

Tomorrow, Saturday May 17, the cardinal secretary of State will make an official visit to the president, celebrate Mass in the Cathedral of Astana and will meet with priests, religious and other members of the capital's Catholic community. In addition, he is scheduled to visit an Orthodox church and a mosque.

On Sunday May 18 in the city of Karaganda, Cardinal Sodano will preside at a solemn Eucharistic celebration. He will also bless the first stone of the new Cathedral and will visit a seminary dedicated to "Mary Queen of the Church."

The cardinal secretary of State is scheduled to celebrate Mass in Karaganda on Monday May 19 and to meet with priests and religious who work in the diocese. Before his departure for Rome, he will visit a Greek Catholic Church and a monastery of Discalced Carmelites.

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ALL BAPTIZED HAVE RIGHT-DUTY TO ASSIST IN MISSIONARY WORK

VATICAN CITY, MAY 16, 2003 (VIS) - Pope John Paul this morning welcomed 150 participants in the general assembly of the Superior Council of National Directors of the Pontifical Missionary Works, including Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the congregation to which the Missionary Works are entrusted.

In his talk to the directors, the Pope highlighted their mission of "showing the Pope's concern for all Churches" and of "promoting and sustaining missionary ardor in all the People of God," with special efforts to help the Churches most in need. He added that "one of the principal scopes of the Missionary Works is to kindle vocations 'ad gentes' and to life, in both the ancient Churches as well as the young ones."

The four Missionary Works are: the Pontifical Work of the Propagation of the Faith, the Pontifical Work of St. Peter the Apostle for the Indigenous Clergy, the Pontifical Work of the Holy Childhood and the Pontifical Missionary Union, known as PUM, its Italian acronym. In 1922 Pope Pius XI published the Motu proprio "Romanorum Pontificum" with which he bestowed the title of "pontifical" on these works.

John Paul II pointed out that this year marks the 160th anniversary of the Pontifical Work of the Holy Childhood, saying he wished "to underscore the great commitment of energizing and sensitizing that this Work does, 'from childhood on', to promote the missionary cause. The message I wrote on the solemnity of the Epiphany to the members of the Work expresses all my appreciation to these 'missionary boys and girls'. It will therefore be a joy for me to receive very soon a numerous and vivacious delegation of children from throughout the world who will come to Rome to celebrate this significant anniversary of their praiseworthy Work." The Pope's meeting with the Work of the Holy Childhood is scheduled for June 14.

Noting that May is the month of Mary and of the Rosary, he spoke of the "highly evocative missionary rosary," where each decade is a different color, calling to mind a different continent: "white for old Europe, that it may be capable of reappropriating the evangelizing strength which generated so many Churches; yellow for Asia, exploding with life and youth; green for Africa, tried by suffering, ... red for America, a greenhouse of new missionary strength and the blue decade for the continent of Oceania, which awaits a capillary spreading of the Gospel."

The Pontifical Work of the Propagation of the Faith is the oldest of these Works. It was founded in 1822 by a lay woman, the Venerable Marie-Pauline Jaricot to, as John Paul II mentioned in a 1998 talk, "foster a renewed missionary ardor in the Christian community." Subsidies given in recent years to mission lands have been used to build churches and chapels, convents, rectories, parish and multi-use centers and centers for catechesis and to train catechists.
The Pontifical Work of St. Peter the Apostle for the Indigenous Clergy was founded by Jeanne and Stephanie Bigard, mother and daughter who, as the Pope has said, with their "feminine genius" and "spiritual intuition" founded this work, "placing it at the service of the universal ministry of Peter." Monies are allocated by this pontifical work to build seminaries, to enlarge existing ones and to help in the education and training of seminarians.

The Pontifical Work of the Holy Childhood, founded in 1843, "supports the rights of children to grow in their dignity as men and women." One of its main activities is the creation of schools of missionary animation which offer professional training for two years in missiology, spirituality and methodology.

The Pontifical Missionary Union was created in 1916 to promote awareness of missionary activity among clergy, religious, candidates to the priesthood and religious life and others involved in the Church's pastoral ministry. PUM has offices in various parts of the world to help spread this awareness which it does in a number of ways, including the publication of a magazine in diverse languages and a correspondence course in missiology that was established in the 1980s.

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