EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY DAY: EUROPEAN-AFRICAN COOPERATION

VATICAN CITY, MAR 10, 2006 (VIS) - In the Paul VI Hall tomorrow, Saturday March 11, the Holy Father will preside at an evening vigil of Marian prayer with 7,000 university students. The students have come to Rome to participate in the fourth European Day for Universities which has as its theme: "Christian humanism, the path of a new cooperation between Europe and Africa."

  The Day is being promoted by the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE) and the vicariate of Rome's office for pastoral care in universities.

  The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. with the entrance of the university students' cross. Then, following the presentation of the European and African delegations, there will be satellite linkups with university students in Madrid, Spain, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dublin, Ireland.

  With the arrival of the Pope, scheduled for 6 p.m., the recitation of the holy rosary will begin, with the contemplation of the Glorious Mysteries. In further linkups local ordinaries - cardinals and bishops - will recite brief introductory prayers to each of the Mysteries: Cardinal Friedrich Wetter, archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany; Archbishop Anthony John Valentine Obinna of Owerri, Nigeria; Bishop Bernard Genoud of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, Switzerland; Cardinal Bernard Agre, archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of the archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, Russia; and Bishop Gheorghi Ivanov Jovcev of Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

  After the rosary, Benedict XVI will address some words to the participants before distributing copies of his first Encyclical "Deus caritas est" to ten student representatives and imparting his apostolic blessing. In keeping with tradition, the Day will conclude with the pilgrimage of the cross from the Paul VI Hall to the Church of St. Agnes in Rome's Piazza Navona.
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MOVEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES: MISSIONARIES OF CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, MAR 10, 2006 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano sent a Message, in the Pope's name, to Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, for the first Meeting of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities in Latin America, which is being held in Bogota, Colombia from March 9 to 12.

  Benedict XVI, Cardinal Sodano writes, encourages participants in the congress "to share fraternally the wealth of their spirituality and experience, with the aim of invigorating Christian life in that part of the world, in which the Church lays so much hope."

  Referring to the theme of the meeting, "Disciples and missionaries today," the cardinal writes that "like good disciples, the Movements and Communities are called to be both witnesses to and missionaries of the message they have received, stretching out a friendly hand to others so that they too may discover Christ: to people who still do not know Him or who live their Christian faith in a superficial manner, to those who must be given the support necessary to strengthen their faith daily and form it correctly, against the snares of a secularized mentality or one that promotes religious indifference in many areas of Latin America.

  "In this task, missionaries do not cease to be disciples and give no more than what they themselves have received and continue to receive, without advancing their own ideas or seeking their own gain. ... In this context, it is worthwhile recalling the words used by the Holy Father Benedict XVI in Cologne, Germany: 'The spontaneity of new communities is important, but it is equally important to maintain communion with the Pope and the bishops. It is they who guarantee that it is not individual itineraries that are being sought, but that all continue to live in that great family of God that the Lord founded with the twelve Apostles."

  This, the cardinal concluded, also demonstrates "the importance of ecclesial communion, upon which the authenticity of all experiences of Christian life and the effectiveness of pastoral initiatives so much depend. For this reason, the much-loved John Paul II insisted that everyone be humbly integrated into the life of local Churches and within diocesan and parish structures, where they can all can communicate their different forms of association and expression."
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MEETING OF ECCLESIAL MOVEMENTS IN LATIN AMERICA

VATICAN CITY, MAR 9, 2006 (VIS) - The first meeting of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities in Latin America is being held in Bogota, Colombia from March 9 to 12. The theme of the meeting is: "Disciples and missionaries today."

  Promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), the event aims to reflect upon the experience of ecclesial movements and new communities in the formation of lay people at the service of the evangelization of culture and social solidarity.

  Representatives from more than 40 movements and new communities in Latin America are due to attend, as are the bishops with responsibility for movements and new communities from the 22 Latin American episcopal conferences.

  The meeting will end on the afternoon of March 12 with a Eucharistic celebration which all members of movements and new communities in Bogota are invited to attend.

  The conclusions of this meeting will be used in preparation for the fifth General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate, called by the Holy Father Benedict XVI for May 2007 at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Apparition in Brazil, on the theme: "Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ, that our Peoples May Have Life in Him - 'I am the Way and the Truth and the Life'."

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RURAL WORLD AND ITS VALUES NOT OF SECONDARY IMPORTANCE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 9, 2006 (VIS) - On March 7, Archbishop Janusz Bolonek, apostolic nuncio to Uruguay, addressed the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and being held in Porto Alegre, Brazil from March 7 to 10.

  The themes of the Conference, said the nuncio in his address, "are of vital importance to the human family and, as such, they also appeal directly to the Catholic Church which ... feels called to support the cause of human beings in all circumstances."

  The program of the current meeting, the archbishop went on, highlights "a need to give fresh impulse to international solidarity in order to face the challenge presented by the development of peoples, and ... a specific compromise in favor of the growth of the rural world in order to guarantee humanity effective food security." The nuncio also underlined the urgent need "to avoid the danger of the rural world being considered of secondary importance, or even forgotten altogether, which would be detrimental to those fruitful elements of social, economic and spiritual order that characterize it."

  "The FAO's idea of once again associating agrarian reform with rural development shows that, despite various initiatives carried out in many countries and incessant appeals for collaboration launched by international institutions, millions of people continue to await results. ... It must be recognized that one of the limits on policies and interventions in support of the rural world is the lack of reference to traditional structures, to moral values, ... and to the capacity for autonomous action on the part of individuals and communities."

  Archbishop Bolonek continued: "Because they often live in situations of poverty and exploitation, with limited access to markets, ... and no support for their fundamental rights and needs, landless peasants and small-holders must be the primary recipients of cooperation programs ... that are able to guarantee real development."

  The nuncio recalled this generation's responsibilities in another fundamental aspect affecting the future of rural areas: "conservation and protection" of nature and respect for the "mutual balance" of its various ecosystems.

  "The worldwide scope of agricultural activity, the use of modern technology and constant progress in research encourage us to hope ... in the rapid and imminent growth of the production and rate of human development. These elements must be evaluated positively," Archbishop Bolonek concluded, "on the condition that they are seen as being an extension of the creation, something given to the human family and not factors to disturb the natural order."
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EXHIBITION TO COMMEMORATE 500 YEARS OF THE SWISS GUARD

VATICAN CITY, MAR 8, 2006 (VIS) - "The Pontifical Swiss Guard, 500 years of history, art and life" is the title of an exhibition due to be inaugurated on March 29 in the Charlemagne Wing at the left colonnade of St. Peter's Square. It will commemorate the five centuries of life of the world's oldest active military force.

  The exhibition will present, together for the first time, a series of documents and objects from other museums and institutions reconstructing the history of the corps founded by Julius II. In 1505, that pontiff sent a Bull to the Swiss Confederation communicating the fact that he had entrusted the prelate of the papal court Peter von Hertenstein to recruit 200 Swiss soldiers and lead them to Rome to guard the person of the Pope and the pontifical palaces. The Bull itself forms part of the exhibition, as do the flags that the Holy Father gave to Switzerland in gratitude for the arrival of the soldiers. They, after crossing the Alps, reached Rome on January 22, 1506 and marched to St. Peter's Square where they were solemnly blessed by the Pope.

  Other objects of great historical and artistic value include the helmet and breastplate of Emperor Charles V, a sword with the motto of Julius II, and a large number of miniatures representing the most important moments in the life of the Swiss Guard during their service to the Successors of Peter. These depictions include the "Feast on the Capitol for the 'Possesso' of Alexander VII" by Piranesi, "Bernini's machine for the Forty Hours in the Vatican," and "Pius IX in the 'sedia gestatoria'."

  One of the most dramatic incidents in the history of the Swiss Guard and of the city of Rome is the famous "Sack of Rome," organized by the troops of Emperor Charles V to "punish" the people of the city and Pope Clement VII. The Pope saved himself by taking refuge in Castel Sant'Angelo, but 147 Swiss Guards perished while defending him. The exhibition recalls this episode with the work "The defense of the Swiss during the Sack of Rome," painted by Giuseppe Rivaroli in 1927. The painting is interesting for its historical "errors," such as the fact that the Swiss Guards are represented wearing their modern uniforms, designed in 1915, and not those in use in 1527.

  The numismatic section of the exhibition includes two extraordinary commemorative medals by Benvenuto Cellini: one produced to commemorate the Peace of Cambrai, and the golden medal of Clement VII with "Ecce Homo."

  The exhibition also includes a series of portraits, including that of Clement VII by Sebastiano del Piombo, property of the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria. Also in this section is the triptych kept by the Pope in his private apartments and stolen during the Sack. The work, which is currently kept in the cathedral of Cagliari, Italy, is being returned to Rome for the first time in five centuries.

  From the Swiss Guard's own armory and archives, and here displayed for the first time, are portraits of all the commanders of the Guard over the last 500 years, uniforms, and arms and equipment for the parade ground and the field, both ancient and modern. Of particular interest and beauty are the two-handed swords from 1584, used to accompany the pontiff on his "sedia gestatoria" and last adopted during the pontificate of Paul VI.

  The exhibition, promoted by Command of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, is being held under the patronage of Bishop Mauro Piacenza, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church, and of various Swiss cultural institutions. It will be open from March 29 to July 30, 2006.
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