MASS AND EUCHARISTIC PROCESSION ON CORPUS CHRISTI

VATICAN CITY, MAY 28, 2002 (VIS) - On Thursday May 30, the solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Pope will preside at Holy Mass on the esplanade of the basilica of St. John Lateran. This will be followed by the Eucharistic procession which will travel along Via Merulana to the basilica of St. Mary Major. The Mass at St. John Lateran will be celebrated by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar of the diocese of Rome. The vice-gerent, auxiliary bishops and recently ordained priests from Rome will concelebrate.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 28, 2002 (VIS) - At 4 p.m. today, the Holy Father is scheduled to receive President George Walker Bush of the United States of America, and an entourage.

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CARDINAL LAGHI TO TAKE POSSESSION OF TITULAR CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, MAY 28, 2002 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff announced in a communique today that on May 31, at 6 p.m. Cardinal Pio Laghi, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education of Seminaries and Institutes of Study, will take possession of the title of St. Peter in Chains, St. Peter in Chains Square, 4, in Rome.

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THREE PRIESTS EXECUTED BY COMMUNIST REGIME ARE BEATIFIED

VATICAN CITY, MAY 26, 2002 (VIS) - Today, the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the Pope traveled by car to Plovdiv, 150 kilometers east of Sofia, Bulgaria, where he celebrated the Eucharist in the central square. He beatified three priests of the congregation of Augustinians of the Assumption: Kamen Vitchev, Pavel Djidjov and Josaphat Chichkov, who were executed by the Communist regime in 1952 along with Bishop Eugenio Bossilkov, whom he beatified in 1998.

Three bishops from Bulgaria concelebrated with the Pope as well as the cardinals and bishops in the papal entourage. Also present at the celebration was Bishop Arsenij, Orthodox metropolitan of Plovdiv, who spoke a few words before the Mass began.

At the beginning of his homily, John Paul II greeted the faithful of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church "who have joined us. Their presence ... gives us a foretaste in hope of the joy of full unity, when it will be granted us to celebrate together the Eucharistic Sacrifice."

Referring to the three Blesseds, the Holy Father recalled that the cause for which "they did not hesitate to give their lives was their faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit." Thinking about them, "I also feel in duty bound to honor the memory of the other confessors of the faith who were sons and daughters of the Orthodox Church and who suffered martyrdom under the same Communist regime. This tribute of fidelity to Christ brought together the two ecclesial communities in Bulgaria, even to the supreme witness."

"The courageous fidelity in the face of suffering and imprisonment shown by Fathers Josaphat, Kamen and Pavel was acknowledged by their former students - Catholics, Orthodox, Jews and Muslims - by their parishioners, the members of their religious communities, and their fellow prisoners. By their dynamism, their fidelity to the Gospel, their selfless service to the Nation, the new Blesseds stand out as models for Christians today, especially for Bulgaria's young people, who are looking to give meaning to their lives and who wish to follow Christ whether as laypersons, in religious life or in the priesthood."

The Pope concluded by urging that "the special commitment with which the new Blesseds encouraged candidates to the presbyterate be an incentive for everyone: I exhort the local Church in Bulgaria to consider seriously the possibility of re-establishing a seminary."

Following the Eucharistic celebration, and before praying the Angelus, John Paul II asked the Virgin to watch over the Christian people of Bulgaria "so that they may know be able to follow her Son Jesus with courage and commitment and bear witness to Him before the world by the integrity of their lives and works!" At the end, he greeted the faithful who had participated in the beatification in French, Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech and Polish.

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JOHN PAUL II HONORS THOSE WHO ENDURED PERSECUTION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 2002 (VIS) - Following his visit to St. Joseph's Latin rite cathedral in Sofia, Pope John Paul went to the Byzantine-Slav rite cathedral dedicated to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Before entering the cathedral, whose capacity is 150 people, the Pope blessed a bell and several cornerstones destined for future churches. He also crowned an image of Our Lady of Malko Trynovo, patroness of Christian unity.

"I affectionately greet your Apostolic Exarch Christo Proykov," said the Pope, "and I fraternally embrace Exarch emeritus Metodi Stratiev, who endured persecution and prison together with the three Assumptionist priests whom I shall proclaim Blessed tomorrow in Plovdiv."

The Holy Father extended his greetings to all the priests and faithful of the exarchate and saluted with "special affection the Carmelite nuns and the Sisters of the Eucharist, remembering particularly those among them - alive here on earth or already in heaven - who during the period of communist domination experienced long confinement in the choir of the Church of St. Francis, keeping alive the ideals of their consecration and supporting through prayer and penance the fidelity of Christians to their Lord."

The Pope then remembered "with admiration and gratitude the figure and work of the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Giuseppe Roncalli, Blessed Pope John XXIII, who prayed in this cathedral and did so much for the life of the Byzantine-Slav rite Catholic Church in Bulgaria. May this relic of him, which I have brought as a gift from Rome, be kept and venerated in the soon-to-be built church which, in accordance with your desire, will be dedicated to his name."

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