The relic of St. Teresa's “pilgrim staff” arrives in the Vatican

Vatican City, 11 March 2015 (VIS) – At the end of today's general audience, during his greetings in various languages, the Pope mentioned that this month will mark the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Jesus in Avila, Spain. “May her spiritual vigour stimulate you, dear young people, to bear joyful witness to faith in your life; may her trust in Christ the Saviour sustain you, dear sick people, in the moments of greatest discouragement; and may her tireless apostolate invite you, dear newly-weds, to place Christ at the centre of your marital home”.

Later on Pope Francis received in the Vatican the relic of St. Teresa's famous “pilgrim staff”, as part of on a worldwide tour organised by the Order of Carmelites, to commemorate the anniversary of the Spanish mystic and doctor of the Church. The global pilgrimage, entitled “Way of Light”, began in Avila on 15 October 2014 with the aim of visiting the family of Mount Carmel in 30 countries across five continents, a journey of 117 thousand kilometres and lasting more than 160 days. It will return to Avila on 28 March, in time for the 500th anniversary of the saint's birth.

On the same day, the Teresian jubilee year will be inaugurated with a prayer for world peace. Throughout the year a series of celebrations will be held, including the European Youth Meeting, which is expected to be attended by more than 9,000 young people from across the continent, several pilgrimages and many conferences and exhibitions.

The Pope to visit the Roman Rebibbia prison on Holy Thursday

Vatican City, 11 March 2015 (VIS) – The Prefecture of the Papal Household has announced today that on 2 April, Holy Thursday, Pope Francis will visit the Rebibbia New Complex Prison to meet with detainees.

At 5.30 p.m. in the “Padre Nostro” Chapel he will celebrate Mass “in coena Domini”, during which he will wash the feet of some inmates, and of some detainees from the nearby women's penitentiary.

Cardinal Parolin explains the diplomatic activity of the Holy See in the service of peace

Vatican City, 11 March 2015 (VIS) – This morning Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin gave a Lectio Magistralis at the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome, during the “Dies Academicus”, the annual study day dedicated to a theme that the different departments of the university analyse from the perspectives of various fields of study (theology, philosophy, history, culture, canon law, social sciences, missiology, psychology, spirituality, etc). This year's theme was “Peace: gift of God, human responsibility, Christian commitment”. The title of the Secretary of State's Lectio Magistralis was “The diplomatic activity of the Holy See in the service of peace”.

“The diplomatic activity of the Holy See is not content to observe events or evaluate their importance; nor can it remain merely a critical voice”, affirmed Cardinal Parolin. “It acts to facilitate the coexistence and cohabitation of various nations, to promote fraternity between peoples, where the term fraternity is a synonym for effective collaboration, true cooperation, harmonious and orderly, of a solidarity structured in favour of the common good and that of individuals. And the common good, as we know, has more than a link with peace. The Holy See works substantially on the international scene not to guarantee a generic security – made more difficult in this period of lasting instability – but to sustain an idea of peace as the fruit of just relations, of respect for international law, of the protection of fundamental human rights beginning with those of the least among us, the most vulnerable”.

“The diplomacy of the Holy See has a clear ecclesial function”, he added: “if it is the tool of communion that unites the Roman Pontiff with the Bishops at the head of the local Churches, or that guarantees the life of the local Churches in relation to the civil authorities, I dare say that it is also the vehicle of the Successor of Peter for reaching the peripheries, both ecclesiastically and in terms of the human family. … In the field of civil society, which forms of ethical guidance would be lacking were the Holy See not present in different intergovernmental contexts, in the areas of cooperation, disarmament, the struggle against poverty, the eradication of hunger, care for the sick, and promoting literacy?”.

Cardinal Parolin went on to explain that “papal diplomacy is entrusted the task of working in favour of peace following the methods and rules that are applicable to subjects of international law, therefore formulating practical answers in legal terms to prevent, resolve or regulate conflicts and to avoid their possible degeneration into the irrationality of armed force. But”, he concluded, “it is above all an activity that demonstrates how the aim pursued is primarily religious and as such is about being true 'workers for peace', and not 'workers for war or at least agents of misunderstanding', as Pope Francis reminds us”.

Collecta pro Terra Sancta: an invaluable opportunity to help Christians uprooted from their homelands

Vatican City, 10 March 2015 (VIS) – Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, has written a letter addressed to all bishops worldwide in view of the “Collecta pro Terra Sancta”, the collection for the communities of faithful and places in the Holy Land, which traditionally takes place on Good Friday. The letter is also signed by Archbishop Cyril Vasil, S.J., secretary of the same dicastery.

The cardinal, noting that the region is passing through a time of crisis, writes: “Presently, there are millions of refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq, where the roar of arms does not cease and the way of dialogue and concord seems to be completely lost. Senseless hatred seems to prevail instead, along with the helpless desperation of those who have lost everything and have been expulsed from the land of their ancestors. If the Christians of the Holy Land are encouraged to resist, to the degree possible, the understandable temptation to flee, the faithful throughout the world are asked to take their plight to heart. Also involved are brothers in Christ who belonged to various confessions: an ecumenism of blood which points toward the triumph of unity: 'ut unum sint'! This year presents a still more precious opportunity to become pilgrims in faith after the example of the Holy Father, who in May of last year visited this patch of land, so dear to Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. It is a chance to become promoters of dialogue through peace, prayer and sharing of burdens”.

The territories that will benefit from the Collection, in different ways and to differing extents, are: Jerusalem, Palestine and Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

A document prepared by the Custodian of the Holy Land lists the works carried out as a result of the 2014 Collecta. The emergency funds were distributed mostly in Syria and Iraq. Assistance was also provided for artisanal enterprises in Jordan; funding was given for parish communities, the reconstruction and restoration of places of interest and medical assistance in Bethlehem; and apartments were built in Jerusalem for poor families and young couples who wish to remain in the Holy Land. The remaining funds were used for projects involving schools, universities and cultural works, through the Custodian of the Holy Land, such as the Faculty of Biblical Sciences and Archaeology of the Studium Biblicum Francescanum of Jerusalem and the Franciscan Media Centre, and for the maintenance and restoration of the Holy Places.

Other Pontifical Acts

Vatican City, 10 March 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

- confirmed Archbishop Piero Marini as president of the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Councils.

- appointed the following members of the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Councils: Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy; and Rev. Fr. Juan Javier Flores Arcas, O.S.B., Spain, Magnificent Rector of the St. Anselm Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome.