OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Fr. Ottavio Vitale R.C.I., diocesan administrator of Lezhe (area 750, population 63,500, Catholics 58,420, priests 9, religious 26), Albania, as apostolic administrator of the same diocese.
- Fr. Prele Gjurashaj O.F.M., provincial vicar of the Franciscan Order at Scutari, Albania, as apostolic administrator of Pult (area 140, population 46,247, Catholics 30,810, priests 4, religious 10), Albania.

- Fr. Cristoforo Palmieri C.N., diocesan administrator of Rreshen (area 3,463, population 259,000, Catholics 70,000, priests 8, religious 16), Albania, as apostolic administrator of the same diocese.

- Fr. Dode Gjergji of the diocesan clergy of Skopje, Albania, and pastor of Kallmet, as apostolic administrator of Sape (area 2,544, population 177,000, Catholics 159,000, priests 6, religious 22), Albania.

On Saturday, March 4, it was made public that he:

- Appointed Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia of the clergy of Rome, pastor of St. Mary in Trastevere and ecclesial assistant to the community of St. Egidio, as bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia (area 871, population 162,000, Catholics 160,000, priests 137, permanent deacons 12, religious 209), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Boville Ernica, Italy, in 1945 and ordained a priest in 1970. He succeeds Bishop Franco Gualdrini, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of Sacraments, as his special envoy to the Mexican National Eucharistic Congress, due to take place in Mexico City from May 5 to 7.

- Appointed Archbishop Santos Abril y Castello, apostolic nuncio in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as apostolic nuncio in Argentina.

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HOLY FATHER WELCOMES PILGRIMS FROM DIOCESE OF PADUA

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2000 (VIS) - Faithful from the diocese of Padua, Italy, accompanied by their bishop, were welcomed this morning by the Holy Father who underscored how theirs was "a Church rich in saints and martyrs, old and noble traditions, priestly and religious vocations and generous institutions."

He also extended "a fraternal greeting to the Orthodox bishop of Cherson, Ionathan, secretary of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and to the representative of the Romanian metropolitan of Craiova, who are taking part in this encounter."

"We are living the year of the Great Jubilee," the Pope told the 4,500 people gathered in St. Peter's Basilica, "which offers the faithful the possibility of drawing copiously from the treasure of God's graces and mercy which have been entrusted to the Church. The Lord asks those who long for a courageous inner renewal, to approach Him with trust."

John Paul II remarked that "following Christ with generous love demands an intense and constant interior growth. To this end, it is necessary to assiduously cultivate prayer, to participate as frequently as possible in the Eucharist and in the sacrament of Penance, and to exercise the evangelical virtues, above all, charity."

Highlighting the "great tradition of sanctity of the Church in Padua," the Pope named many of "the numerous examples of witness to the faith," calling them "the glories of your diocese." He urged the faithful to draw from "their examples and their enthusiastic teachings. ... you will thus be prepared to face with trust and hope the difficulties of our time and the challenges of the new evangelization."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves O.P., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Bishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi M.S.C., of Amboina, Indonesia.
- Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, accompanied by Msgr. Pietro Fragnelli, rector of Rome's Major Pontifical Seminary, and other superiors of the same pontifical seminary.

This evening, he is scheduled to receive Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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"JUBILEE 2000 IN ROME," BOOK ON HOLY YEAR BY VIS WRITER

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2000 (VIS) - We would like to inform our readers that "Jubilee 2000 in Rome," written by Joan Lewis of the Vatican Information Service, has been published in the United States, where it is available through Scepter Publishers (general'scepterpub.org). It is also available in Rome at Catholic bookstores near the Vatican.

Intended for easy use by pilgrims, the book is a guide to the seven major basilicas and to other churches in Rome, the catacombs, and the Shrine of Divine Love. It contains a helpful glossary of terms, a history of Jubilees, a guide to visiting the Vatican, the complete calendar of events for the Jubilee year and a practical chapter entitled Tips for Tourists.

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POPE TO PRESIDE ASH WEDNESDAY STATION AT ST. SABINA

VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2000 (VIS) - The afternoon of March 8, Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent, Pope John Paul will preside at ceremonies at the stational basilica of St. Sabina on Rome's Aventine Hill.

The Lenten service will start at 4:30 p.m. at the nearby church of St. Anselm with a moment of prayer. This will be followed by a procession to St. Sabina Basilica, in which cardinals, archbishops, bishops, the Benedictine monks of St. Anselm's and the Dominican Fathers of St. Sabina's, as well as members of the lay faithful, will take part.

The Holy Father will then preside at the Liturgy of the Word in St. Sabina. Following his homily, ashes will be blessed and distributed. Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and titular cardinal of St. Sabina, will preside at the Eucharistic liturgy. At the end of Mass, the Pope will impart his apostolic blessing.
Starting in the earliest centuries of the Church, Roman Stations or stational churches were those in which the Pope presided at liturgies on special occasions. The liturgy was usually preceded by a gathering of members of the hierarchy and the faithful who then processed to the designated church for the liturgy. In later years this practice became associated principally with the Lenten season.

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