OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 27, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Fr. Douglas Young S.V.D., dean of studies at the Divine Word University in Madang and vice-provincial of the Verbites in Papua New Guinea, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Mount Hagen (area 8,288, population 328,850, Catholics 128,355, priests 35, religious 92), Papua New Guinea. The bishop-elect was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1977.

- Cardinal Bernard F. Law, archbishop of Boston, U.S.A., as his special envoy to the National Eucharistic Congress of Peru which is to be held in Lima, Peru, from August 30 to September 3, 2000.

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JUBILEE OF MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT PEOPLES

VATICAN CITY, APR 27, 2000 (VIS) - On May 2 at 11:30 a.m. in the Holy See Press Office, Archbishop Stephen Fumio Hamao, and Bishop Francesco Gioia, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, will preside at a press conference for the presentation of the Jubilee for migrants which will take place from June 1 to 3.

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GOOD FRIDAY: CONFESSIONS, LORD'S PASSION, VIA CRUCIS

VATICAN CITY, APR 21, 2000 (VIS) - At midday today, as is customary on Good Friday, the Holy Father confessed a number of the faithful in St. Peter's Basilica.
At 5 p.m. in the basilica, the Holy Father presided at the celebration of the Lord's Passion. Following the Liturgy of the Word, when the Passion according to St. John was read, a homily was given by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa O.F.M. Cap., preacher of the papal household. The liturgy continued with the universal prayer, the adoration of the cross and communion.

At 9:15 p.m. the Pope presided at the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) at the Colosseum. As was done in 1984, during the Holy Year of the Redemption, the texts of the meditations at the 14 stations were written by the Holy Father himself. John Paul II carried the cross to the first station, after which it was borne, in turn, by a bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East, a Chinese woman, an Indian woman, a Brazilian woman, an Ecuadorian woman, an African man and a Roman family.

After the last station of the Via Crucis, the Pope addressed the faithful: "The people of today need to meet Christ crucified and risen! Who, if not the condemned Savior, can fully understand the pain of those unjustly condemned? Who, if not the King scorned and humiliated, can meet the expectations of the countless men and women who live without hope or dignity? Who, if not the crucified Son of God, can know the sorrow and loneliness of so many lives shattered and without a future? ... Let us open our hearts to Christ: He himself will respond to our deepest yearnings. He himself will unveil for us the mysteries of His passion and Death on the Cross."

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HOLY THURSDAY: CHRISM MASS AND MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

VATICAN CITY, APR 20, 2000 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 9:30 a.m. today, Holy Thursday, John Paul II presided at the celebration of the Chrism Mass during which priestly vows were renewed, and the oils used in anointing the sick and the catechumens were blessed.

In his homily, the Pope said that "the 'chrismal' Mass solemnly evokes the memory of the single priesthood of Christ and expresses the priestly vocation of the Church, especially of the bishop and of the priests united with him."

Addressing priests, the Holy Father said, "through priestly ordination, we have been called to share Christ's own mission and today we renew together our common priestly commitment. With great emotion, we recall the gift received from Christ, who has called us to special participation in His priesthood."

"Today, in a special way," he concluded, "we encounter Christ, Supreme and Eternal Priest, and we spiritually cross this Holy Door which opens the fullness of saving love to all men. Just as Christ was submissive to the action of the Spirit in His condition as man and obedient servant, so the baptized, and especially ordained ministers, must feel committed to carrying out their own priestly consecration in humble and faithful service to God and our fellows."

Later, at 5:30 p.m. in St. Peter's Basilica, John Paul II presided at the celebration of the Mass of the Lord's Supper. During the liturgy, he washed the feet of 12 priests and, during the offertory, accepted a donation that will be sent to flood victims in Mozambique.

The Pope recalled the words of consecration, saying that "each year, on this day, we remember (those words) as we return spiritually to the Upper Room. This evening I re-evoke them with particular emotion, because fresh in my mind and heart is the image of the Upper Room, where I had the joy of celebrating the Eucharist during my recent Jubilee pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The emotion is still stronger, because this year is the year of the Jubilee of the two thousandth anniversary of the Incarnation. Seen in this light, our celebration this evening takes on an especially profound meaning."

The Holy Father affirmed that, "in instituting the Eucharist, Jesus gives the Apostles a share as ministers in His priesthood of the new and eternal Covenant. He and He alone is always and everywhere the source and the minister of the Eucharist."

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EASTER SUNDAY: MASS, URBI ET ORBI BLESSING

VATICAN CITY, APR 23, 2000 (VIS) - Pope John Paul celebrated Easter morning Mass in a flower-bedecked St. Peter's Square with well over 100,000 faithful from around the world after which he recited the traditional, twice-yearly "urbi et orbi" (to the city and to the world) message and blessing.

The Mass and blessing were broadcast live by TV stations in some 50 countries on all continents. For the 15th year, Dutch florists, who had arrived earlier in the week, decorated the papal altar and adjacent area in St. Peter's Square with flowering trees and more than 50,000 flowers, including 30,000 tulips. They also placed floral garlands on the loggias or balconies of St. Peter's Basilica.

At the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration a deacon, standing in front of the icon of the Most Holy Savior, known as the "acheiropita" (not painted by human hands) announced the resurrection of the Lord. The icon is housed in the Oratory of St. Lawrence, known as the "Sancta sanctorum" (holiest of holies) at St. John Lateran Basilica. It is a full representation of the enthroned Savior, painted on cloth applied to a wood tablet. Restored in 1995-96, the only part presently visible is the Lord's face which is painted on a silk cloth superimposed upon the original. The rest of the icon is covered by a sheet of silver.

In his urbi et orbi message, the Holy Father focussed on the triumph of life over death and "the power of renewal flowing from the Resurrection." He recalled that one month ago in the Holy Land he had had "the grace of kneeling before the stone slab which marked the place of Jesus' burial."

"May the Message of life proclaimed by the angel near the stone rolled back from the tomb overturn the hardness of our hearts: may it lead to removing unjustified barriers and promote a fruitful exchange between peoples and cultures. May the image of the new man, shining on the face of Christ, cause everyone to acknowledge the inalienable value of human life," lead to justice and equal opportunity for all, and lead to an end of conflicts among nations and peoples.

Following the urbi et orbi, John Paul II wished a Happy Easter in 61 languages to those gathered in St. Peter's Square or linked to it by television and radio.

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