CELEBRATIONS TO BE PRESIDED BY POPE: OCTOBER-NOVEMBER

VATICAN CITY, 13 SEP 2010 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today published the calendar of celebrations to be presided by the Holy Father in the months of October and November:

OCTOBER

 - Sunday 3: Pastoral visit to Palermo, Italy, for the occasion of the regional meeting of families and young people.

 - Sunday 10: At 9.30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, opening of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops.

 - Sunday 17: At 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square, canonisation of the following blesseds: Stanislao Soltys (Kazimierczyk), Andre Bessette (ne Alfred), Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola (nee Juana Josefa), Mary of the Cross MacKillop (nee Mary Helen), Giulia Salzano and Battista da Varano (nee Camilla).

 - Sunday 24: At 9.30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, conclusion of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops.

NOVEMBER

 - Thursday 4: At 11.30 a.m. at the altar of the Cathedra in the Vatican Basilica, Mass for cardinals and bishops who died over the course of the year.

 - Saturday 6 - Sunday 7: Apostolic trip to the Spanish cities of Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona.
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REOPENING OF THE VATICAN APOSTOLIC LIBRARY

VATICAN CITY, 13 SEP 2010 (VIS) - Following three years of restoration work, the Vatican Apostolic Library is due to reopen its doors on 20 September. The announcement was made in a press conference, held this morning in the Sistine Hall of the Vatican Museums and presented by Cardinal Raffaele Farina S.D.B., archivist and librarian of Holy Roman Church; Msgr. Cesare Pasini, prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library; Pier Carlo Cuscianna, director of Technical Services of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Giovanni Giavazzi, president of the "Italcementi" Foundation, and Gennaro Guala, also of "Italcementi", the company which undertook the restoration work.

  The wing in which the collections are kept was in need of structural repair work including strengthening the floor which was showing signs of subsiding, bringing large areas of the building into line with safety norms, and moving a number of sectors in order to rationalise access to the works.

  During the course of the press conference it was announced that an exhibition entitled "Knowing the Vatican Apostolic Library: a story open to the future" will open in the Vatican's Charlemagne Wing on 10 November. It was further announced that a congress will be held from 11 to 13 November on the theme: "The Vatican Apostolic Library as a place of research and an institution at the service of scholars".

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 13 SEP 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

  On Saturday 11 September he received in audience Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, Germany.
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POPE SENDS GREETINGS TO CHIEF RABBI FOR ROSH HASHANAH

VATICAN CITY, 10 SEP 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a telegram to Riccardo Di Segni, chief rabbi of Rome, for the Jewish festivities of Rosh Hashanah 5771 (New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), which all fall in the month of September.

  On these feast days, writes the Pope, "it is my pleasure to express the most cordial and sincere best wishes to you and to the entire Jewish community of Rome, together with the hope that these festivities may bring copious blessings from the Eternal One and be a source of intimate joy. May we all feel a growing desire to promote justice and peace, of which the world today has such need.

  "With gratitude and affection I recall my visit to the Great Synagogue. May God, in His goodness, protect the entire community and enable it to develop in shared friendship, both in Rome and in the world".
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PRESIDENT OF HUNGARY RECEIVED IN AUDIENCE BY THE POPE

VATICAN CITY, 10 SEP 2010 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:

  "This morning the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Pal Schmitt, president of the Republic of Hungary. The president subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

  "The cordial discussions provided an opportunity to examine the situation in the country, with particular reference to the contribution the Catholic Church makes to the common good, especially in the fields of family and social life. Attention also turned to the forthcoming six-month Hungarian presidency of the European Union and to certain problems concerning the current international political situation".

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