NOTICE

Vatican City, 31 March 2013 (VIS) – Although there is usually no VIS bulletin during the Easter holidays, this year the Vatican Information Service has transmitted all the acts of the new Pope during the Easter Triduum. With the conclusion of those holy days, however, tomorrow and the following day—Monday 1 April and Tuesday 2 April, which are still holidays in the Vatican—there will be no VIS bulletin. The service will resume on Wednesday, 3 April.

POPE FRANCIS: ON THIS NIGHT ONE WORD SHOULD SUFFICE, THE CROSS ITSELF

Vatican City, 30 March 2013 (VIS) – At 5:00pm in St. Peter's Basilica yesterday, Good Friday, the Holy Father presided over the celebration of the Lord's Passion. After the Liturgy of the Word—in which we heard the account of the Passion according to St. John—and the homily, the universal prayers were recited. The rite continued with the adoration of the Cross and ended with communion.

Hours later, at 9:15pm, Pope Francis presided for the first time over the Way of the Cross at Rome's Colosseum. This year, the meditations and prayers accompanying the stations were written by young Lebanese Catholics, guided by Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, O.M.M., Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon. The images in the booklet reproduced 19th century illustrations of the Way of the Cross made by an unknown Franciscan in Bethlehem. Over a hundred thousand people, many of them youth as well as a large group of Lebanese pilgrims, attended the event.

The Holy Father followed the ceremony, which was broadcast by Vatican Television, from a small platform on the side of the Palatine hill. Two young persons from the diocese of Rome and two Lebanese youth carried the torches alongside the cross, which was carried—for the first and last station—by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of Rome, then an Italian and an Indian family, then a woman in a wheelchair, then by two Chinese seminarians, then two Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, then two Nigerian sisters, then two Lebanese sisters, and then two Brazilian youth. At the end of the Way of the Cross the Pope spoke the following words:

“Dear Brother and Sisters,

Thank you for having taken part in these moments of deep prayer. I also thank those who have accompanied us through the media, especially the sick and elderly. I do not wish to add too many words. One word should suffice this evening, that is the Cross itself. Jesus' Cross is the word through which God has responded to evil in the world.”

“Sometimes it may seem as though God does not react to evil, as if He is silent. And yet, God has spoken. He has replied and his answer is the Cross of Christ: a word which is love, mercy, and forgiveness. It is also a judgement, namely that God, in judging us, loves us. Let us remember this: in judging us, God loves us. If I embrace his love then I am saved, if I refuse it, then I am condemned. Not by him, but my own self, because God never condemns; He only loves and saves.”

“Dear brothers and sisters, the word of the Cross is also the answer which Christians offer in the face of evil, the evil that continues to work in us and around us. Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the Cross upon themselves as Jesus did. This evening we have heard the witness given by our Lebanese brothers and sisters. They are the ones who composed these beautiful prayers and meditations. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to them for this work and above all for the witness they offer. We were able to see this when Pope Benedict visited Lebanon. We saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters and so many others. That occasion was a sign to the Middle East and to the whole world: a sign of hope.”

Now let us continue this “Via Crucis” in our daily lives. Let us walk together along the Way of the Cross and let us do so carrying in our hearts this Word of love and forgiveness. Let us walk forward waiting for the Resurrection of Jesus who loves us so much. He is all love!”

POPE: “I JOIN ALL OF YOU GATHERED BEFORE THE HOLY SHROUD”

Vatican City, 30 March 2013 (VIS) – From 5:15pm until 6:40 this afternoon, there will be an extraordinary exposition of the Holy Shroud in the Cathedral of Turin, Italy. The initiative is part of the Year of Faith that was proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI and will be broadcast by the Italian television channel, RAI1.

For the occasion, Pope Francis recorded a video message, the text of which we offer below.

“Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I join all of you gathered before the Holy Shroud, and I thank the Lord who, through modern technology, offers us this possibility.”

“Even if it takes place in this way, our gaze is not a mere 'observing', but rather a veneration. It is a prayerful gaze. I would go further: It is a letting ourselves be looked upon. This Face has eyes that are closed. It is the face of one who is dead and yet, mysteriously, He is watching us and in silence He speaks to us. How is this possible? How is it that the faithful, like you, pause before this Icon of a man who has been scourged and crucified? It is because the Man of the Shroud invites us to contemplate Jesus of Nazareth. This image, impressed upon the cloth, speaks to our hearts and moves us to climb the hill of Calvary, to look upon the wood of the Cross, and to immerse ourselves in the eloquent silence of love.”

“Let us therefore allow ourselves to be reached by this gaze, which is directed not to our eyes but to our hearts. In silence, let us listen to what He has to say to us from beyond death itself. By means of the Holy Shroud, the unique and supreme Word of God comes to us: Love made man, incarnate in our history; the merciful Love of God who has taken upon himself all the evil of the world in order to free us from its power. This disfigured Face resembles all those faces of men and women marred by a life that does not respect their dignity, by war and the violence that afflict the weakest… And yet, the Face of the Shroud conveys a great peace. This tortured body expresses a sovereign majesty. It is as if it let a restrained but powerful energy within it shine through, as if to tell us: have faith; do not lose hope; the power of God's love, the power of the Risen One, conquers all.”

“So, looking upon the Man of the Shroud, I make Saint Francis of Assisi's prayer before the Crucifix my own: 'Most High and glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart, and grant me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity, sense and understanding, Lord, so that I may carry out your holy and true command. Amen.'”

POPE AT CASAL DEL MARMO: AS PRIEST AND BISHOP, I MUST BE AT YOUR SERVICE

Vatican City, 29 March 2013 (VIS) – At 5:00pm yesterday afternoon, Holy Thursday, Pope Francis left the Vatican to go to the Casal del Marmo Penitential Institute for Minors where he celebrated the “in Coena Domine”—the Lord's Supper—Mass, which is the first of the Easter Triduum. Around fifty of the boys and girls detained at the juvenile centre located on the outskirts of Rome were in attendance. The Pope washed the feet of ten boys and two girls and, in his homily, said that their obligation is to help others “as a priest and as a bishop should be at your service. It is a duty that comes from my heart.”

At the moment of washing their feet, Pope Francis kneeled six times, each time washing the feet of the young people in front of him. The Holy Father began by washing their feet, then dried them, and finally kissed them. The girls whose feet he washed were an Italian and an Eastern European. Following is the full text of the homily that the Pope delivered after the Gospel was read.

“This is touching. Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. Peter did not understand anything; he refused. But Jesus explained to him. Jesus—God—has done this! And He himself said to his disciples: 'Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me “teacher” and “master”, and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.' (Jn 13:12-15)”

“This is the Lord's example: He is the most important one and He washes [other's] feet because those who are the highest among us must be at the service of others. And this is a symbol, a sign, isn't it? Washing someone's feet is [saying] 'I am at your service'. And us too, among us, shouldn't we wash one another’s feet every day—but what does this mean? That we must help each other, help one another. Sometimes I'm angry at someone … but … let it go. Forget it. And, if someone asks a favour of you, do it. Help each other.”

“This is what Jesus teaches us and this is what I am doing. I do it wholeheartedly because it is my duty. As priest and as bishop I must be at your service. But it is a duty that comes from my heart: I love it. I love this and I love doing it because the Lord has taught me this. But you as well, help each other; always help each other; help one another.”

“And so, in helping one another we do good to each other. Now we'll have this ceremony of washing of the feet and we will think, each of us will think: 'Am I truly ready, am I ready to serve and to help another?' Let's just think of that. And let's think that this sign is Jesus' caress that Jesus does because He came precisely for this: to serve and to help us.”

Concelebrating the Mass with the Holy Father were Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of Rome, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, substitute of the Secretariat of State, Msgr. Alfred Xuereb, the Pope's personal secretary, and the institute's chaplain, Fr. Gaetano Greco, a tertiary Capuchin of Our Lady of Sorrows, with one of his confreres. The Mass was celebrated in the institute's chapel, which is dedicated to the “Merciful Father”. Of the youth in attendance, around 11 were girls. At the end of the ceremony, Pope Francis again gathered with the youth in the institute's gym where, among others, the Italian Minister for Justice, Paola Severino, was present. The youth of the detention centre gave the Pope a wooden crucifix and kneeler, which they had made themselves in the institute's workshop.

Before leaving, the Pope thanked the youth for welcoming him and when one of the youth asked him why he had decided to visit their detention centre the Pope answered that his heart had compelled him. “It is a feeling that came from my heart; I felt it. Where are those who, perhaps, will help me most to be humble, to be a server as a bishop must be? And I thought, I asked: 'Where are people who would like me to visit?' And they told me: 'Perhaps Casal del Marmo.' And when they told me that, I came here. But it just came from my heart. Matters of the heart cannot be explained; they just come [to you]. Thanks!” On bidding them farewell he told the youth: “I'm going now. Thank you so much for your welcome. Pray for me. Don't let yourselves be robbed of hope. Always go forward. Thank you very much!”

VARATIONS IN PAPAL COAT OF ARMS

Vatican City, 29 March 2013 (VIS) – The Vatican website has released a new version of the papal coat of arms that incorporates a few changes. For the Marian symbol, instead of a five-pointed star, there is now an eight-pointed star, which also represents the 8 beatitudes. The nard flower representing St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church, has been made to more closely represent that flower. Finally, Francis' motto “miserando atque eligendo” underneath the shield has been placed upon a scroll of white parchment with a red backside. The Jesuit emblem remains the same. More details on the coat of arms can be found in the “FRANCIS' COAT OF ARMS” notice of the bulletin of 19 March: www.vis.va.