THE POPE PRAYS FOR THE PASSENGERS OF THE MISSING MALAYSIAN AIRLINER

Vatican City, 16 March 2014 (VIS) – Following today's Angelus prayer, the Holy Father called for prayers for the passengers and crew of the missing Malaysian airliner, and for their families and loved ones. Pope Francis also addressed the members of the Pope John XXIII Community, founded by the Italian priest Oreste Benzi, and mentioned the Via Crucis organised by this community for women who are victims of trafficking, to take place next Friday evening in the streets of the centre of Rome.

LISTEN TO AND LOOK AT JESUS TO ILLUMINATE THE SOUL

Vatican City, 16 March 2014 (VIS) – “The Christian's first task is to listen to the Word of God, to listen to Jesus, because He speaks to us, and He saves us with His Word. And He makes our faith stronger and more robust, with his Word”. Pope Francis addressed these words to the faithful who awaited him at 4 p.m. today in the parish of Santa Maria dell'Orazione in Setteville di Guidonia, to the north of the Italian capital. The Pope met with various groups within the parish, in particular the sick and disabled, children and young catechumens preparing to receive their first Communion, Confirmation and Post Confirmation, Neocatechumenal Communities and families with children baptised during recent months. Before beginning the celebration, Pope Francis confessed several penitents.

The Pope's homily focused on the grace of “listening to and watching Jesus”. “Do we keep a copy of the Gospel at home? And each day, do we listen to Jesus in the Gospel, do we read a short passage from the Gospel? Are we afraid of this, or are we unaccustomed to it? Listening to the Word of Jesus to nourish us – this means that the Word of Jesus is the strongest sustenance for the soul: it nourishes our soul and our faith. I recommend that every day you set aside a few minutes to read a good passage from the Gospel and to see what happens there. Hear the voice of Jesus, and that Word of Jesus will enter into our hearts every day and make us stronger in our faith”.

“We are invited to listen to Jesus, and Jesus manifests himself, and in His Transfiguration He invites us to look upon him. And looking at Him purifies our eyes and prepares us for eternal life, for the vision of Heaven. Perhaps our eyes have sickened as they have seen so many things that are not of Jesus, or that are indeed against Jesus: worldly things, things that are not good for the light of the soul. And so this light gradually goes out, and without knowing it we end up in inner darkness, in spiritual darkness, in the darkness that excludes faith; darkness as we are not used to looking at or imagining those things proper to Jesus”.

POPE FRANCIS CLOSE TO THE VICTIMS OF THE MAFIA

Vatican City, 15 March 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father will visit the parish of San Gregorio VII in Rome on Friday 21 March to meet with the participants in a meeting organised by the “Libera” Foundation, presided by Don Luigi Ciotti. The meeting is dedicated to relatives of the victims of the mafia and will be held on the eve of the 19th “Day of memory and commitment”, in remembrance of the victims of the mafia, to be held in Latina on 22 March.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 17 March 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience:

- His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc.

- Archbishop Nicola Girasole, apostolic nuncio in Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Grenada, the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname, and apostolic delegate in the Antilles.

- Three prelates of the Episcopal Conference of East Timor, on their “ad limina” visit:

- Bishop Basilio do Nascimento of Baucau;

- Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva of Dili;

- Bishop Norberto do Amaral of Maliana.

On Saturday 15 March, the Holy Father received in audience:

- Archbishop Orlando Antonini, apostolic nuncio in Serbia;

- Michael Anthony Perry, O.F.M., minister general of the Order of Friars Minor, with members of the General Definitory;

- Fr. Saverio Cannistra, O.C.D., prepositor general of the Descalced Carmelites.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 15 March 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father:

- accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Sincelejo, Colombia, presented by Bishop Nel Hedye Beltran Santamaria, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

- appointed Bishop Romulo T. de la Cruz of Kidapawan as metropolitan archbishop of Zamboanga (area 1,683, population 764,000, Catholics 597,865, priests 76, religious 105), Philippines.

- appointed Rev. Jose Manuel Garita Herrera as bishop of Ciudad Quesada (area 9,838, population 297615, Catholics 223,257, priests 42, religious 35), Costa Rica. The bishop-elect was born in Heredia, Costa Rica in 1965 and was ordained a priest in 1988. He holds a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and has served in a number of pastoral, administrative and academic roles in the archdiocese of San Jose de Costa Rica, including vicar of the parish of “Nuestra Senora del Carmen”; auditor, defender of the bond and judicial vicar of the ecclesiastical tribunal; professor of sacred scriptures at the Autonomous University of Central America; archdiocesan vice-chancellor and chancellor, archdiocesan bursar and head of personnel of the Curia, professor of canon law at the Catholic University, the Theological Institute of Central America and in the national major seminary, rector of the “Santuario Nacional Templo Votivo al Sagrado Corazon de Jesus”, vicar forane, formator and spiritual director. He is currently rector of the national major seminary “Nuestra Senora de los Angeles”.

- appointed Fr. Robert Byrne as bishop of Birmingham (area 9,936, population 5,455,000, Catholics 286,700, priests 354, permanent deacons 81, religious 700), England. The bishop-elect was born in Urmston, England in 1956 and was ordained a priest in 1985. He completed his studies as King's College, University of London, and the Birmingham Oratory. He founded a new Oratory in the parish of St. Aloysius, Oxford in 1993. He has served as provost of the Oratory, chaplain of the prisons of Oxford and Bullingdon, and governor of the Oratory School. He is currently president of the Permanent Deputation of the International Confederation of the Oratory and secretary of the Department for Dialogue and Unity of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

- appointed Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, as his special envoy to the consecration of the recently restored shrine to St. Augustine d'Ippona at Annaba, Algeria, to take place on 2 May 2014, the centenary of its elevation to a Basilica.