OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 10, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Bishop Mariano Jose Parra Sandoval of San Fernando de Apure, as bishop of Ciudad Guayana (area 53,596, population 850,000, Catholics 765,000, priests 36, permanent deacons 5, religious 118), Venezuela.

- Auxiliary Bishop Luis Gleisner Wobbe of Rancagua, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of La Serena (area 30,596, population 492,275, Catholics 284,517, priests 67, permanent deacons 49, religious 195), Chile.

- Bishop Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, S.D.B., of Valdivia, and Fr. Andres Arteaga Manieu, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Santiago de Chile (area 9,132, population 5,083,704, Catholics 3,716,941, priests 825, permanent deacons 145, religious 3,377), Chile, vice-grand chancellor of the Catholic Pontifical University of Chile, as auxiliary bishops of Santiago de Chile. Bishop-elect Manieu was born in Santiago de Chile, in 1959, and ordained to the priesthood in 1986.

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JOHN PAUL II VACATIONS IN THE ITALIAN ALPS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 10, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul has returned for the ninth time to Les Combes d'Introd, in the Valle d'Aosta region of northwestern Italy, to spend a brief vacation period in the midst of mountains which have been a part of his life since his childhood in Poland.

The villa where the Pope is staying was completed just before his sojourn there last summer. When he first saw the new house at that time, he had protested, asking "Was the villa made especially for me?" He was reassured that the house, owned by the Salesians, was put to good use throughout the year and, in fact, was used during the winter months as a ski stop.

The villa is a modified chalet-style, two-story building of stone and wood and is surrounded by a large garden and forest. Built at an altitude of 1,200 meters, it overlooks the celebrated Mont Blanc and other mountains on the Italian-French-Swiss borders.

The small papal apartment, and that of his secretary, are located on the first floor of the residence. The other guest rooms are on the ground floor and will be occupied by the three nuns who accompanied the Holy Father to Les Combes, as well as by his personal physician, the Pope's successor at the chair of ethics at the University of Lublin, Poland, and Holy See Press Office Director, Joaquin Navarro-Valls. Also on the ground floor is the kitchen and living room/dining room area.

Only one public event is on John Paul's schedule between now and his early evening departure for Rome on July 20. He will recite the angelus this coming Sunday in the presence of a number of faithful who live in or are visiting the area.

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IN MEMORIAM

VATICAN CITY, JUL 10, 2001 (VIS) - The following prelates have died in recent weeks:

- Cardinal Silvio Oddi, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Clergy, on June 29, at the age of 90.
- Cardinal Thomas Joseph Winning, archbishop of Glasgow, Scotland, on June 17, at the age of 76.
- Archbishop Emeritus Jose Goncalves da Costa, C.SS.R., of Niteroi, Brasil, on June 19, at the age of 87.
- Bishop Victor Gil Lechoza of Minas, Uruguay, on June 21, at the age of 69.
- His Beatitude Maximos V Hakim, patriarch emeritus of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites, on June 29, at the age of 93.
- Bishop Giulio Nicolini of Cremona, Italy, on June 26, at the age of 74.
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PROMULGATION OF DECREES BY CONGREGATION FOR CAUSES OF SAINTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 7, 2001 (VIS) - This morning in the Clementine Hall, fifteen decrees were promulgated in the presence of the Holy Father, members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the postulators of the respective causes. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the congregation, read a speech detailing the lives of the future Blesseds and Saints who, he said, radically lived the call to holiness that every Christian receives with baptism.

The 15 decrees are for:

MARTYRDOM:

- Servants of God Juan Bautista and Jiacinto de los Angelos, fathers of families, killed for hatred of the faith in 1700 in San Francisco Cajonos, Mexico.
- Servant of God Niklas Gross, German, layman, father of family, killed for his faith (1898-1945).

HEROIC VIRTUES:

- Servant of God Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi, Italian, father of a family (1880-1951).
- Servant of God Maria Corsini, Italian, widow of Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi, mother of a family (1884-1965).

MIRACLES:

- Blessed Umile da Bisignano, ne Luca Antonio Pirozzo, Italian, professed layman of the Order of Friars Minor (1582-1637).
- Blessed Pedro di San Jose de Betancur, Spanish, layman of the Third Order Secular of St. Francis and founder of the Bethlehem Brothers and Sisters (1619-1667).
- Blessed Paolina del Cuore Agonizzante di Gesu, Italian, nee Amabile Visintainer, foundress of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (died 1942).
- Servant of God Bartolomeo dei Martiri, Portuguese, ne Bartolomeo Fernandes, of the Order of Friars Preachers, archbishop of Braga (1514-1590).
- Servant of God Giovanni Antonio Farina, Italian, bishop of Vicenza and founder of the Institute of the Sisters Teachers of St. Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Heart (1803-1888).
- Servant of God Tommaso Maria Fusco, Italian, priest of the diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Samo, founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood (1831-1891).
- Servant of God Luigi Tezza, professed priest of the Order of Clerics Regular, Ministers of the Sick, and founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Camillus (1841-1923).
- Servant of God Maria del Transito di Gesu Sacramentato, Argentinean, nee Maria del Transito Cabanillas, foundress of the Congregation of Tertiary Sisters Franciscan Missionaries of Argentina (1821-1885). - Servant of God Maria Pilar Izquierdo Albero, Spanish, foundress of the Missionary Work of Jesus and Mary (1906-1945).
- Servant of God Liduina Meneguzzi, Italian, nee Elisa Angela, professed religious of the Institute of St. Francis de Sales (1901-1941).
- Servant of God Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi, Italian, father of a family (1880-1951) and Servant of God Maria Corsini, Italian, widow of Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi, mother of a family (1884-1965).

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ARMENIAN MECHITARISTS CELEBRATE THIRD CENTENARY

VATICAN CITY, JUL 7, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul this morning welcomed 35 members of the Armenian Mechitarist Congregation on the occasion of the third centenary of their founding by Abbot Mechitar who, the Pope said "was surely celebrating in heaven for the recent unification of the two branches of your congregation."

"With the story of Mechitar of Sebaste the history of Armenian monastic spirituality reaches its summit. In a period of strong decadence, due to precise socio-political circumstances, Mechitar understood that holiness was the highest and most efficacious means of returning dignity, vigor and moral and civil commitment to his people. He was above all a seeker of God, ... and wished to be so within the precise context of Armenian monastic life."

The Holy Father recalled that "while he was still young, Mechitar undertook a pilgrimage which brought him to various monasteries of Armenia. ... During this pilgrimage he also met many Latin religious, drawing from the knowledge of their spirituality new points for reflection, without, however, harming full fidelity to the authentic Armenian tradition." He added that this contact between East and West led "Mechitar to settle, together with the monks he founded, in Venice, the natural bridge of a West leaning towards the East. Since then the island of St. Lazarus has become 'a little Armenia' and is still a place of pilgrimage."

John Paul II underscored that "the characteristic element of Mechitarist spirituality is the search for holiness, through an intense prayer life." And he noted that Mechitar "directed the monks to live a common life in the monastery, under the sign of obedience. The monasteries thus became centers of spiritual formation and profound cultural studies."

"Mechitar and his monks," the Pope went on, "must be recognized for having worked, and still working, for the full reestablishment of unity among the Church of the West and the Church of the East. For Mechitar, communion with Rome was an indispensable element of faith."

"Dear sons of Mechitar," stated the Holy Father, "it is up to you to gather this legacy and to revive it," getting to know your people, and how to answer their longings. He suggested "it might be opportune to make use of the collaboration of the lay faithful."

The Pope also pointed out that "your history and the intuitions of your founder place you in a privileged position in the ecumenical dialogue. ... Be up to the task of such an extraordinary vocation."

He dedicated closing remarks to the need to "recall that poverty is the indispensable mark of monastic life. May your riches be the Lord Whom you carry in your heart. ... May past events teach you not to confuse material prosperity with the depth of spiritual life: prosperity often causes idolatrous greed which mines the foundation of religious experience. This is a lesson which must not be forgotten."

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