BENEDICT XVI ATTENDS SCREENING OF A FILM ON ST. AUGUSTINE

VATICAN CITY, 3 SEP 2009 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon in the "Sala degli Svizzeri" of the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo, Benedict XVI attended the screening of an abbreviated version of the film "St. Augustine", an Italian, German, Polish co-production. The film was made by Lux Vide/Rai Fiction, Bayerischer Rundfunk/Tellux Film, Eos Entertainment Rai Trade and Grupa Filmova Baltmedia. It was directed by Christian Duguay.

  At the end of the screening, the Holy Father expressed his thanks to everyone involved in the project and pronounced some brief remarks. "I feel this film to be a spiritual journey in a spiritual continent, far distant from us yet at the same time very near because the human drama remains the same", he said.

  "We have seen how, in a context far removed from our own, the reality of human life is represented with all its problems, sadness and failures, just as we have seen how, in the end, Truth is stronger than any obstacle and seeks out man. This is the great hope that remains at the end: we alone cannot seek out Truth, but Truth, which is a Person, seeks out us. Seen from the outside, the life of St. Augustine seems to finish tragically as the world for which and in which he lived comes to an end. But as was made clear in this film, his message remains and, even as the world changes, it endures because it comes from Truth and guides us to Charity, which is our shared destination.

  "Thank you to everyone", he added in conclusion. "Let us hope that many people, watching this human drama, may be sought out by Truth and so discover Charity".
OP/ST. AUGUSTINE FILM/...                    VIS 20090903 (300)

PASTORAL VISIT TO VITERBO AND BAGNOREGIO ON SUNDAY

VATICAN CITY, 3 SEP 2009 (VIS) - On Sunday 6 September Benedict XVI will make a pastoral visit to the towns of Viterbo and Bagnoregio, in the Italian region of Lazio.

  The Pope will depart from the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo at 8.30 a.m., arriving in Viterbo half an hour later. Following the welcome ceremony on the steps of the Palazzo dei Papi in Piazza San Lorenzo, the Holy Father will make a brief private visit to the Hall of the Conclave.

  At 10.15 a.m. he will preside at a Eucharistic concelebration in Viterbo's Valle Faul. At midday he will pray the Angelus.

  In the afternoon, the Holy Father will visit the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of the Oak. On his way there he will pause briefly at the Shrine of Santa Rosa. At 5 p.m. he will travel by helicopter to Bagnoregio to visit the cathedral of St. Nicholas where he will venerate the relics of St. Bonaventure.

  At 5.45 p.m., Pope Benedict will meet with local citizens in Bagnoregio's Piazza Sant'Agostino, before returning to Castelgandolfo by helicopter.
OP/PASTORAL VISIT/VITERBO:BAGNOREGIO        VIS 20090903 (190)

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 3 SEP 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences six prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Archbishop Vitorio Pavanello S.D.B. of Campo Grande, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Pinheiro da Silva S.D.B.

    - Bishop Segismundo Martinez Alvarez S.D.B. of Corumba.

    - Bishop Antonino Migliore of Coxim.

    - Bishop Redovino Rizzardo C.S. of Dourados.

    - Bishop Jorge Alves Bezerra S.S.S. of Jardim.
AL/.../...                                VIS 20090903 (80)

ST. ODO: CHANGE OF LIFESTYLE BASED ON HUMILITY, AUSTERITY

VATICAN CITY, 2 SEP 2009 (VIS) - In this morning's general audience, held in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, the Pope resumed his series of catecheses on the great writers of the mediaeval Church in East and West. The Holy Father arrived in the Vatican by helicopter from Castelgandolfo, and returned there following his audience.

  Focusing his remarks on St. Odo, Benedict XVI explained how the saint was born around the year 880, eventually becoming the second abbot of the famous abbey of Cluny. "From that centre of spiritual life, he was able to exercise a vast influence on the monasteries of the continent", fomenting a lifestyle and a spirituality inspired by the Rule of St. Benedict. He died in 942.

  The Pope mentioned some of the saint's virtues, highlighting his "patience, ... detachment from the world, zeal for souls, commitment to peace, ... observance of the commandments, concern for the poor, education of the young and respect for the elderly".

  "One aspect that merits particular attention is the devotion to the Body and Blood of Christ which Odo - in the face of a widespread negligence that he vigorously deplored -cultivated with conviction. He was, in fact, firmly convinced of the real presence of the Body and Blood of the Lord under the Eucharistic species, by virtue of the 'substantial' conversion of the bread and wine".

  St. Odo said that "only those who are spiritually united to Christ can worthily receive His Eucharistic Body; in any other case, eating His flesh and drinking His blood would not be beneficial, but harmful".

  The Holy Father highlighted how "St. Odo was a true spiritual guide, both for the monks and for the faithful of his time. Faced with the 'immensity of vices' spread throughout society, the remedy he proposed ... was that of a radical change of lifestyle founded upon humility, austerity, detachment from the ephemeral and adherence to the eternal".

  With "the profound goodness of his soul, Odo diffused around him the joy with which he himself was filled. ... Through his resolute activities he nourished in the monks, and in the lay faithful of his time, a desire to proceed rapidly along the path of Christian perfection".

  Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by expressing the hope that "the goodness of St. Odo, the joy that derives from faith, ... may touch our hearts and that we too may discover the source of happiness that comes from the goodness of God".
AG/ST. ODO/...                            VIS 20090902 (430)

POPE MENTIONS SEVENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II

VATICAN CITY, 2 SEP 2009 (VIS) - Among his greetings at the end of his catechesis today, the Holy Father greeted Polish pilgrims recalling how yesterday, 1 September, marked the seventieth anniversary of the beginning of World War II, when Poland was invaded by the Nazis.

  "Human tragedies and the absurdity of war remain in the memory of peoples", he said. "Let us ask God that the spirit of forgiveness, peace and reconciliation may pervade the hearts of humankind. Europe and the world today need a spirit of communion. Let us build it upon Christ and His Gospel, upon the foundation of charity and truth".
AG/WORLD WAR ANNIVERSARY/...                VIS 20090902 (120)