LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS TO BE PRESIDED OVER BY POPE FRANCIS DURING HOLY WEEK

Vatican City, 25 March 2013 (VIS) – The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has made public the calendar of celebrations at which Pope Francis is scheduled to preside during Holy Week:

28 March, Holy Thursday: 9:30am, Chrism Mass in the Vatican Basilica
             5:30pm, Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Casal del Marmo youth detention centre

29 March, Good Friday: 5:00pm, Celebration of the Lord's Passion in the Vatican Basilica
             9:15pm, Via Crucis at the Colosseum

30 March, Holy Saturday: 8:30, Easter Vigil in the Vatican Basilica

31 March, Easter Sunday: 10:15am, Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square
             12:00pm “Urbi et Orbi” Blessing

PRESENTATION OF FIRST TWO BOOKS IN ITALIAN BY POPE FRANCIS

Vatican City, 25 March 2013 (VIS) - “Guarire dalla corruzione” (Recovering from Corruption) and “Umilta, la strada verso Dio” (Humility: The Road towards God) are the titles of the first two books by the new Pope to be published in Italian. Tomorrow, 26 March, they will be presented to the press at the Curci Hall of the offices of the Jesuit periodical “La Civilta Cattolica”.

Written when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, both texts draw upon the spirituality expressed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in his “Spiritual Exercises” to describe the profound mechanism of corruption in society—including the Church—and to note solutions, among which is the need for an ecclesial life characterized by fraternal charity.

“Guarire dalla corruzione” (orig. “Corrupcion y pecado”) is a text on morality. Based on an analysis of the spread of corruption in Argentine society and around the world, it locates the root of this evil within the heart. The text makes a novel distinction between the phenomena of corruption and sin. The afterword is written by Judge Pietro Grasso, president of the Italian Senate and former head of Italy's national anti-mafia prosecutor's agency.

“Umilta, la strada verso Dio” (orig. “Sobre la acusacion de si mismo”) has a strongly spiritual character. It introduces a text—widely cited in the book—by Dorotheus of Gaza, a 6th century Church Father, on humility. The book includes an appendix written by the prior of the ecumenical Monastic Community of Bose, Enzo Bianchi, who updates Dorotheus' message through the reading offered by Pope Francis.

OPENING OF SQUARE GARDEN AT VATICAN MUSEUMS

Vatican City, 25 March 2013 (VIS) – The Square Garden (“Giardino Quadrato”), ordered by Pope Paul III Farnese who also commissioned Michelangelo to paint “The Last Judgment” in 1534, will be open to visitors of the Vatican Museums beginning today.

Created by the architect Jacopo Meleghino, it is a classical Italian garden with four lawns bordered by hedges and covers nearly a hectare of ground. It has now been furnished with benches, upon which visitors can take a break from their tour of the museums. From the garden you can see the dome of St. Peter, the grove that covers the Vatican hill, and the walls of the museums' Pinacotheca, which houses works by Raphael, da Vinci, and Caravaggio.

Visiting hours for the Square Garden will be the same as those of the Vatican Museums.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 25 March 2013 (VIS) – This morning, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops,

Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and

Mr. Hector Federico Ling Altamirano, ambassador of Mexico, on his farewell visit.

FRANCIS ASKS FOR A HEART THAT FOLLOWS CHRIST ENTHUSIASTICALLY

Vatican City, 24 March 2013 (VIS) – More than 250 thousand people gathered this morning to attend Palm Sunday Mass, which Pope Francis celebrated in St. Peter's Square. For the thirteenth consecutive year, the olive trees and branches that adorned St. Peter's Square and were distributed to the faithful present were a gift from the Puglia region of Italy. The floral design that decorated the altar this year reflected the geography of the five continents: 60,000 olive branches were mixed with grasses and peach leaves, thyme, myrtle, ferns, strawberries, broom, lilies, wallflowers, and celery-leaved buttercups. The two centuries-old olive trees that were placed at the foot of the statues of St. Peter and St. Paul in the square will be planted in the Vatican Gardens after the Mass.

The celebration began at 9:15am with a procession of palm branches in which 620 persons—cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, children, and lay persons—participated. Some 2,000 palm branches were brought in from the Ligurian towns of San Remo and Bordighera in Northern Italy, as has been the tradition now for five centuries. The Pope entered the square while the choir and crowd sang the Hosanna. After reaching the foot of the square's obelisk, the Pope blessed the palms and olive branches of those in the square.

The procession then continued to the altar on the Sagrato of the Basilica. The Pope carried one of the three-metre long palm branches, which had been artistically braided so as to represent the Holy Trinity. Concelebrating with the Pope were: Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome; Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; and, Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O. Carm., vice gerent of the diocese of Rome.

The choir sang the Kyrie while the Pope venerated and incensed the altar. The Liturgy of the Word included readings from Isaiah and St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. After the Gospel reading of the Passion, proclaimed by three deacons, the Pope's homily focused on three central aspects: Joy, the Cross, and Youth. His full homily can be read below.

As part of the closing rites of the Mass, the Pope prayed the Angelus. Then, re-entering the Vatican walls, the Pope took a long route through the square, greeting those gathered and being especially attentive to the young and the sick.