VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 228   
   DATE 29-12-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - Francis' visit to Naples to begin in Pompeii   
   - Enthusiastic participation in Pope Francis' encounters with the faithful in   
   2014   
   - Angelus: Jesus brings the generations together   
   - Large families are the hope of society   
   - Telegram for the death of Archbishop Giuseppe Pittau, S.J.   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
   - The Nativity of the Lord   
   - Midnight Mass: "do I allow God to love me?"   
   - Christmas Message: "many tears, together with the tears of the Infant Jesus"   
   - The gift of Christian integrity is coherence: think, feel and live as   
   Christians   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis' visit to Naples to begin in Pompeii   
    Vatican City, 29 December 2014 (VIS) - Pompeii will be the first port of call   
   on Pope Francis' trip to the Italian region of Campania. On 21 March the Holy   
   Father will begin his pilgrimage to Naples, starting from the statue dedicated   
   to the Virgin of the Rosary in Pompeii, according to the prelate archbishop   
   and pontifical delegate of the shrine, Tommaso Caputo, who added that the   
   Pope's visit constitutes an event of extraordinary ecclesial importance.   
    "The filial and tender Marian devotion that the Pope continues to show is   
   also at the root of the Church of Pompeii's strong commitment towards the   
   humblest and neediest among us", explained the prelate. "Today, more than ever   
   before, the motivating forces of charity, intimately linked to the needs of   
   justice and respect for the dignity of every person, are strongly felt. Aside   
   from our joy for his visit, we hope that Pope Francis will show us the path to   
   take to be even closer to and more united with our people".   
    St. John Paul II also visited Pompeii on 21 October 1979, during his visit to   
   Naples, and he returned there on 7 October 2003 for the conclusion of the Year   
   of the Rosary. Benedict XVI also visited the shrine, again during the month of   
   the Rosary, October 2008.   
      
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    Enthusiastic participation in Pope Francis' encounters with the faithful in   
   2014   
    Vatican City, 29 December 2014 (VIS) - In a communique published today, the   
   Prefecture of the Papal Household reports that during the year 2014, more than   
   5,900,000 faithful participated in the various encounters with Pope Francis:   
   audiences, both general (1,199,000) and special (567,100); liturgical   
   celebrations in the Vatican Basilica and St. Peter's Square (1,110,700), and   
   the Angelus and Regina Coeli (3,040,000). These data refer only to the   
   encounters that took place in the Vatican and do not include other activities   
   that involved a high level of participation among the faithful, such as the   
   apostolic trips to the Republic of Korea, Turkey or the Holy Land, or the   
   various trips in Italy and visits within the diocese of Rome. The total number   
   of faithful involved in the Vatican events is estimated at 5,916,800.   
    The Prefecture of the Papal Household reiterates that these are approximate   
   data, calculated on the basis of requests for attendance at events and the   
   invitations distributed by the Prefecture. Similarly, the data regarding   
   participation in the Angelus and large celebrations in St. Peter's Square are   
   based on estimates.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Angelus: Jesus brings the generations together   
    Vatican City, 28 December 2014 (VIS) - "Jesus brings the generations   
   together", affirmed Pope Francis, addressing the faithful gathered in St.   
   Peter's Square today for the midday Angelus. The Gospel reading narrated the   
   episode of the Presentation in the Temple, when Mary and Joseph, forty days   
   after Jesus' birth, take Him to the temple in Jerusalem, in obedience to the   
   Law of Moses. There, they meet the elderly people Simeon and Anna.   
    "We can imagine this little family, in the midst of so many people, in the   
   great courtyard of the temple. They do not stand out, they are not   
   distinguished. However", observed the Holy Father, "they do not go unnoticed.   
   Two elderly people, Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit, approach them   
   and praise God for that Child, in Whom they recognise the Messiah, the light   
   of the peoples and the salvation of Israel. It is a simple moment, yet rich in   
   prophecy: the meeting between a young couple full of joy and faith by the   
   grace of the Lord, and two elderly people also full of joy and faith by the   
   action of the Spirit. Who brings them together? Jesus. Jesus brings about the   
   encounter between the young and the elderly. Jesus is the One who brings the   
   generations together. He is the source of that love that unites families and   
   people, overcoming all distrust, all isolation, every distance. ... Good   
   relations between the young and the elderly are fundamental to the path of   
   civil and ecclesial community. Looking at these two elderly people, Simeon and   
   Anna, we greet with applause all the grandparents in the world", exclaimed   
   Francis.   
    "The message that comes from the Holy Family is above all a message of   
   faith", he continued. "This is why the family of Nazareth is holy. Why?   
   Because it is centred on Jesus. When parents and children breathe together the   
   same climate of faith, they possess an energy that allows them to face   
   difficult trials, as shown by the experience of the Holy Family, for example,   
   during the dramatic events of the flight into Egypt".   
    The child Jesus with his mother Mary and St. Joseph are the icon of the   
   family, simple yet illuminating. The light they radiate is a light of mercy   
   and salvation for the whole world, a light of truth for every man, for the   
   human family. ... The light that comes from the Holy Family encourages us to   
   offer human warmth in those family situations that, for various reasons, lack   
   peace, harmony or forgiveness. Our concrete solidarity is not lacking,   
   especially in relation to those families who experience difficult situations   
   such as sickness, unemployment, discrimination, or the need to migrate". He   
   concluded by asking those present to pray a moment in silence for these   
   families.   
    Following the Angelus prayer, the Pope mentioned the passengers on the   
   aircraft that disappeared in flight between Indonesia and Singapore, and those   
   on the ferry that caught fire in the Adriatic Sea. "I am close, with affection   
   and prayer, to the relatives of the victims, those who are living through   
   these difficult situations with anxiety and suffering, and those involved in   
   the rescue operations".   
      
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    Large families are the hope of society   
    Vatican City, 28 December 2014 (VIS) - On the feast day of the Holy Family,   
   Pope Francis received in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall a group of large Italian   
   families, present in Rome for to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the   
   Associazione Nazionale Famiglie Numerose (National Association for Large   
   Families). The audience was also attended by families from other countries   
   throughout Europe.   
    "You have come here with the most beautiful fruits of your love. Maternity   
   and paternity are gifts from God, your task is to receive this gift, to be   
   amazed by its beauty and to let it shine in society. Each one of your children   
   is a unique creation that will never be repeated in the history of humanity.   
   When we understand this, that each person is willed by God, we are astonished   
   by the great miracle that is a child".   
    "And you, boys and girls", he continued, addressing the children present,   
   "are precisely this: each one of you is the unique fruit of love, you come   
   from love and grow in love. You are unique, but you are not alone. And the   
   fact of having brothers and sisters is good for you: the sons and daughters of   
   large families are more inclined to fraternal communion from early childhood.   
   In a world that is frequently marked by selfishness, the large family is a   
   school of solidarity and sharing; and these attitudes are of benefit to all   
   society".   
    "You, children and young people, are the fruit of the tree that is the   
   family: you are good fruit when the tree has good roots - grandparents - and a   
   good trunk - the parents. ... The presence of large families is a hope for   
   society. This is why the presence of grandparents is very important: a   
   valuable presence both in terms of practical assistance, but above all for   
   their contribution to education. Grandparents conserve the values of a people,   
   of a family, and they help parents transmit them to their children. Throughout   
   the last century, in many countries in Europe, it was the grandparents who   
   transmitted faith".   
    "Dear parents, thank you for your example of love for life that you protect   
   from conception to its natural end, in spite of all the difficulties and   
   burdens of life, that unfortunately public institutions do not always help you   
   to bear. ... Every family is a cell of society, but the large family is a   
   richer, more vital cell, and the state has much to gain by investing in it",   
   Francis remarked. He concluded by praying for those families who are most   
   affected by the economic crisis, those in which the mother or father have lost   
   their jobs and in which the young are unable to find work, and those families   
   in which the closest relationships are marked by suffering and who are tempted   
   to give in to loneliness and separation".   
      
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    Telegram for the death of Archbishop Giuseppe Pittau, S.J.   
    Vatican City, 2 December 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a telegram of   
   condolences to the Prepositor General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Adolfo   
   Nicolas Pachon, for the death in Tokyo, Japan of Archbishop Giuseppe Pittau,   
   S.J., former secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, at the age   
   of 86.   
    The Pope describes the archbishop as an "exemplary minister of God, who lived   
   for the cause of the Gospel" and underlines his "generous missionary   
   apostleship" in Japan, where his earthly existence came to an end. He also   
   gives thanks to the Lord for the service Archbishop Pittau rendered to the   
   Apostolic See as Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, for his   
   commitment as rector of the Sophia University of Tokyo, and as Magnificent   
   Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome, as well as for his   
   devotion to the Society of Jesus. The Pope entrusts the soul of the departed   
   to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, "in the light of Christ's   
   resurrection", and imparts an apostolic blessing to those who mourn the late   
   archbishop's passing.   
      
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    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 29 December 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Fr.   
   Angel Javier Perez Pueyo as bishop of Barbastro-Monzon (area 8,321, population   
   101,320, Catholics 95,127, priests 96, permanent deacons 3, religious 171),   
   Spain. The bishop-elect was born in Ejea de los Caballeros, Spain in 1955 and   
   was ordained a priest in 1980. He holds a licentiate in philosophy and science   
   of education from the Civil University of Salamanca, Spain. He has served in a   
   number of roles, including formator and professor in the seminaries of   
   Tarragona and Salmanca and member of the Central Council of the Fraternity of   
   Working Diocesan Priests and pastoral coordinator of the same Fraternity. He   
   has collaborated in courses for formators in various seminaries in Latin   
   America and in those organised by the Episcopal Commission of Seminaries of   
   the Spanish Episcopal Conference. He is currently rector of the "San Jose"   
   Pontifical Spanish College in Rome. He succeeds Bishop Alfonso Milian   
   Sorribas, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon   
   reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Nativity of the Lord   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Midnight Mass: "do I allow God to love me?"   
    Vatican City, 24 December 2014 (VIS) - This evening at 10 p.m. the Holy   
   Father celebrated Midnight Mass on the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord,   
   2014. During the Eucharistic celebration, following the reading of the Holy   
   Gospel, Pope Francis pronounced the following homily:   
    "'The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt   
   in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined'. 'An angel of the Lord   
   appeared to [the shepherds] and the glory of the Lord shone around them'. This   
   is how the liturgy of this holy Christmas night presents to us the birth of   
   the Saviour: as the light which pierces and dispels the deepest darkness. The   
   presence of the Lord in the midst of his people cancels the sorrow of defeat   
   and the misery of slavery, and ushers in joy and happiness.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)