VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 091   
   DATE 18-05-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Meeting of the Holy Father with the Heads of the dicasteries of the Roman   
   Curia   
   - Pray for persecuted Christians, says Francis to the women religious in Rome   
   for the canonisation of the Palestinian saints   
   - The Pope canonises four new saints   
   - Regina Coeli: appeal for prayers for Burundi   
   - Francis receives the president of Palestine: the importance of interreligious   
   dialogue and the fight against terrorism   
   - "Never fail to listen to those who knock at your door", say the Pope to men   
   and women religious in Rome   
   - The Pontifical Council for the Family presents the initiative "The Great   
   Mystery: the Gospel of the family, school of humanity for our times"   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Meeting of the Holy Father with the Heads of the dicasteries of the Roman   
   Curia   
    Vatican City, 18 May 2015 (VIS) - This morning at 9 a.m., in the Sala Bologna   
   of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father met with the heads of the   
   dicasteries of the Roman Curia.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pray for persecuted Christians, says Francis to the women religious in Rome   
   for   
   the canonisation of the Palestinian saints   
    Vatican City, 18 May 2015 (VIS) - "I am giving you a mission: pray to the two   
   new saints for peace in your land, so that there may be an end to this   
   interminable war, and to bring peace among peoples", said Pope Francis this   
   morning as he received in audience the Carmelite Sisters of Bethlehem and the   
   Middle East and the Sisters of the Rosary, in Rome to attend the canonisation   
   of   
   Mary of Jesus Crucified and Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas.   
    "Pray too for Christians who are persecuted, driven away from their homes and   
   their land, and victims of 'white-gloved' persecution, hidden but present:   
   white-gloved persecution and terrorism. Keep praying for peace".   
    The Holy Father, who greeted the women religious during an interval in his   
   meeting with the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, invited them all   
   to pray a Hail Mary, each in her own language.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope canonises four new saints   
    Vatican City, 17 May 2015 (VIS) - "Each one of Christ's followers is called to   
   become a witness to His resurrection, above all in those human settings where   
   forgetfulness of God and human disorientation are most evident", said the Pope   
   in the homily he pronounced during the Mass for the canonisation of four new   
   saints: Jeanne-Emilie de Villeneuve (1811-1854), French nun and founder of the   
   Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Castres; Maria   
   Cristina of the Immaculate Conception (nee Maria Cristina Brando, 1856-1906),   
   Italian nun and founder of the Oblation Sisters of the Holy Sacrament;   
   Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas (nee Maryam Sultanah, 1843-1927), Palestinian   
   co-founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Rosary of Jerusalem;   
   and Mary of Jesus Crucified (nee Maryam Baouardy 1846-1878) Palestinian nun of   
   the Order of Discalced Carmelites. The solemn ceremony, which took place in a   
   packed St. Peter's Square, was attended by more than two thousand Christians   
   from the Middle East, the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, the Latin   
   Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, and an Israeli delegation whom the Pope   
   greeted at the end of the celebration.   
    In his homily, the Holy Father, citing the Acts of the Apostles, recalls that   
   their mission of announcing Jesus, of whose resurrection they were   
   eyewitnesses,   
   was a community rather than an individual undertaking. Thanks to the witness of   
   the Twelve, many people came to believe; from faith in the risen Lord,   
   Christian   
   communities were born and are born continually. "We too, today, base our faith   
   in the risen Lord on the witness of the Apostles, which has come down to us   
   through the mission of the Church", he said. "Our faith is firmly linked to   
   their testimony, as to an unbroken chain which spans the centuries, made up not   
   only by the successors of the Apostles, but also by succeeding generations of   
   Christians. Like the Apostles, each one of Christ's followers is called to   
   become a witness to His resurrection, above all in those human settings where   
   forgetfulness of God and human disorientation are most evident".   
    For this to happen, "we need to abide in the risen Christ and in His love, ...   
   like Sister Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve, who consecrated her life to God and to   
   the poor, the sick, the imprisoned and the exploited, becoming for them and for   
   all a concrete sign of the Lord's merciful love". This same love conquered   
   another of the new saints, Sister Maria Cristina Brando, who "from prayer and   
   her intimate encounter with the risen Jesus present in the Eucharist received   
   strength to endure suffering and to give herself, as bread which is broken, to   
   many people who had wandered far from God and yet hungered for authentic love".   
    Another essential aspect of witness to the risen Lord is unity among His   
   disciples, in the image of His own unity with the Father. "From this eternal   
   love between the Father and the Son, poured into our hearts through the Holy   
   Spirit, our mission and our fraternal communion draw strength; this love is the   
   ever-flowing source of our joy in following the Lord along the path of His   
   poverty, His virginity and His obedience; and this same love calls us to   
   cultivate contemplative prayer". This was the love that Sister Mariam Baouardy   
   experienced: "poor and uneducated, she was able to counsel others and provide   
   theological explanations with extreme clarity, the fruit of her constant   
   dialogue with the Holy Spirit. Her docility to the Holy Spirit also made her a   
   means of encounter and fellowship with the Muslim world". So too, Sister   
   Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas "came to understand clearly what it means to   
   radiate the love of God in the apostolate, and to be a witness to meekness and   
   unity. She shows us the importance of becoming responsible for one another, of   
   living lives of service one to another".   
    The "luminous example" of the four new saints, who abide in God and in His   
   love, inspires us, in our lives as Christians, "to proclaim by our words and   
   our   
   lives the resurrection of Jesus, to live in unity with one another and with   
   charity towards all", concluded Pope Francis.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Regina Coeli: appeal for prayers for Burundi   
    Vatican City, 17 May 2015 (VIS) - Following the Mass for canonisation and   
   before praying the Regina Coeli, the Pope greeted all those present in St.   
   Peter's Square to pay homage to the four new saints, and in particular the   
   official delegations from Palestine, France, Italy, Israel and Jordan. "May   
   their intercession renew the missionary impulse in their countries of origin.   
   Inspired by their example of mercy, charity and reconciliation, may the   
   Christians of these lands look with hope to the future, continuing their path   
   of   
   solidarity and fraternal co-existence".   
    He also addressed the faithful of the Czech Republic, gathered today in the   
   shrine of Svaty Kopecek to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of St. John   
   Paul II's visit. He also noted that yesterday in Venice, Italy, the priest   
   Luigi   
   Carburlotto was proclaimed blessed. Founder of the Daughters of St. Joseph,   
   this   
   "exemplary pastor ... led an intense spiritual and apostolic life, entirely   
   dedicated to the good of souls".   
    He concluded by inviting those present "to pray for the dear people of   
   Burundi,   
   who are experiencing a delicate moment. May the Lord help all to flee from   
   violence and to act responsibly for the good of the country".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis receives the president of Palestine: the importance of interreligious   
   dialogue and the fight against terrorism   
    Vatican City, 16 May 2015 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father Francis received in   
   audience Mahmoud Abbas, president of the State of Palestine, who subsequently   
   met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop   
   Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States. President Abbas   
   will attend tomorrow's canonisation of the two Palestinian nuns, for which he   
   thanked the Holy Father.   
    During the cordial discussions, great satisfaction was expressed for the   
   accord   
   reached on the text of a comprehensive Agreement between the Parties on various   
   essential aspects of the life and the activity of the Catholic Church in   
   Palestine, to be signed in the near future.   
    Attention then turned to the peace process with Israel, and the hope was   
   expressed that direct negotiations between the Parties be resumed in order to   
   find a just and lasting solution to the conflict. To this end the wish was   
   reiterated that, with the support of the international Community, Israelis and   
   Palestinians may take with determination courageous decisions to promote peace.   
   Finally, with reference to the conflicts that afflict the Middle East, and in   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)