Pope Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus at Castel Gandolfo this Sunday. In his remarks ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, Pope Benedict reflected on the Gospel reading for this Sunday, saying Jesus continues his discourse to the disciples about the worth of the person and about how useless earthly concerns really are, and illustrates how the expectation of the fulfilment of the “bles…

In an atmosphere of great joy and high spirits, Benedict XVI met a group of young people at Sulmona cathedral on Sunday. The Pope – showing the affection of a father with his children – said that the heart of man does not find peace if not in God, “the pearl of great price” that gives value to life. But he observed the clouds gathering on the horizons of young people today aren’t few in number: “C…

“Freedom grows and comes to perfection when man opens himself to God, when he listens to divine Revelation.” The words of the Pope this morning during his weekly general audience attended by 9000 people in the Paul VI hall. The Holy Father presented the figure of Blessed John Duns Scotus, the great 13th century Franciscan theologian. He recalled that Scotus espoused the doctrine of Mary’s “prevent…

This morning, before his weekly general audience, Benedict XVI inaugurated a large statue of Saint Annibale Maria di Francia, founder of the Congregation of the Rogationist Fathers of the Heart of Jesus and of the Daughters of Divine Generosity. The statue is located in an external niche outside St. Peter’s Basilica, near the Arch of the Bells. Before blessing the 5 feet high statue, carved out of…

Pope Benedict XVI today celebrated his namesake, St Benedict of Nursia, as the “great patron” of his pontificate, saying the founder of Western monasticism and renewer of Western civilization was in his person the very image of incarnate teaching, who in no way could every teach differently from how he lived. July 11th is the day on which the Church marks the great saint’s liturgical memory. The H…

During his current summer holiday at Castel Gandolfo this month, the Holy Father started preparing the third volume of his great work on Jesus. Last month, he handed over the manuscript of the second volume, dedicated to the Passion and Resurrection. Translators are currently translating it into various languages and it’s expected to hit bookstores next spring. The third volume will be dedicated t…

The Our Father is the prayer that expresses confidence in God, able to meet the spiritual and material needs of humanity. Those were the words of Benedict XVI, speaking to the faithful and expressing his deep sorrow over the deaths of young People in his native Germany who were attending an annual music festival. The Holy Father said in Italian and German he was praying for all those who lost thei…

“Serve Jesus generously in the Eucharist. It ‘s an important task, which allows you to be particularly close to the Lord and to grow as his true friends.” This was Pope Benedict’s message this morning to 55 thousand altar servers from across Europe, who are in Rome for their international pilgrimage, and were protagonists of the general audience in St. Peter’s Square. Beside the large bronze statu…

My thoughts are with the people affected by recent serious natural disasters that have caused loss of lives, injuries and damage, leaving many people homeless. In particular, I think the vast fires in the Russian Federation and the devastating floods in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I pray to the Lord for the victims and am spiritually close to those who are suffering hardship. I ask God to relieve th…

A statue of St., Tarcisius patron of altar servers, was this morning placed in St. Peter’s Square in preparation for an international pilgrimage taking place August 2nd to 4th . 53 000 altar boys from all over the world are arriving in Rome for this event, where the high point will be taking part in the Pope’s General Audience on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square. The them of the pilgrimage is “Drin…

Nothing lasts forever, but everything passes: youth, physical strength, comforts such as positions of power. A life dependent on such fleeting realities is foolishness. The man who trusts in the Lord, instead, is not afraid of life’s hardships, even the inescapable reality of death. The Pope was speaking Sunday morning, before the Angelus prayer, recited in the courtyard of the Papal Palace in Cas…

I wish to express my deep satisfaction the entry into force today of the Convention on banning the cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. My first thought go to the numerous victims who have suffered and continue to suffer serious physical and moral injuries, even loss of life, from these insidious explosives, whose presence in the ground often hinders for a long time the res…