The Gardens of Castelgandolfo inspire a Fairy Tale

Vatican City,  (VIS) - On 11 December at the "Augustinianum" Patristic Institute the Vatican Publishing House will present a book by the Russian artist Natalia Tsarkova, "Il mistero di un piccolo stagno" ("The mystery of a little pond").

Msgr. Georg Ganswein, personal secretary to the Holy Father Benedict XVI, Professor Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, Saverio Petrillo, director of the Pontifical Villas at Castelgandolfo, and Fr. Giuseppe Costa S.D.B., director of the Vatican Publishing House, will participate in the presentation.

The author is the official portrait artist to the pontiff, and her book was inspired by a visit to the gardens of the apostolic palace at Castelgandolfo. According to a communique from the Vatican Publishing House, it is "a fairy tale which offers a message of love, faith and hope, especially to children".

In "Il mistero del piccolo stagno" is the author's first work in which she communicates using words as well as images.


Source: VIS - Vatican Information Service

The Pope on Twitter

Vatican City, 29 November 2012 (VIS) – Benedict XVI is now present on Twitter. All related information will be reported on Monday 3 December at a press conference to be held in the Holy See Press Office, with the participation of Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of the same dicastery, Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office, Professor Gian Maria Vian, editor of “L'Osservatore Romano”, and Greg Burke, Media Advisor to the Secretariat of State.

The Pope has already used the 140 character “tweet” format when, in June 2011, he launched the Vatican information portal www.news.va., with the words: “Dear friends, I just launched News.va. Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI”.

Source: VIS - Vatican Information Service

Third Book in Joseph Ratzinger's Trilogy: "The Infancy Narratives"

Vatican City,  (VIS) - "L'infanzia di Gesu" ("The Infancy Narratives"), the third volume of Benedict XVI's trilogy dedicated to Jesus of Nazareth, will be available in Italian bookshops tomorrow, 21 November. The book, published in Italy by Rizzoli and the Vatican Publishing House, will be released simultaneously in several languages (Italian, German, Croatian, French, English, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish) and in fifty countries; the worldwide print run of the first edition will be more than a million copies. In the coming months, the book will be translated into twenty languages for publication in seventy-two countries.

This morning, in the Vatican's Sala Pio X, the book was presented to the press. The speakers were Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Maria Clara Bingemer, professor of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro; Fr. Giuseppe Costa, director of the Vatican Publishing House; Paolo Mieli, president of Rizzoli (RCS) Publications, and Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office.

The book, defined by its author as a "small antechamber" to the trilogy on Jesus of Nazareth, is 176 pages long and comprises four chapters, an Epilogue and a brief Foreword. A summary of the book is given below:

"The first chapter is dedicated to the genealogies of the Saviour in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, which are very different, although both have the same theological and symbolic meaning: the placing of Jesus in history and his true origin as a new beginning of world history.

"The theme of chapter two is the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist and that of Jesus. Rereading the dialogue between Mary and the Archangel Gabriel in the Gospel of Luke, Joseph Ratzinger explains that, through a woman, God 'seeks to enter the world anew'. In order to liberate man from sin, he writes, quoting Bernard of Clairvaux, God needs 'free obedience' to his will. 'In creating freedom, he made himself in a certain sense dependent upon man. His power is tied to the unenforceable yes of a human being'. Thus, only thanks to Mary's assent can the history of salvation begin.

"Chapter three is centred on the event in Bethlehem and the historical context of the birth of Jesus, the Roman Empire under Augustus, which extends from East to West and whose universal dimension allows for the entry into the world of 'a universal Saviour'; 'it is indeed the fullness of time'. The single elements of the story of the birth are dense with meaning: the poverty in which 'he who is truly the first-born of all that is' chooses to reveal himself, and therefore 'the cosmic glory' that envelopes the manger; God's special love for the poor, which manifests itself in the annunciation to the shepherds; and the words of the Gloria, whose translation is controversial.

"The fourth chapter is dedicated to the three Magi, who saw the star of the 'King of the Jews' and who had come to adore the child, and to the flight into Egypt. Here the figures of the 'magoi', reconstructed through a rich range of historical, linguistic and scientific information, are outlined as a fascinating emblem of the inner unrest and search for truth of the human spirit.

"Finally, the Epilogue, with the story - according to the Gospel of Luke - of the last episode in the childhood of Jesus, the last account we have of him before the beginning of his public ministry with his baptism in the Jordan. It is the episode of the three days during the Passover pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem, in which twelve-year-old Jesus leaves Mary and Joseph and stays in the Temple to discuss with the rabbis. Jesus, who was growing 'in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man', manifests himself in his nature as true God and, at the same time, true man, who 'thought and learned in human fashion'".

Source: VIS - Vatican Information Service

Sacred Music contributes to New Evangelisation

Vatican City,  (VIS) - "Sacred music can support faith and contribute to new evangelisation", said the Pope to members of the "Santa Cecilia" Italian musical association gathered in Rome.

In his address to the group, Benedict XVI, noting that this event coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II and the proclamation of the Year of Faith, spoke at length about the teachings of the Conciliar Constitution on the liturgy, and in particular the part referring to sacred music.

He said, "on the subject of the faith, our thoughts naturally tend towards St. Augustine, … and the important role in his conversion played by psalms and hymns in the liturgies presided by St. Ambrose. If indeed faith is born of listening to the Word of God - listening not only with the senses, but also allowing the passage from the senses to the mind and the heart - there is no doubt that music and above all song are able to confer greater communicative power to psalms and canticles. Among the charisms of St. Ambrose was a notable musical capacity and sensibility and, following his consecration as bishop of Milan, he dedicated this gift to the service of faith and evangelisation". 

Benedict XVI observed that "the Constitution 'Sacrosanctum Concilium', in accordance with the tradition of the Church, teaches that 'sacred song united to the words ... forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy'. Why 'necessary' and 'integral'? Certainly not for purely aesthetic reasons, in a superficial sense, but because by virtue of beauty, it contributes to nurturing and expressing faith, and therefore to the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful, which are the aims of sacred music. Music … is not solely an accessory to or external embellishment of the liturgy, but is itself liturgy".

Referring to the relationship between sacred song and new evangelisation, the Pope remarked that the Conciliar Constitution on the liturgy reminds us of "the importance of sacred music in the 'missio ad gentes' and exhorts us to give due recognition to traditional forms of music. But it is precisely in countries of ancient evangelisation … that sacred music, with its great tradition belonging to our western culture can, and indeed does, have an important role to play in encouraging the rediscovery of God, a renewed approach to the Christian message and the mysteries of faith".

The Pope recalled the example of the poet Paul Claudel, whose conversion occurred while he listened to the 'Magnificat' during Christmas Vespers at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. "But, such illustrious cases aside, let us consider how many hearts have been deeply touched by listening to sacred music, and how many, like Claudel, have been newly drawn to God by the beauty of liturgical music". Benedict XVI urged the members of the association to "make efforts to improve the quality of liturgical song, to recover and promote the great musical tradition of the Church, that finds two of its most exalted expressions in Gregorian chant and polyphony".

"The active participation of all the People of God in the liturgy cannot consist only of speaking, but also of listening, welcoming the Word with the senses and the spirit, and this is true also of sacred music".


Source: VIS - Vatican Information Service

The Sistine Chapel: A Story of Light and Salvation

Vatican City, 31 October 2012 (VIS) – This afternoon Benedict XVI presided at the first Vespers of the Solemnity of All Saints in the Sistine Chapel. The ceremony was intended to repeat a gesture of Pope Julius II who, on this day in 1512, inaugurated the chapel following the completion of the ceiling decoration by Michelangelo.

"Why", the Pope asked, "are we recalling this artistic-historical event with a liturgical celebration? Firstly, because the Sistine Chapel is, by its nature, a place of liturgy, the 'Cappella magna' of the Vatican Apostolic Palace. Furthermore, because the works of art that decorate it, especially the cycle of frescoes, find in the liturgy their living environment, the context in which they best express all their beauty, their richness and their fullness of meaning. … In brief, the Sistine Chapel, contemplated in prayer, becomes even more beautiful, more authentic; it is revealed in all its richness”.

Referring to Giorgio Vasari, who defined the Sistine Chapel as the light of art that illuminates the world, the Pope noted that "the light comes not only from the skilful use of colour, or from the movement that animates Michelangelo's masterpiece, but from the idea that permeates the great vault: it is the light of God which illuminates these frescoes, and indeed the entire chapel; … that light whose power conquers chaos and obscurity, bringing light through creation and redemption. The Sistine Chapel narrates this story of light, of liberation, of salvation; it speaks of God's relationship with humanity.

"With Michelangelo's work of genius, our gaze is drawn to the message of the Prophets, to the pagan Sybils awaiting Christ, and finally to the origin of all: 'In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth'. With a unique expressive intensity, the great artist depicted God the Creator, His action, His power, to show that the world is not the product of obscurity, of chance or of the absurd, but that it derives from intelligence, freedom and from a supreme act of love. In that encounter between the hand of God and the hand of Adam, we perceive the contact between heaven and earth; in Adam God enters into a new relationship with His creation, and man is in direct contact with God, is called by Him, and is the image and likeness of God.

"To pray this evening in the Sistine Chapel, enveloped in the history of God's journey with man, admirably represented in the frescoes above and around us, is an invitation to worship", concluded the Holy Father.

Source: VIS – Vatican Information Service

Venice commemorates the Centenary of the Birth of “The Smiling Pope”

Vatican City, 30 October 2012 (VIS) - A Mass is due to be celebrated this afternoon in Venice to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Pope John Paul I, Albino Luciani, who was patriarch of that city from 1969 to 1978. The pontificate of John Paul I, who became known as "the Smiling Pope", lasted only 33 days from 26 August to 28 September 1978. The process for his beatification began in 2003.
The Venetian commemoration will consist of a Mass at 6 p.m. in Saint Mark's Basilica, presided by Patriarch Francesco Moraglia, who will concelebrate with bishops of the Triveneto Episcopal Conference. This will be followed at 8.30 p.m. by a concert of religious music organised by the Procurator of Saint Mark's Basilica, the Polish Institute in Rome and the "Capella Cracoviensis" of Krakow. During the intervals, there will be readings of texts by John Paul I.
The programme of the concert will be dedicated to two of the most important exponents of the Venetian school of the seventeenth century: Giovanni Gabrieli, composer, organist and choir master of Saint Mark's Basilica, the four-hundredth anniversary of whose death falls this year, and Mikolak Zielenski, composer, organist and choir master linked to the Collegiate of Lowicz, see of the Polish primate.

Source: VIS – Vatican Information Service

About Equestrian Orders

Vatican City,  (VIS) - In response to frequent requests for information concerning the recognition by the Holy See of Equestrian Orders dedicated to the saints or to holy places, the Secretariat of State considers it opportune to reiterate what has already been published, namely that, other than its own Equestrian Orders (the Supreme Order of Christ, the Order of the Golden Spur, the Pian Order, the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, and the Order of Pope Saint Sylvester), the Holy See recognises and supports only the Sovereign Military Order of Malta - also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta - and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The Holy See foresees no additions or innovations in this regard.
All other orders, whether of recent origin or mediaeval foundation, are not recognised by the Holy See. Furthermore, the Holy See does not guarantee their historical or juridical legitimacy, their ends or organisational structures.
To avoid any possible doubts, even owing to illicit issuing of documents or the inappropriate use of sacred places, and to prevent the continuation of abuses which may result in harm to people of good faith, the Holy See confirms that it attributes absolutely no value whatsoever to certificates of membership or insignia issued by these groups, and it considers inappropriate the use of churches or chapels for their so-called "ceremonies of investiture".

Source: VIS – Vatican Information Service

The Year of Faith

"Today, fifty years from the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, we begin with great joy the Year of Faith", said Benedict XVI during the course of a Mass celebrated this morning in St. Peter's Square. Concelebrating with the Pope were cardinals, patriarchs and major archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Synod Fathers who are currently participating in a synodal assembly on the new evangelisation, presidents of episcopal conferences from all over the world, and a number of Council Fathers from Vatican II. Also present at the celebration were Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and His Grace Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Anglican Communion.

"In order to evoke the Council", the Holy Father said, "this celebration has been enriched by several special signs: the opening procession, intended to recall the memorable one of the Council Fathers when they entered this basilica; the enthronement of a copy of the Book of the Gospels used at the Council; the consignment of the seven final Messages of the Council, and of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I will do before the final blessing. These signs help us not only to remember, they also offer us the possibility of going beyond commemorating. They invite us to enter more deeply into the spiritual movement which characterised Vatican II, to make it ours and to develop it according to its true meaning. And its true meaning was and remains faith in Christ, the apostolic faith, animated by the inner desire to communicate Christ to individuals and all people, in the Church’s pilgrimage along the pathways of history".

Extracts from Benedict XVI's homily are given below.

"The Year of Faith which we launch today is linked harmoniously with the Church’s whole path over the last fifty years: from the Council, through the Magisterium of the Servant of God Paul VI, who proclaimed a Year of Faith in 1967, up to the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, with which Blessed John Paul II re-proposed to all humanity Jesus Christ as the one Saviour, yesterday, today and forever. Between these two Popes, Paul VI and John Paul II, there was a deep and profound convergence, precisely upon Christ as the centre of the cosmos and of history, and upon the apostolic eagerness to announce Him to the world. Jesus is the centre of the Christian faith. The Christian believes in God Whose face was revealed by Jesus Christ. He is the fulfilment of the Scriptures and their definitive interpreter".

"Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ, consecrated by the Father in the Holy Spirit, is the true and perennial subject of evangelisation. ... This mission of Christ, this movement of His continues in space and time, over centuries and continents. It is a movement which starts with the Father and, in the power of the Spirit, goes forth to bring the good news to the poor, in both a material and a spiritual sense. The Church is the first and necessary instrument of this work of Christ because it is united to Him as a body to its head".

"Vatican Council II did not wish to deal with the theme of faith in one specific document. It was, however, animated by a desire, as it were, to immerse itself anew in the Christian mystery so as to re-propose it fruitfully to contemporary man. ... In his opening speech Blessed John XXIII presented the principal purpose of the Council in this way: “What above all concerns the Ecumenical Council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine be safeguarded and taught more effectively. … Therefore, the principal purpose of this Council is not the discussion of this or that doctrinal theme, a Council is not required for that, ... [but] this certain and immutable doctrine, which is to be faithfully respected, needs to be explored and presented in a way which responds to the needs of our time”.

"In the light of these words, we can understand what I myself felt at the time: during the Council there was an emotional tension as we faced the common task of making the truth and beauty of the faith shine out in our time, without sacrificing it to the demands of the present or leaving it tied to the past: the eternal presence of God resounds in the faith, transcending time, yet it can only be welcomed by us in our own unrepeatable today. Therefore I believe that the most important thing ... is to revive in the whole Church that positive tension, that yearning to announce Christ again to contemporary man. But, so that this interior thrust towards the new evangelisation neither remain just an idea nor be lost in confusion, ... I have often insisted on the need to return, as it were, to the “letter” of the Council - that is to its texts - also to draw from them its authentic spirit, and why I have repeated that the true legacy of Vatican II is to be found in them".

"The Council did not formulate anything new in matters of faith, nor did it wish to replace what was ancient. Rather, it concerned itself with seeing that the same faith might continue to be lived in the present day, that it might remain a living faith in a world of change. ... The Council Fathers wished to present the faith in a meaningful way; and if they opened themselves trustingly to dialogue with the modern world it is because they were certain of their faith, of the solid rock on which they stood. In the years following, however, many embraced uncritically the dominant mentality, placing in doubt the very foundations of the deposit of faith, which they sadly no longer felt able to accept as truths.

"If today the Church proposes a new Year of Faith and a new evangelisation, it is not to honour an anniversary, but because there is more need of it, even more than there was fifty years ago! ... Even the initiative to create a pontifical council for the promotion of the new evangelisation ... is to be understood in this context. Recent decades have seen the advance of a spiritual “desertification”. In the Council’s time it was already possible from a few tragic pages of history to know what a life or a world without God looked like, but now we see it every day around us. ... But it is in starting from the experience of this desert ... that we can again discover the joy of believing, its vital importance for us".

"In the desert we rediscover the value of what is essential for living; thus in today’s world there are innumerable signs, often expressed implicitly or negatively, of the thirst for God, for the ultimate meaning of life. And in the desert people of faith are needed who, with their own lives, point out the way to the Promised Land and keep hope alive. Living faith opens the heart to the grace of God which frees us from pessimism. Today, more than ever, evangelising means witnessing to the new life, transformed by God, and thus showing the path".

"The journey is a metaphor for life, and the wise wayfarer is one who has learned the art of living, and can share it with his brethren - as happens to pilgrims along the Way of St. James or similar routes which, not by chance, have again become popular in recent years. How come so many people today feel the need to make these journeys? Is it not because they find there, or at least intuit, the meaning of our existence in the world? This, then, is how we can picture the Year of Faith: a pilgrimage in the deserts of today’s world, taking with us only what is necessary: ... the Gospel and the faith of the Church, of which the Council documents are a luminous expression, as is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published twenty years ago.

"Venerable and dear brothers, 11 October 1962 was the Feast of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God. Let us entrust to her the Year of Faith, as I did last week when I went on pilgrimage to Loreto. May the Virgin Mary always shine out as a star along the way of the new evangelisation".

Source: VIS – Vatican Information Service

Arabic to become a Part of the Pope's General Audience

Beginning on Wednesday 10 October, during the Holy Father's weekly general audience, an Arabic speaker will join the other speakers who provide a summary of the papal catechises in various different languages.

In this way, in the wake of his recent trip to Lebanon and the publication of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Medio Oriente", the Holy Father intends to express his perpetual concern and support for Christians in the Middle East, and to remind everyone of their duty to pray and work for peace in the region.
Source: VIS – Vatican Information Service

St. Peter's Basilica

The Basilica of Saint Peter is a Late Renaissance church located within Vatican City. Designed principally by Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Bernini, St Peter's is a renowned work of Renaissance architecture and is the largest church in the world.

Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums, founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century, are located in Vatican City and include the most important masterpieces of Renessaince art in the world.