VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 109
DATE 12-06-2014

Summary:
- POPE'S VIDEO MESSAGE FOR THE INAUGURATION OF THE WORLD CUP: "MAY IT BE A
CELEBRATION OF SOLIDARITY BETWEEN PEOPLES"
- NEW SAINTS ON 23 NOVEMBER

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 POPE'S VIDEO MESSAGE FOR THE INAUGURATION OF THE WORLD CUP: "MAY IT BE A
CELEBRATION OF SOLIDARITY BETWEEN PEOPLES"
 Vatican City, 12 June 2014 (VIS) - "A celebration of solidarity between
peoples" is what Pope Francis hopes of the FIFA World Cup 2014 which opens
today in Brazil. In a video message addressed to the organisers, players and
spectators and broadcast last night via a national network, the Holy Father
recalled that football tournaments are not only a game but also an opportunity
for dialogue, comprehension and mutual human enrichment".
 "Sport is not only a form of entertainment, but also - and above all I would
say - a tool for communicating values that promote the good of the human
person and help to build a more peaceful and fraternal society", he affirmed.
"Let us think of loyalty, perseverance, friendship, sharing, solidarity. In
fact, there are many values and attitudes fostered by football that are not
only important on the field, but in all aspects of life, especially in
building peace. Sport is a school for peace - it teaches us how to build
peace".
 In this sense, Francis goes on to highlight three lessons that can be drawn
from sports and which represent three essential attitudes for the cause of
peace: the need to train, "fair play", and honour among competitors. "Firstly,
sport teaches us that to win, you have to train", he observed. "We can see in
sport a metaphor for our lives. In life, you have to struggle, to 'train', to
strive to obtain important results. Sportsmanship thus becomes an image of the
sacrifices needed to promote the growth of those virtues that build character.
If, for a person to improve, it takes dedicated and continuous 'training', how
much effort needs to be invested to achieve encounter and peace between
individuals and peoples! It is necessary to train hard".
 He continued, "Football can and should be a school for building a 'culture of
encounter'", making peace and harmony possible among people. And here a second
lesson from sport comes to our aid: the 'fair play' football can teach us. To
play as a team it is necessary to think first of the good of the group, not of
oneself. To win, one must overcome individualism, selfishness, all forms of
racism, intolerance and the exploitation of the human person. Being greedy,
hoarding everything for ourselves, is an obstacle to the successful outcome of
a team not only in football; when we are greedy in life, ignoring the people
around us, the whole of society is harmed".
 The final lesson that sport can provide for peace is respect between
competitors. "The secret of victory on the field - but also in life - is
learning to respect not only my team-mates, but also my opponents. No one wins
alone, on the field or in life! No-one should feel isolated or excluded. And
be careful! No segregation, no racism! And if it is true that, at the end of
this World Cup, only one national team will lift the trophy as winners,
learning the lessons that sports teach us all to be victorious, strengthening
the bonds that unite us".
 The Holy Father concluded by greeting the president of Brazil, Dilma
Rousseff, and promising to pray for all. "May this World Cup take place with
serenity and tranquillity, always with mutual respect, solidarity and
brotherhood among men and women who acknowledge each other as members of a
single family".

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 NEW SAINTS ON 23 NOVEMBER
 Vatican City, 12 June 2014 (VIS) - During this morning's ordinary public
consistory in the Vatican the Holy Father decreed that on 23 November 2014,
festivity of Christ King of the Universe, the following blesseds will be
inscribed in the book of saints:
 - Blessed Giovanni Antonio Farina, bishop of Vicenza, Italy, and founder of
the Institute of the Sisters of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts.
 - Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara of the Holy Family, Indian priest and
founder of the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate.
 - Blessed Ludovico de Casoria, Italian professed priest of the Order of
Friars Minor, founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint
Elizabeth ("Bigie").
 - Blessed Nicola da Longobardi, Italian professed oblate of the Order of
Minims.
 - Blessed Eufrasia Eluvathingal of the Sacred Heart, Indian professed
religious of the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel.
 - Blessed Amato Ronconi, Italian layperson of the Third Order of St. Francis,
founder of the founder of the Hospital-Hospice for Poor Pilgrims of Saludecio,
now the Beato Amato Ronconi Nursing Home.

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