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

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 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.

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 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.

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 The Nativity of the Lord

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 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)