Vatican City, Jul 10, 2019 / 10:06 am (CNA).- Authorities will open two tombs in a cemetery on Vatican property Thursday in order to perform testing in connection with the unsolved disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi in June 1983.
Orlandi was the daughter of an envoy of the Prefecture of the Pontifical House and a citizen of Vatican City State. Her disappearance has been the subject of international intrigue, including suspicion about the Vatican’s role, since it occurred. After multiple investigations, Orlandi’s case was closed in 2016.
The exhumation of the tombs in the cemetery of the Teutonic College, located on Vatican extra-territorial property adjacent to Vatican City State, was authorized after a request by Orlandi’s family.
According to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, the mother and brother of Orlandi requested the tombs be opened after receiving an anonymous message claiming the graves near a large statue of a pointing angel could contain clues to the 15-year-old girl’s disappearance.
Interim director of the Holy See press office, Alessandro Gisotti, stated last week the exhumation will take place July 11 in the presence of the case’s lawyers and Orlandi’s relatives and the relatives of the people buried in the graves concerned.
The opening of the tombs will be overseen by a forensic anthropologist and by the Vatican gendarmerie. Gisotti said that as the Vatican has no jurisdiction over the investigation of Orlandi’s case, the exhumation and forensic and DNA testing will be performed only in order to determine if Orlandi’s body was buried on Vatican property.
Speculation about Orlandi’s disappearance reignited last October when human bone fragments were discovered during the renovation of a building connected to the Holy See’s nunciature in Rome, though DNA testing found the remains to be from a male who died sometime between the 1st and 3rd centuries.
The tombs to be opened are those of Princess Sophie von Hohenlohe, who died in 1836, and Princess Carlotta Federica of Mecklenburg, who died in 1840.
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Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia. / Walter Breitenmoser/CNA
Rome, Italy, Apr 24, 2023 / 08:06 am (CNA).
The Pontifical Academy for Life said Monday its president is against assisted suicide but thinks it is possible to have a “legal initiative” that … […]
Pope Francis addresses pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus, Sunday, July 28, 2024. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jul 28, 2024 / 08:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday noted three gestures from the Bible account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes which he argued are mirrored by Jesus at the Last Supper and by the faithful in each Mass.
The pope pointed out “offering, giving thanks, and sharing” as highlights of the miracle recounted in the Gospel of John, offering his reflection on the Sunday Gospel before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered under the scorching sun in St. Peter’s Square.
The temperature for the noonday prayer was already at 95 degrees as many in the crowds sheltered from the heat under colorful umbrellas.
The faithful gather in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus on Sunday, July 28, 2024. Vatican Media
“The Gospel tells us about a boy who has five loaves and two fish,” the pope noted, saying that the boy’s gesture of offering, as well as our own, is an acknowledgment that “we have something good to give, and we say our ‘yes,’ even if what we have is too little compared to what is needed.”
The pope left his text to insist that Catholics are invited to offer what we have and are, even if the offering seems too insignificant and poor.
This offering is lived out in each Mass, as the priest offers the bread and wine, “and each person offers himself, his own life,” he said. This offering becomes the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
“It is a gesture that may seem small, when we think of the immense needs of humanity,” the pope acknowledged, “…but God makes it the material for the greatest miracle there is: that in which He Himself — Himself! — makes Himself present among us, for the salvation of the world.”
Pilgrims display a sign for Pope Francis at the Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, Sunday, July 28, 2024. Vatican Media
“We can ask ourselves,” the pope suggested: “Do I truly believe that, by the grace of God, I have something unique to give to my brothers and sisters?”
Our offering is intimately linked to the next gesture, that of gratitude, the pope argued.
The pope suggested words we can pray to the Father: “All that I have is your gift, Lord, and to give thanks I can only give you back what you first gave me, together with your Son Jesus Christ, adding to it what I can.”
“Each of us can add a little something,” he insisted, inviting the faithful to reflect: “What can I give to the Lord? What can the little one give? Our poor love. Saying, ‘Lord, I love you.’ We poor people: Our love is so small! But we can give it to the Lord, the Lord welcomes it.”
Fruit of everyone’s gift
These gifts then lead to sharing, the pope explained.
“In the Mass is Communion, when together we approach the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Christ: the fruit of everyone’s gift transformed by the Lord into food for all. It is a beautiful moment, that of Communion, which teaches us to live every gesture of love as a gift of grace, both for the giver and the receiver,” he said.
The pope invited the faithful to receive Our Lady’s help to live each Mass with this attitude of faith, “to recognize and savor every day the ‘miracles’ of God’s grace.”
After praying the Angelus and giving his apostolic blessing, the pope assured his closeness to those who have suffered from landslides in Ethiopia.
Landslides hit the remote mountainous zone of Gofa in southern Ethiopia Sunday night into Monday morning, triggered by heavy rains in the region. Well over 200 people are already confirmed dead, with the United Nations projecting that the death toll could end up closer to 500.
The pope then spoke of the continuing problem of world hunger, calling the international community to take a stand against the “scandal” of “wasting resources to fuel wars large and small.”
“While there are so many people in the world suffering from disasters and hunger, we continue to build and sell weapons,” he lamented. He said this “contradicts the spirit of brotherhood of the Olympic Games that have just begun. Let us not forget, brothers and sisters: War is defeat!”
“I will not forsake you”
The pope also noted that today is the 4th World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a celebration he initiated in 2020. This year’s theme is drawn from Psalm 71: “Do not cast me off in my old age.”
“Today’s day calls us to listen to the voice of the elderly who say, ‘Do not forsake me!’ and to respond, ‘I will not forsake you!’” the pope said.
“Let us say ‘no’ to the loneliness of the elderly! Our future depends greatly on how grandparents and grandchildren learn to live together. Let’s not forget the elderly!” he said, inviting the faithful to a round of applause for all the grandparents.
The pope concluded his weekly meeting with the faithful with his traditional good wishes for a nice lunch, and the request: “Please don’t forget to pray for me.”
Pope Francis received Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, on April 7, 2022 / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Apr 7, 2022 / 07:25 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Thursday received the new Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash.
Yurash, 53, arrived in Rome in March. He presented his credential letters to Pope Francis at the Vatican on April 7. Their meeting also included the exchanging of gifts.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, presents Pope Francis with gifts on April 7, 2022. Vatican Media
The presentation is done by every diplomat to the Holy See at the beginning of his or her service.
The ambassador wrote on Twitter that it was an “incredible honor and privilege” to present his credentials to Pope Francis. He also said he had an “inspiring and extremely motivating conversation” with Francis and with Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The Holy See, Yurash said, is a sincere partner of Ukraine, “doing everything possible to stop the war.”
Incredible honor&privilege topresent Credentials as Amb.of🇺🇦to🇻🇦His Holiness Pope Francis. Inspiring&extremely motivating conversation with HolyFather&Secr.ofState HECard.Pietro Parolin, discovering one more time:🇻🇦is sincere partner of🇺🇦 doing everything possible to stop the war pic.twitter.com/H2tll26MsE
Yurash took his post just weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since his arrival, he has participated in Catholic liturgies, spoken about the war, given interviews to media, and held meetings with other diplomats and Vatican officials.
The Ukrainian ambassador was also present in St. Peter’s Basilica for Pope Francis’ consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25.
PopeFrancis leading Mass with rank of dedication🇺🇦&🇷🇺 to ImmaculateHeart of VirginMary according to Revelation in Fatima in 1917, when She asked to consecrate🇷🇺 in intention to convert it&prevent from doing bad things. So today’s rank is another attempt🇻🇦defend🇺🇦from devil’s🇷🇺war pic.twitter.com/sO32IhB1k2
Yurash’s most recent post, held from 2020-2022, was in the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, where he was head of the division for religions, guarantee of the citizens’ right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The ambassador, who is married with three children, has a degree in journalism and a doctorate in political science. He worked in the communications office of the National University of Lviv, where he also taught classes in the radio and television department.
From 2014-2020, he was vice director and then director of the department for religions and nationalities in Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture.
Ukraine’s former Vatican ambassador was Tetyana Yizhevska. She held the post since 2007. The Ukrainian Embassy to the Holy See opened in 2000.
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