Vatican City, Sep 10, 2020 / 01:30 pm (CNA).- Catholic educational institutions are facing a “dramatic situation” as a result of the coronavirus crisis, a Vatican dicastery said Thursday.
In a circular letter dated Sept. 10, the Congregation for Catholic Education said that without government support Catholic schools “risk closure or a radical downsizing.”
It also said that the move to digital platforms during nationwide lockdowns had exposed “a marked disparity in educational and technological opportunities” among the world’s children.
“According to some recent data provided by international agencies, about 10 million children will not be able to access education in the coming years, increasing the educational gap that already existed,” said the letter, signed by the congregation’s prefect, Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, and secretary, Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani.
The letter, published in L’Osservatore Romano, praised Catholic institutions for adapting to the crisis. But it emphasized that distance learning was no substitute for direct contact between students and teachers.
The Congregation urged Catholic educators to work together as they confront the challenges posed by the pandemic.
It concluded by expressing its “warm appreciation” for the efforts of staff at Catholic schools and universities to continue educating students “despite the health emergency.”
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Vatican City, May 15, 2019 / 05:01 am (CNA).- Pope Francis greeted an international group dedicated to Jewish-Catholic dialogue Wednesday, calling dialogue “the way better to understand one another.”
Pope Francis at the Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 8, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Feb 29, 2024 / 12:10 pm (CNA).
The Vatican has released Pope Francis’ schedule for Holy Week 2024, which will include five papal liturgies, Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum, and other traditions to mark the most sacred week of the year.
Easter is the highest feast in the Catholic Church, known as the “solemnity of solemnities,” celebrating Jesus’ resurrection and defeat of sin and death, and the Vatican celebrates Holy Week with pomp, reverence, tradition, and a busy schedule.
The 87-year-old pope is scheduled to preside over liturgies on each day of the Easter Triduum as well as Palm Sunday.
The Holy See Press Office published the pope’s Holy Week schedule one day after Pope Francis visited the hospital for diagnostic tests. Reuters reported that the pope had a CT scan during the hospital checkup. Last year, Pope Francis was discharged from the hospital one day before presiding over Palm Sunday Mass.
Holy Week 2024 begins on March 24 with Palm Sunday and culminates with Easter on March 31. Here is the Vatican’s full schedule:
Palm Sunday
Pope Francis presides over Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square on April 2, 2023. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
On Sunday morning, March 24, Pope Francis is scheduled to preside over Mass for Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday or the Commemoration of the Lord’s Entrance into Jerusalem.
The Mass, which will be in St. Peter’s Square at 10 a.m. local time, will kick off with a grand procession of deacons, priests, bishops, cardinals, and laypeople carrying palms.
The procession includes olive tree branches, palm fronds, and the large, weaved palms called “parmureli,” all blessed by Pope Francis.
Holy Thursday
Pope Francis washes and kisses the feet of 12 young men and women, inmates at Casal del Marmo juvenile detention center on Rome’s outskirts, during a Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday, April 6, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis is set to start Holy Thursday with a chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at 9:30 a.m. in the presence of cardinals, bishops, and priests living in Rome.
During the Mass, Pope Francis, as the bishop of Rome, will bless the oil of the sick, the oil of catechumens, and the chrism oil to be used in the diocese during the coming year.
The Vatican has yet to release the details for where Pope Francis will celebrate Holy Thursday Mass 2024. Last year, the pope offered Mass at the juvenile detention center Casal del Marmo, the same detention center where he offered Holy Thursday Mass in 2013 shortly after his election.
Good Friday
Pope Francis arrives at the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter’s Basilica on Good Friday on April 7, 2023. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Continuing the liturgies of the Triduum, Pope Francis is also scheduled to preside over a celebration for the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday at 5 p.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica.
During this liturgy, which is not a Mass, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the papal preacher, typically preaches instead of the pope.
In the evening, Pope Francis will lead the Stations of the Cross devotion at 9:15 p.m. in Rome’s Colosseum illuminated by candlelight.
Holy Saturday
Pope Francis at the Easter Vigil Mass at the Vatican on April 8, 2023. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
On Holy Saturday, Pope Francis is set to preside over the Easter Vigil at 7:30 p.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Easter Vigil, which takes place on Holy Saturday night, “is the greatest and most noble of all solemnities,” according to the Roman Missal.
The liturgy begins in darkness with the blessing of the new fire and the preparation of the paschal candle. At the Vatican, cardinals, bishops, and priests process through the dark basilica carrying lit candles to signify the light of Christ coming to dispel the darkness.
Pope Francis also typically baptizes new Catholics at this Mass.
Easter Sunday
Credit: Pablo Esparza/CNA
The morning of Easter Sunday, Pope Francis will preside over Mass in St. Peter’s Square at 10 a.m. on a flower-decked parvise.
After Mass, he will give the annual Easter “urbi et orbi” blessing at noon from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Urbi et orbi” means “to the city [of Rome] and to the world” and is a special apostolic blessing given by the pope every year on Easter Sunday, Christmas, and other special occasions.
In 2023, local authorities estimated that there were close to 100,000 people present in St. Peter’s Square for the blessing.
Vatican City, Feb 18, 2018 / 09:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Lent is a time to face our temptations and be converted by the Gospel, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on the first Sunday of Lent.
His reflections were based on the passage in the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus is tempted by Satan in the desert for 40 days.
Jesus goes into the desert to prepare for his mission on earth, the Pope said.
While Jesus has no need of conversion himself, he must go to the desert out of obedience to God the Father and “for us, to give us the grace to overcome temptation.”
“For us, too, Lent is a time of spiritual ‘training’, of spiritual combat: we are called to face the Evil one through prayer, to be able, with God’s help, to overcome him in our daily life,” he continued.
Immediately after he is tempted, Jesus goes out of the desert to preach the Gospel, which demands conversion from all who hear it, the Holy Father said.
“(Jesus) proclaims, ‘Repent, and believe in the Gospel!’ — believe, that is, in this Good News that the kingdom of God is at hand. In our life we always have need of conversion — every day! — and the Church has us pray for this. In fact, we are never sufficiently oriented toward God, and we must continually direct our mind and our heart to Him.”
Lent is the time to have the courage to reject anything that leads us away from God and repent, Francis noted, “but it is not a sad time!”
“It is a joyful and serious duty to strip ourselves of our selfishness, of our ‘old man,’ and to renew ourselves according to the grace of our Baptism,” he said.
During Lent, we must listen to the call of Christ and be converted, recognizing that true happiness lies in God alone, Francis said.
He concluded his address with an appeal to Mary:
“May Mary Most Holy help us to live this Lent with fidelity to the Word of God and with incessant prayer, as Jesus did in the desert. It is not impossible! It means living the days with the desire to welcome the love that comes from God, and that desires to transform our life, and the whole world.”
Leave a Reply