The flag of Switzerland. Credit: kmaschke (CC BY-SA 2.0).
CNA Staff, Jan 8, 2021 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Swiss Cardinal Henri Schwery died Thursday at the age of 88.
The cardinal served as bishop of Sion, the oldest Catholic diocese in Switzerland, for nearly 20 years.
Schwery was made a bishop by Pope Paul VI in 1977 and led the historic diocese in the Swiss canton of Valais until his retirement due to illness in 1995.
Born the youngest of 11 children in Saint-Léonard in 1932, Schwery entered the major seminary of Sion and continued his studies in Rome at the French seminary of St. Clare.
He was ordained a priest in 1957, at the age of 25, and was then sent to Fribourg, where he obtained an additional degree in mathematics and physics.
Schwery worked as a teacher in Sion, serving as the diocesan chaplain of Catholic Action for eight years and leading the children’s choir. He was appointed director of the minor seminary of Sion in 1968 and rector of the College of Sion in 1972.
After his appointment as bishop of Sion, Schwery served as a member of the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education from 1978 to 1983.
As bishop, he had a difficult relationship with the Society of St. Pius X, which had been founded under the jurisdiction of his diocese by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970.
Schwery was canon of honor of the Abbey of Saint-Maurice d’Agaunne, which dates back to the sixth century.
He led the Swiss bishops’ conference from 1983 to 1988. He helped to organize Pope John Paul II’s apostolic journey to Switzerland in 1984 and the pope made him a cardinal in 1991.
Schwery took part in the conclave that elected Benedict XVI in 2005.
With Schwery’s death, the College of Cardinals now has a total of 228 cardinals, of whom 128 are electors. The only remaining Swiss cardinal in the College of Cardinals is Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Schwery’s funeral will be held on Jan. 11 in the Cathedral of Sion. It will be a private funeral due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Pope Francis entrusted a meeting of Mediterranean bishops and youth to the Virgin Mary during the first appointment of a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. The model ships hanging in Marseille’s Basilica de Notre-Dame de la Garde are a testament to the faith of the sailors who have relied on the intercession of Our Lady over the centuries. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News
CNA Staff, Sep 22, 2023 / 14:33 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis on Friday entrusted a meeting of Mediterranean bishops and youth to the Virgin Mary during the first appointment of a two-day trip to Marseille, France.
After landing in the historic port city Sept. 22, the pope made his way to the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde, or the Basilica of Our Lady of the Guard, to ask for the intercession of Mary together with local priests, deacons, and religious.
The 19th-century basilica sits on the foundations of an ancient fort on a 489-foot limestone outcropping, the highest point of the city in southern France. Before the basilica, there was a medieval chapel on the same site.
Pope Francis entrusts a meeting of Mediterranean bishops and youth to the Virgin Mary during the first appointment of a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis is in Marseille to participate in the Mediterranean Encounter, the “Rencontres Méditerranéennes” — a gathering of some 120 young people of various creeds with bishops from 30 countries. The encounter is a “cultural festival” drawing together associations and groups committed to dialogue and ecological issues.
“We place under [Mary’s] mantle the fruit of the Rencontres Méditerranéennes, together with the expectations and hopes of your hearts,” the pope told clergy at the basilica Sept. 22.
The pope will join in the Mediterranean Encounter on the morning of Sept. 23.
Francis’ 27-hour trip will include an address to religious leaders, a private encounter with the poor, and the celebration of Mass. He will also meet with France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne.
The last pope to visit Marseille was Clement VII in 1533.
Pope Francis entrusts a meeting of Mediterranean bishops and youth to the Virgin Mary during the first appointment of a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023, at the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde, or the Basilica of Our Lady of the Guard. Credit: Vatican Media
Father Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, also visited the city and the Basilica of Notre Dame de La Garde when he was a young priest studying in Rome.
Pope Francis said he is “in the company of great pilgrims” who have visited the basilica, such as Pope John Paul II, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, and St. Charles de Foucauld.
“In the biblical reading, the prophet Zephaniah exhorted us to joy and confidence, reminding us that the Lord our God is not far away, he is here, near to us, in order to save us,” the pope said.
“In a way, this message reminds us of the history of this basilica and what it represents,” he continued. “In fact, it was not founded in memory of a miracle or a particular apparition, but simply because, since the 13th century, the holy people of God have sought and found here, on the hill of La Garde, the presence of the Lord through the eyes of his holy Mother.”
“That is why, for centuries, the people of Marseille — especially those who navigate the waves of the Mediterranean — have been coming up here to pray,” he said.
Francis encouraged the 119 priests of the Archdiocese of Marseille, which serves approximately 742,000 Catholics, to take Mary and her gaze as an example for their priesthood.
Pope Francis entrusts a meeting of Mediterranean bishops and youth to the Virgin Mary during the first appointment of a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023, at the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde, or the Basilica of Our Lady of the Guard. Credit: Vatican Media
“Even with all the many daily concerns, I beg you, do not detract from the warmth of God’s paternal and maternal gaze,” he said. “It is marvelous to generously dispense his forgiveness, that is, to always, always, loosen the chains of sin through grace and free people from those obstacles, regrets, grudges, and fears against which they cannot prevail alone.”
He reminded the priests of the beauty and joy of making the sacraments available to people in both happy and sad moments, “and of transmitting, in the name of God, unexpected hopes for his consoling presence, healing compassion, and moving tenderness.”
“Be close to all, especially the frail and less fortunate, and never let those who suffer lack your attentive and discreet closeness,” he said. “In this way, there will grow in them and also in you the faith that animates the present, the hope that opens to the future, and the charity that lasts forever.”
“Like Mary, let us bring the blessing and peace of Jesus everywhere, in every family and heart,” Pope Francis said.
Rome Newsroom, Feb 3, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- French Catholic bishops signed on Monday a declaration denouncing rising anti-Semitism in the presence of Jewish leaders in Paris.
“Anti-Semitic expression has indeed regained an unexpected vigor,&rd… […]
1 Comment
Respectful farewell to Swiss Cardinal Henri Schwery. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon the departed soul.
Respectful farewell to Swiss Cardinal Henri Schwery. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon the departed soul.