Jim Caviezel (left) will once again portray Jesus in the new Mel Gibson movie "The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection," which is set to begin production in spring 2023. / DFree/Shutterstock and Tinseltown/Shutterstock
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Young people in sports jerseys react after winning a friendly soccer game at World Youth Day in Panama in 2019. / Jonah McKeown/CNA
St. Louis, Mo., Jan 15, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA).
St. John Paul II once said that “every Christian is called to bec… […]
Father Isaac Achi, a Nigerian Catholic priest, was murdered in Niger State on Jan. 15, 2023. / Diocese of Minna
Rome Newsroom, Jan 15, 2023 / 07:02 am (CNA).
A Catholic priest burned to death on Sunday after bandits set fire to his parish recto… […]
Pope Francis delivers his Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square on Jan. 15, 2023. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jan 15, 2023 / 06:17 am (CNA).
In his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Francis encouraged Christians to cultivate the virtue of knowing “how to step aside” in order to bear witness to Jesus, as St. John the Baptist did.
The pope also announced that an ecumenical prayer vigil will take place in St. Peter’s Square as part of the Church’s ongoing Synod on Synodality.
Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Jan. 15, the pope shared lessons from St. John the Baptist’s “spirit of service.”
Pope Francis said that St. John was “not interested in having a following for himself, in gaining prestige and success, but he bears witness and then steps back, so that many may have the joy of meeting Jesus.”
He reflected on St. John’s words after baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River: “‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.” (John 1: 29-30).
“This declaration, this testimony, reveals John’s spirit of service,” the pope said. “Humanly speaking, one would think that he would be given a ‘prize,’ a prominent place in Jesus’ public life. But no. John, having accomplished his mission, knows how to step aside, he withdraws from the scene to make way for Jesus.”
In this way, St. John the Baptist teaches “freedom from attachments” and “gratuitousness, taking care of others without benefit for oneself,” he said.
“Because it is easy to become attached to roles and positions, to the need to be esteemed, recognized and rewarded,” the pope reflected.
“It is good for us, too, to cultivate, like John, the virtue of setting ourselves aside at the right moment, bearing witness that the point of reference of life is Jesus.”
Pope Francis recommended self-reflection on the following questions: “Do we attract others to Jesus, or to ourselves? And furthermore, following the example of John: Do we know how to rejoice in the fact that people take their own path and follow their calling, even if this entails some detachment from us? Do we rejoice in their achievements with sincerity and without envy?”
At the end of his general audience, Pope Francis announced that an ecumenical prayer vigil will take place in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 30, 2023, as part of the Church’s ongoing Synod on Synodality.
The ecumenical prayer vigil, organized by the Taizé Community, will “entrust to God the work of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,” set to take place in two sessions from Oct. 4 to 29, 2023, and in October 2024.
“Starting now, I invite our brothers and sisters of all Christian denominations to participate in this gathering of the People of God,” the pope said.
Pope Francis also highlighted the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which will begin this week on Jan. 18, noting that the “path to Christian unity and the Church’s journey to synodal conversion are linked.”
“We thank the Lord who faithfully and patiently guides his people toward full communion, and we ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten and sustain us with his gifts,” he said.
The pope urged people “not to forget the martyred people of Ukraine, who are suffering so much” and to remain close to them with aid and prayers.
He also greeted pilgrims who traveled to Rome from across the globe. “May your visit to St. Peter’s tomb strengthen your faith and your witness,” he said.
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Pope Francis met with seminarians, staff, and faculty of the Ponitifical North American College in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Jan. 14, 2023. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jan 14, 2023 / 09:45 am (CNA).
Pope Francis told American seminarians in Rome that they are called to take up the “challenge and task” of the synodal journey — of listening to the Holy Spirit and to one another — as they study to become priests.
The pope met with students, staff, and faculty of the Pontifical North American College (NAC) at the Vatican on the morning of Jan. 14.
“Your time here in Rome,” he said, “coincides with the synodal journey that the whole Church is presently undertaking, a journey that involves listening, to the Holy Spirit and to one another, in order to discern how to help God’s holy people live his gift of communion and become missionary disciples.”
“This is also the challenge and task you are called to take up as you walk together along the path that leads to priestly ordination and pastoral service,” the pope said in the Apostolic Palace.
The Pontifical North American College, founded in 1859, hosts seminarians and priests from the United States and Australia as they complete studies in Rome. Faculty and staff include priests, religious sisters, and lay people.
During the private audience, Francis also encouraged the seminarians to foster a daily relationship with Jesus by spending time in silence before the Eucharist.
“Over the course of your lives, and especially throughout this time of seminary formation, the Lord enters into a personal dialogue with you, asking what you are looking for and inviting you to ‘come and see,’ to speak with him from your hearts and give yourselves to him confidently in faith and love,” Pope Francis said.
“Doing so involves fostering a daily relationship with Jesus, one nourished especially by prayer, meditation on the word of God, the help of spiritual accompaniment, and listening to him in silence before the tabernacle,” he underlined. “Always remember this: listening in silence before the tabernacle.”
The pope invited the seminarians to use their years in Rome to see the mystery of the unity of the Church, in which diverse people live the oneness of the faith.
“It is my hope that these experiences will help you develop that fraternal love capable of seeing the grandeur of our neighbor, of finding God in every human being, of tolerating the nuisances of life in common,” he said.
“For it is in these moments of familiar relationship with the Lord,” he continued, “that we can best hear his voice and discover how to serve him and his people generously and wholeheartedly.”
The crucifix depicting the 12th station of South America’s largest Stations of the Cross in Tandil, Buenos Aires Province, in Argentina. / Credit: Banfield, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
CNA Newsroom, Jan 14, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA).
The largest Stations of the Cross in South America, located in the city of Tandil in the Buenos Aires province in Argentina, turned 80 on Jan. 10.
Bishop Fortunato Devoto — then auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires — along with his cousin, Pedro Redolatti, promoted the initiative, which was finally dedicated in 1943.
The crucifix depicting the 12th station is almost 50 feet tall. The other sculptures representing Christ’s Way of the Cross are about twice life-size.
The faithful and tourists can get to the crucifix by climbing a 195-step stone staircase that goes up the hill on which the crucifix stands.
The Via Crucis is a very popular site for those visiting the mountainous area of Buenos Aires province and is one of the most impressive sites in the city of Tandil.
Contributing to the construction of the project were the municipality of Tandil and the provincial and national governments, as well as private donors.
The original cross was made from a 100-year-old conifer tree, a donation from the director of Provincial Parks, Ezequiel Bustillo. Over time the cross deteriorated, and in 1949 it was replaced by a cement one.
The dedication ceremony was attended by the then president of Argentina, Ramón Castillo, and the mayor of the city of Tandil, William Leeson.
Among the clergy present were the apostolic nuncio, Bishop Giuseppe Fietta; the bishop of Azul, César Caneva; Bishop Miguel D’Andrea, auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires; and Father Julio Chienno, the pastor of Tandil.
It is estimated that the dedication ceremony was attended by about 40,000 people. By then, Bishop Fortunato Devoto had already passed away — he died in 1941.
During Holy Week, thousands of believers from different parts of Argentina and other countries come to the Via Crucis.
In the first few days of 2023, the National Commission of Monuments, Places, and Historical Assets of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house) issued its opinion in favor of having the Mount Calvary of Tandil declared a National Historic Monument.
A bill to that effect was introduced in June 2022 by Rogelio Iparraguirre, a representative in the Chamber of Deputies. If it becomes law, it will enable greater investment for the site’s conservation.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, delivers the opening keynote address at the inaugural Wonder Conference on Jan. 13, 2023. / Credit: Word on Fire/Screenshot
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