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St. Peter's relics to be on display for first time at the Vatican

(CNS)  For the first time, the bones traditionally believed to be the relics of St. Peter the Apostle will be on public display for veneration.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, said the veneration of the relics at the Vatican is a fitting way to conclude the Year of Faith Nov. 24.

Writing in the Vatican newspaper Nov. 8, the archbishop, whose office organized many of the Year of Faith events, said millions of pilgrims marked the Year of Faith by making a pilgrimage to St. Peter's tomb and renewing their profession of faith there.

"The culminating sign" of the year, he said, "will be the exposition for the first time of the relics traditionally recognized as those of the apostle who gave his life for the Lord here."

The bones were discovered during excavations of the necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica in the 1940s near a monument erected in the fourth century to honor St. Peter.

No pope has ever declared the bones to be authentic. However, after scientific tests were conducted on the bones in the 1950s and '60s, Pope Paul VI said in 1968 that the "relics" of St. Peter had been "identified in a way which we can hold to be convincing."

Pope Francis praises Missionaries of Charity's 'beautiful' Vatican ministry

(CNA/EWTN News)  Pope Francis thanked the Missionaries of Charity for their work and described one of their houses located inside the Vatican “a beautiful reality” and “a school of charity.”

“I thank all those who in various ways support this beautiful reality of the Vatican,” said Pope Francis during a May 21 evening visit to celebrate the residence’s 25th anniversary.

“This house is a place that teaches charity, a school of charity, that teaches us to go out to every person, not for profit, but out of love,” he stated at the Gift of Mary House.

He noted that “at the border between the Vatican and Italy, it is a powerful reminder to all of us, to the Church, to the city of Rome, to always be more of a family, a home in which we are open to welcome, to attention, and to fraternity.”

Blessed John Paul II placed the house under the care of the sisters on May 21, 1998.

“How many people have you fed in these years, how many wounded, above all wounded spiritually, have you cared for!” he emphasized.

“My presence here tonight is to give first of all my heartfelt thanks to the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, working here for 25 years, with many volunteers, in favor of so many people in need of help, thank you!” he told them.

Around 25 homeless women are allowed to live in the residence, and the sisters feed around 60 people each day at the house.

“A home represents the most precious human wealth, that of encounter, that of the relationships between persons of different ages, cultures, and histories who live together and who, together, help one another to grow, and that is what this house has sought to be for 25 years,” said Pope Francis.

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household, and Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, the Pope’s personal secretary, accompanied the pontiff on his 5:30 p.m. visit.

The meeting was held in the courtyard located between the Gift of Mary House, the Palace of the Holy Office and the Atrium of the Paul VI Hall.

Cardinal Angelo Comastri and the Mother General of the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Mary Prema Pierick, welcomed Pope Francis.

The sisters then placed a garland of flowers around the Pope’s neck, following Indian tradition.

Over 100 people were also at the house, including its patrons, employees, friends and guests as well as Missionaries of Charity from other different communities around Rome.

The Pope described the homeless women living at the house as its “gift” and “a gift to the Church.”

“You tell us that loving God and our neighbor is not something abstract but profoundly concrete,” he stated.

“It means seeing in every person the face of the Lord to serve and serving him concretely,” he added.

According to the Pope, people everywhere must recover the entire sense of gift, gratuity and solidarity.

“A savage capitalism has taught the logic of profit at any cost, give in order to get, exploitation without looking at persons, and we see the results in the crisis we are living through!” said the pontiff.

Pope Francis noted that another feature of the house is that it is “qualified as a gift of Mary” and she is an example of living charity towards our neighbor, “not out of social duty, but starting from God's love.”

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More on the Year of Faith from the Vatican

The following comes from the CNA:

The Vatican issued guidelines Jan. 5 for how the Church at all levels should celebrate the Year of Faith, which starts in October 2012.

A summary of the guideline document, which was produced by the Congregation for the Doctrine, was released on Jan. 5, but the full text will be published Saturday, Jan. 7.

The introduction to the guidelines explains that the Year of Faith is “intended to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the Church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the Risen Lord, capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the door of faith.”

The Year of Faith was announced by Pope Benedict XVI last year in his apostolic letter “Porta Fidei.” It will begin on October 11, 2012, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. It also coincides with the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The year will end on November 24, 2013, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Universal King.

The document from the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation offers a sketch of what should take place at every level of the Church during the Year of Faith.

At the universal level, the Pope will engage in various events, including the solemn opening of the Year of Faith, the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, and World Youth Day 2013 in Brazil. There will also be “various ecumenical initiatives” aimed at “the restoration of unity among all Christians,” including “a solemn ecumenical celebration in which all of the baptized will reaffirm their faith in Christ.”

Bishops’ conferences will focus on increasing the “quality of catechesis.” Some of the efforts in this area will involve examining “local catechisms and various catechetical supplements in use in the particular Churches,” in order “to ensure their complete conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.”

The Vatican body also hopes that the bishops’ conferences will use the media to evangelize, such as “television and radio transmissions, films and publications focusing on the faith, its principles and content.”

At the level of dioceses, the Year of Faith is expected to provide an occasion for “renewed creative dialogue between faith and reason,” among both the academic and artistic communities. It should also be a year for “penitential celebrations” in which Catholics can “ask for God's forgiveness, especially for sins against faith.”

In local parishes, the Vatican would like to see a focus on the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, since in it the “mystery of faith and source of the new evangelization, the faith of the Church is proclaimed, celebrated and strengthened.”

Religious institutes, new communities and ecclesial movements are also expected to take their lead in celebrating the Year from the pastoral guidelines.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith hopes that the Year of Faith will make the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism “more widely and deeply known” throughout the Church.

“From the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has worked decisively for a correct understanding of the Council,” says the document, “rejecting as erroneous the so-called ‘hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture’ and promoting what he himself has termed ‘the ‘hermeneutic of reform,’ of renewal in continuity.’”

The Vatican’s doctrinal congregation says that their pastoral recommendations are aimed at helping people encounter Christ and grow in their understanding of the Catholic faith. At the same time, it adds, the guidelines are not meant to rule out “other initiatives which the Holy Spirit will inspire among Pastors and faithful in various parts of the world.”

The document concludes by announcing the creation of a secretariat to help coordinate the Year of Faith. It will be established within the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.

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The Vatican Lights it's Christmas Tree

The following comes from Zenit.org:

The symbols of Christmas -- such as the tree and the crib -- point to the great mystery of the Incarnation and are important references, according to Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today as he received a delegation from Ukraine, the country which donated this year's main Christmas tree for St. Peter's Square.

The tree, a spruce from the Zakarpattia region, was lit up today. It is just over 100 feet tall and is decorated with 2,500 silver- and gold-colored ornaments.

The Pope greeted the bishops accompanying the Ukrainian delegation: His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc; Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Latins, and Bishop Milan Sasik of the eparchy of Mukachevo of the Byzantine rite, as well as members of the Orthodox Church led by the Archbishop of Poltava and Myrhorod.

This tree, said the Holy Father, is "a significant symbol of Christ's nativity because, with its evergreen boughs, it reminds us of enduring life. The spruce is also a sign of popular religiosity in your country, and of the Christian roots of your culture. My hope is that these roots may increasingly reinforce your national unity, favoring the promotion of authentic shared values. Over the centuries your nation has been a crossroads of different cultures, a meeting point for the spiritual richness of East and West. By tenaciously adhering to the values of the faith, may it continue to response to this unique vocation."

The tree and nativity scene, Benedict XVI went on, "are elements of that typically Christmas atmosphere which is part of our communities' spiritual heritage; a climate impregnated with religiosity and family intimacy that we must seek to conserve, even in modern societies where consumerism and the search for material goods sometimes seem to prevail."

"Christmas is a Christian feast," he stated, "and its symbols are important references to the great mystery of the incarnation and birth of Jesus, which the liturgy constantly re-evokes. The Creator of the universe, by becoming a child, came among us to share our journey; He became small to enter the heart of man and renew it with His love. Let us prepare ourselves to welcome Him with faith."

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