Held in Birmingham, Alabama at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex on August 17 & 18th. This event is free and open to all. For details click here.
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See live coverage of Mass from Mount Tabor on August 6, 2013
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Tuesday, August 6, 2013 is the Feast of the Transfiguration celebrated throughout the Universal Church. In addition to attending Mass in your local parish, you can view Mass live from the Church of the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor in the Holy Land in observance of the Feast of the Transfiguration.
Broadcast will be August 6th at 10:30 a.m. local time (07:30 GMT) using the link above and also on the following media:
Tv2000 (Italian language)
Popolar Tv Murcia (Spanish language)
Maria Vision (Spanish language)
Tele Lumiere (Arabic)
KTO France (French)
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Knights of Columbus Annual International Convention Aug 6-8, 2013 San Antonio, Texas
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Opening ceremonies will begin on Tuesday August 6, 2013 with Holy Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia Siller, M.Sp.S., of San Antonio along with 11 Cardinals, over 90 Archbishops and Bishops, along with scores of priests.
Mass will be broadcast live at 9:30 a.m. Central U.S. time (14:30 GMT) on EWTN (TV, radio and shortwave); Catholic TV and Canada’s Salt+Light TV.
The stations mentioned above will also have live coverage of the Opening Session on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m Central U.S. time (17:30 GMT) and States Dinner at 8:30 p.m. Central U.S. time (01:30 GMT) The keynote speaker in the evening will be Cardinal Sean O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap. You can also follow the events on Twitter: #KofCSA13
For those Knights attending the convention, we hope they will take advantage of the many Catholic sites in the city. Named after Saint Anthony, it was founded in 1731, and is one of the oldest cities in the U.S. The San Fernando Cathedral is the oldest continually-operating Cathedral in the country. Along the famous river walk you find a statue of Saint Anthony given to the city by the government of Spain.
For more about the Catholic sites of San Antonio click here.
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Mass at the Gesu Church in Rome on July 31st
July 31 is the Feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit Order. Masses at the Church of the Gesu in Rome on that day are at noon and 7:00 p.m.
It was earlier announced that Pope Francis would be celebrating Mass on the Feast Day, but we have not been able to find out when that will be and if it is open to the public. So if anything breaks in the next few hours we will let you know.
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World Youth Day in Washington D.C.
World Youth Day is not only for those able to travel to Rio. WYD events are planned in many cities throughout the world. They offer a great opportunity for young people to get together to celebrate this occasion and participate in various activities. One of these is in Washington, D.C. at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in what is appropriately called Rio in DC. The event will be held Saturday evening at the Monastery beginning at 6:00 pm and ending at 11:00 pm.
There will be live feeds of Pope Francis from Rio, relics John Paul II on display (courtesy of the John Paul II Shrine in Washington), Mass and much more. It is open to ages 18-35.
Click here for the official Archdiocesan website for details of Rio in DC.
Click here for the official website of the Franciscan Monastery in the Holy Land in Washington, D.C.
Click here for more information about The John Paul II shrine in Washington, D.C.
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Relics of John Paul II are now in Rio for WYD 2013
Pope John Paul II is the one who organized the first World Youth Day back in 1985. The first one was a relatively small event held in Rome, but it has now grown to be an international sensation for young Catholics from countries all over the globe. So it is very fitting that the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported that the relics of John Paul II reached the Brazilian capital on Sunday July 7th. They will be on display at various locations throughout World Youth Day Pope John Paul II made four visits to Rio during his Pontificate, the last being in 1997 for the World Meeting of Families.
In addition to the World Youth Day there is an art display from July 9th through October 13th entitled “In the Footsteps of Christ”, with masterpieces from Italy and the Vatican at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Rio. It primarily contains works by the most famous artists, painters and sculptors, ranging from the year 1400 to 1800, most of which have never been seen in Latin America.
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Egypt in the News
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As we watch the events unfold in Egypt, it might be interesting to consider the reported apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Zeitoun Here is a video concerning the apparitions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMEWxRB-1dc
Obviously we don’t encourage anyone to travel there right now, but it will be interesting to look back some day and ponder the significance of her appearance in this predominantly Muslim nation, with an ancient Coptic Christian minority..
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Pope Francis’ Summer Schedule Update
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We announced previously that there would be no Wednesday Public Public audiences in July but that is now extended through the month of August. Nevertheless, Pope Francis will be busy.
On Monday July 8th he will travel to the island of Lampedusa off the coast of Sicily. It is to this island that many refugees from north Africa (only about 90 miles away) flee and often die in the attempt. Those who do survive the trip then are held in temporary quarters which are filled beyond capacity and this naturally places a strain on local facilities. Recently some 10 immigrants drowned trying to reach the island. On this trip Pope Francis will be dropping a ceremonial wreath in the waters off the coast in memory of all who lost their lives on this perilous journey through the years.
Plans were previously announced for him to travel to Castel Gandolfo on Sunday, July 14th to lead the Angelus. Normally the public attends the Angelus when the Pope says it, either in Rome or Castel Gandolfo. However, we are trying to confirm that this is still on his schedule. Also, we’ve heard that Pope Francis will be in Castel Gondolfo, as previous popes have, for the Feast of the Assumption (August 15), but are still trying to verify that. If you have any information please let us know.
He will travel to World Youth Day in Rio from July 21st through July 30th.
So if you had planned to see Pope Francis in Rome this summer we think you will probably be disappointed. We don’t expect the weekly Papal audiences to begin before September.
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Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome
This is one of the Church’s most popular feast days, especially in Rome. The feast is on June 29th and will be celebrated with fireworks at Castel Sant Angelo beginning at 9:30 p.m. The feast is also celebrated with the ancient tradition of floral designs laid out in the Piazza Pio XII in front of Saint Peter’s Basilica made of salt crystals and colored sawdust. The two displays will depict the Sistine Chapel and the other one will show Saints Peter and Paul. A third picture, made up entirely of flowers, will be to honor the Pope and Saint Francis of Assisi.
For more information on the flower festival and its origins click here (in Italian, use the Google Translate button)
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Lourdes Grotto to remain closed for several weeks
The flooding at the Shrine at Lourdes, France has proven to be much more devastating than the floods of 2012. Mathias Terrier, the sanctuary’s communications director, has indicated that it will be several weeks, if not longer, before the Shrine will be open to pilgrims.
Click here for a video showing the damage.
Naturally this is a huge disappointment to those who already had trips planned here. Those going with an organized group should contact their tour operator or group organizer to find out what changes have been made to their itinerary.
Most tour operators probably cannot cancel their tours at such short notice and we are not sure if trip cancellation/interruption insurance will come in to play in this case. Of course there are a few “cancel for any reason” policies that probably will cover this if you cancel. We invite any tour operators or insurance providers to comment on our blog.
It is also an economic disaster for the hotels in Lourdes, many of which have suffered flood damage; and even those that have not will undoubtedly be hurt by the lack of visitors over the peak summer season.
We will keep you updated with all the latest news from the shrine.
