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Update to Pope Francis’ September schedule

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The regular weekly Papal Audiences will resume on Wednesday, September 4th.  The audiences are normally cancelled during July and August, as they were this year.  Most audiences are held in Saint Peter’s Square unless there is inclement weather.  Tickets are free, but should be arranged in advance.  

To order tickets you can contact the Prefecture of the Papal Household by mail or fax.  Those from North America can also request tickets through the North American College.  Those from Australia can contact Domus Australia for help in getting tickets.

A few private companies offer tickets for a fee…although the tickets they get are free they usually can get you closer to the front.

Consult our website for details on attending a Papal Audience in Rome.

There will also be a Papal Mass for Catechists on Sunday September 29th in Saint Peter’s Basilica and tickets are also required for that.  

Please note that Pope Francis leads the Angelus in Saint Peter’s Square at noon on Sundays.  An exception will be Sunday September 22nd when he will be making a Pastoral visit to Cagliari, Sardinia to the Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria. Tickets are not required to attend the Angelus.

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Canonization dates of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II to be announced September 30th

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According to the latest statement by Cardinal Angelo Amato, who is prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, the dates will be announced on September 30th.  It is on that date that Pope Francis will hold the Consistory of the Saints.  This is a gathering of Cardinals, who along with the Pope, will set the date of Canonization for these two Popes.

Naturally that will put all speculation to rest.  Certainly October is out, and based on what Pope Francis has said in the past it will probably be sometime in the spring when road conditions will be better for the thousands of Polish pilgrims who will undoubtedly want to attend.  

One guess is Divine Mercy Sunday, which falls on April 27, 2014.  

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Closure of the Santa Susanna Church in Rome

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Known as the American church, the Church of Santa Susanna is the home for English-speaking people living in Rome.  It is an active parish as well as a wedding venue for many people wishing to be married in Rome.

Recently due to the fact that pieces have been falling from the ceiling, the Church has been closed to the public.  Masses that are normally held here have been moved to the following locations:

Saturday, 5:30 PM and Sunday 9:00 AM at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e Martiri ( near the baths of Diocletian).  This church is the last of Michelangelo’s projects and well worth a visit.

Sunday, 10:00 AM, at the Basilica of San Camillo de Lellis 

Monday through Friday at 7:00 PM at San Camillo de Lellis

Both websites above are in Italian, use the Google translate bar.

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Vatican Museums will be closed August 15 for the Feast of the Assumption

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Since August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, is a Holy Day, the Vatican Museums will be closed that day. However, the archaeological sites in Rome will be open.  So if you will be in Rome on the 15th  that means you can visit the Colosseum, the forum, etc. since Rome is part of Italy and does not necessarily observe the religious holiday.  

The Vatican, obviously, is its own country and therefore has its own rules. The Vatican Post Office will also be closed, but both will be open again on the 16th.  Major Basilicas (including Saint Peter’s) and Churches will be open and probably crowded due to the feast day.  

And one other note:  Pope Francis will be at the Papal Summer residence at Castel Gandolfo that day.  Whether he will make a public appearance or not is unknown, but our guess is he probably will.

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New Zealanders Stranded in China with a newborn..need your prayers

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Traveling when pregnant is usually just fine, but here is a story that has not worked out well and the family is asking for your prayers.  The couple and their newborn, who needs serious medical care, are still stranded in Shanghai. So far they are caught between a diplomatic tug of war and we ask you to pray for them.  The mother and father are from New Zealand and were en-route home when the baby was born in China during a stop-over just a few hours from home.

You can read the details in the article, but what is not mentioned is the fact that most of the Chinese doctors just wanted her to abort the baby since it was going to be born with health problems (this is China, so of course abortion is nothing to them, just another means of birth control).  Fortunately she had one doctor who was on her side, and was able to deliver the baby. but they need modern pre-natal care that will be available to them in New Zealand and is not available in China.  Our prayers are with them and we hope you will join us as we invoke the intercession of Saint Philomena.  

And also we want to caution anyone who is pregnant to avoid layovers that include countries that might be hostile to the unborn.  Certainly China is up there near the top of the list, although there are quite a few others as well.  

We are hoping to hear from the New Zealand authorities about their progress in helping their citizens.

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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

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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.