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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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SÃO PAULO, Brazil, MAY 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI met with various religious leaders in São Paolo in a meeting the Vatican described as fraternal.
According to Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, "It was a meeting characterized by brotherhood and a show of welcome on the part of the representatives of various Christian denominations."
"There were no speeches, nor were certain themes discussed. It was a demonstration of reciprocal fraternity," the Vatican spokesman observed.
Rabbi Henry Sobel, 63, of the Israeli Pauline Congregation, said after the meeting that "the Pope is a friend of the Jewish people."
"As I leave this meeting, I feel happy and uplifted. In the end, it's not everyday that a rabbi receives a blessing from a Pope," he said.
Rabbi Sobel said that "with the utmost humility" he asked for and received a blessing. "I also asked the Pope for permission to bless him and was permitted," he added.
Among the religious leaders present were representatives of the National Council of Christian Churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Antioch Orthodox Church, the Apostolic Armenian Church, the Anglican Church, the United Presbyterian Church, the Reformed Christian Church and the Islamic community.
Code: ZE07051102
Date: 2007-05-11
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SÃO PAULO, Brazil, MAY 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's tendency to set aside formality in order to warmly greet the faithful was apparent was his first hours in Brazil.
The Pontiff, known as the "Panzer Cardinal" when he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, broke protocol more than once to see and bless the Brazilian faithful who anxiously waited to see him.
On Wednesday, after arriving at the Monastery of St. Benedict, the Holy Father greeted some 5,000 faithful who had gathered there, showing how the "warm welcome had moved the Pope."
At the end of his greeting, a visibly joyous Pontiff blessed the crowd and thanked them in Portuguese saying, "muito obrigado" [Thank you very much], before wishing them good night.
On Thursday morning, he greeted over 2,000 faithful who had been waiting since dawn after celebrating a private Mass in the monastery.
Benedict XVI greeted the crowd with open arms and then imparted his blessing, with a big smile.
Code: ZE07051101
Date: 2007-05-11
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Pope Greets Mother and Son at Canonization
SÃO PAULO, Brazil, MAY 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI greeted the Brazilian woman who attributes the birth of her son to the intercession of Blessed Antônio de Sant'Anna Galvão.
Sandra Grossi de Almeida, 37, and her son Enzo, 8, were present today as the Pope canonized the priest. Enzo also received his first Communion from the Holy Father.
More than 1 million people attended the open-air Mass on the airfield of Campo de Marte Airport in São Paulo.
The woman gave birth to her son in 1999 after having taken "Father Galvão's pills," tiny rice-paper pills prepared by Sisters of the Monastery of Light. Each pill, taken by people seeking cures for their illnesses, is inscribed with a prayer.
Grossi de Almeida had a uterine malformation that should have made it impossible for her to carry a child for more than four months.
Her case was recognized as "scientifically inexplicable" by the team of medical experts on Jan. 18, 2006, during the process of canonization of Father Galvão (1739-1822).
Grossi de Almeida said before her encounter with the Benedict XVI: "I believe that I will be so excited that I will just barely be able to thank him for approving the canonization of Father Galvão here in Brazil, a gift for me and all Brazilians."
Before becoming pregnant with Enzo, she had suffered three miscarriages from a genetic problem known as a bicornuate uterus -- also known as a heart-shaped uterus.
Faith
"Gynecologists told me to be realistic; that they would do everything medically possible to help me but they told me I would most likely miscarry again," said Grossi de Almeida in the official Web page of the Pope's visit to Brazil.
It was then that a family friend spoke to the expectant mother of Father Galvão's pills, which she decided to take.
Grossi de Almeida said that the hemorrhaging stopped on the first night of the novena: "That was a sign that I could believe in the power of Father Galvão even more, and in his intercession."
In the fifth month of pregnancy the doctors said that the baby was too big, and that she was at risk for a miscarriage. "It was then that I prayed again to Father Galvão," she recalled.
The doctors performed a Caesarean section at 32 weeks of pregnancy without any complications. "The doctors said it was impossible, but not for God," she said.
Enzo suffered from a serious lung problem at birth, a common cause of death for premature babies, but after his mother prayed again to Father Galvão, the baby was taken off the respirator the next day.
Asked about Father Galvão, Enzo said: "It is thanks to him that I was born."
Code: ZE07051103
Date: 2007-05-11
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Says World Needs "Clear Souls, Pure Minds"
SÃO PAULO, Brazil, MAY 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI presented Brazilian Saint Antônio de Santa'Ana Galvão as an example for all to follow in a "hedonistic age."
The Holy Father arrived via "popemobile" at today's canonization Mass at the airfield of Campo de Marte Airport in São Paulo. Before arriving at the altar, he greeted some of the more than 1.2 million people who were awaiting him on a clear, sunny day.
Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, presented the petition of canonization of Blessed Galvão, accompanied by the postulator of the cause, Sister Célia Cadorim.
The cardinal briefly summarized the life of the Franciscan friar: "Until the end of his days he was for all a man of peace and charity."
After the canonization, Benedict XVI received some relics of the newly proclaimed saint, one of which was presented by a religious of the Monastery of Light, constructed and founded by the Franciscan.
An evangelizer
In his homily -- which was interrupted five times with applause -- Benedict XVI highlighted the virtues of Father Galvão: "Let us give thanks to God for the lasting benefits obtained through the powerful evangelizing influence that the Holy Spirit impressed upon so many souls through Frei Galvão.
"The Franciscan charism, lived out in the spirit of the Gospel, has borne significant fruits through his witness as an ardent adorer of the Eucharist, as a prudent and wise guide of the souls who sought his counsel, and as a man with a great devotion to the Immaculate Conception of Mary."
The Pontiff said that Father Galvão's "example lies in his willingness to be of service to the people whenever he was asked."
The Holy Father added that "the conversion of sinners was ... the great passion of our saint," and that the "renown of his immense charity knew no bounds."
An example
The Pontiff then presented Father Galvão as an example to be followed: "There is a phrase included in the formula of his consecration which sounds remarkably contemporary to us, who live in an age so full of hedonism: 'Take away my life before I offend your blessed Son, my Lord!'
"They are strong words, the words of an impassioned soul, words that should be part of the normal life of every Christian, whether consecrated or not, and they enkindle a desire for fidelity to God in married couples as well as in the unmarried."
Benedict XVI added: "The world needs transparent lives, clear souls, pure minds that refuse to be perceived as mere objects of pleasure.
"It is necessary to oppose those elements of the media that ridicule the sanctity of marriage and virginity before marriage."
Benedict XVI also spoke of the 5th General Conference of the Episcopates of Latin America and the Caribbean. He reminded the crowd of the theme: "Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ, so That Our Peoples May Have Life in Him."
"How can we fail to see," the Pope asked, "the need to listen with renewed fervor to God's call, so as to be able to respond generously to the challenges facing the Church in Brazil and in Latin America?"
Father Galvão
Antônio Galvão de Franca was born in 1739 in Guaratingueta, in the state of São Paulo.
He studied with the Jesuits in Bahia, but entered the Order of Friars Minor in 1760.
He was ordained a priest in 1762. He lived in the Convent of St. Francis in Sao Paulo for 60 years. He died in 1822.
Father Galvão founded the Monastery of Light in Sao Paulo, which the United Nations declared as a cultural patrimony of humanity.
Code: ZE07051108
Date: 2007-05-11
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WITHOUT HER "YOUNG FACE" THE CHURCH WOULD BE DISFIGURED
VATICAN CITY, MAY 10, 2007 (VIS) - Today shortly before 6 p.m. (11 p.m. in Rome), Benedict XVI arrived at the "Paulo Machado de Carvalho" municipal stadium of Pacaembu where he was welcomed by more than 40,000 young people. At the same time, tens of thousands of others followed the event on giant screens outside the stadium. The Pope then presided at the Liturgy of the Word during which passages from the Song of Songs were read out as images of Brazilian landscape were projected on the screens.
The Pope addressed the participants by quoting words used by John Paul II during his visit to the Mato Grosso in 1991: "Young people are the main protagonists of the third millennium. ... It is they who will decide the destiny of this new stage of humanity." Benedict XVI then added: "God's charity is infinite, and the Lord asks us, or rather he requires us, to expand our hearts so as to contain ever more love, goodness, and understanding for our fellows and for the problems that involve not only human coexistence but also the effective preservation and protection of the natural environment, of which we are all a part.
"Our woods have more life," added the Pope quoting from the Brazilian national anthem. "Do not let this flame of hope go out. ... The environmental devastation of the Amazon and the threat to the human dignity of its people call for greater commitment in various fields of social activity."
The Holy Father then turned to the central theme of his homily, the dialogue between Jesus and the rich young man as recounted in the Gospel of St. Matthew, the central point of which is the question: "What must I do to have eternal life?"
"This query," the Pope explained, "does not only concern the future. It does not concern only the question of what happens after death. Quite the contrary, there is a commitment in the present, here and now, that must guarantee authenticity and consequently the future. In a word, the query concerns the meaning of life and could therefore be expressed thus: what must I do in order for my life to have meaning?'."
Christ, "a Master Who does not deceive, ... invites us to see God in all things and all events, even where the majority of people see only the absence of God. He encourages the rich young man "to keep the Commandments ... at the foundation of which are grace and nature." They "stimulate us to do something towards our own self-fulfillment. To fulfil oneself through action is in fact, to become real."
"We hear talk of the fears of today's youth. These fears reveal an enormous lack of hope: fear of death; ... fear of failure for not having discovered the meaning of life; and fear of exclusion in the face of the bewildering pace of events and of communications. ... Yet when I look upon you young people present here ... I see you as Christ sees you: a gaze full of love and trust, in the certainty that you have found the true path. You are the youth of the Church. ... Be apostles to the young!"
"There exists, in the final analysis, an immense field of action in which social, economic and political questions are particularly important, so long as their source of inspiration is always the Gospel and the Church's social doctrine. The building of a more just and united, reconciled and peaceful society; the commitment to halt violence; initiatives aimed at promoting fullness of life, democratic order and the common good and, especially, those that seek to eliminate certain forms of discrimination that exist in Latin American society ... are not grounds for exclusion but for mutual enrichment."
The Holy Father called on young people to maintain "great respect for the Sacrament of Marriage," and "to respect one another during the period of courtship and engagement." He also highlighted how some of them "are called to a total and definitive sacrifice, consecrating themselves to God in the religious life ... and bearing witness to the hope of the heavenly Kingdom among all men and women."
"Youth is a form of wealth," said Benedict XVI returning to consider the dialogue between Jesus and the rich young man, "because it leads to the rediscovery of life as a gift and as a task." But the young man of the Gospel, "at the moment of the great choice, did not have the courage to wager everything on Jesus Christ, ... he realized that he lacked the generosity and this prevented him from complete fulfillment."
"Do not waste your youth," Pope Benedict concluded, "do not seek to flee it. ... Consecrate it to the ideals of faith and of human solidarity. You young people are not just the future of the Church and of humanity, as if you were trying to flee the present moment. On the contrary, you are the existing youth of the Church and of humanity. You are the young face ... without which the Church would be disfigured."
PV-BRAZIL/YOUNG PEOPLE/PACAEMBUVIS 070511 (860)
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VATICAN CITY, MAY 11, 2007 (VIS) - Today in Sao Paulo's "Campo de Marte" field at 9.30 a.m. (2.30 p.m. in Rome), the Pope will preside at Mass during which he will canonize Blessed Antonio de Santa Ana Galvao O.F.M., known as Frei Galvao, who will thus become the first native-born Brazilian saint.
At 4 p.m. (9 p.m. in Rome), having bid farewell to his hosts at the monastery of Sao Bento, the Holy Father will meet and address Brazilian bishops in Sao Paulo's "da Se" cathedral.
At 6 p.m. local time, the Holy Father is due to depart by helicopter from Campo de Marte airport and fly to Aparecida, site of Brazil's most famous shrine which each year welcomes around eight million faithful.
The origins of the Aparecida shrine date back to the discovery of an image of the Virgin in the year 1717. Three fishermen, after various fruitless attempts at a catch, threw out their nets once more and drew up a small statue of Our Lady, dark in color and without a head. Casting their nets again, they discovered the head and, at the third attempt, drew in their nets full of fish. The three recognized in this event a sign of the divine protection of the Virgin. From that year on, veneration of Our Lady started to spread among the people who called her simply "Aparecida."
Having landed at the shrine's heliport Benedict XVI will go to the "Bom Jesus" missionary seminary where he will dine and spend the night.
PV-BRAZIL/.../SAO PAULO: APARECIDAVIS 070511 (270)