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In less than a month Pope Benedict XVI will be landing in Great Britain. Today the Vatican released the official schedule for the trip. It won’t be the first Papal Visit to the UK; Pope John Paul II visited the UK in 1982, but his visit was strictly pastoral.

Pope Benedict’s visit will be pastoral, but since he accepted a formal invitation by the UK government it is also considered a State visit. He will not only make a courtesy visit to Her Magesty Queen Elizabeth at her Scottish summer palace, he will also meet with Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and the leader of the opposition.

Pope Benedict will also meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at Lambeth Palace. No doubt observers will be watching that meeting closely. After the meeting with Williams, the Holy Father will proceed to Westminster Hall. There, in the same hall where St. Thomas More was tried and convicted, Pope Benedict will deliver an address to British academic and religious leaders as well as members of the cultural and business world.

The highlight of the papal visit, however, is meant to be the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman. On the evening September 18th the Holy Father will lead a prayer vigil in London’s Hyde Park in preparation for the beatification. The next morning he will fly to Birmingham’s Cofton Park to celebrate the beatification Mass for Cardinal Newman.  (as an aside, but related to the Holy Father’s celebration of Mass during this trip: CNS is reporting that the Papal Masses will feature some of the new English translation, specifically parts of the Mass usually set to music, such as the Gloria.)

Access to Papal Events on this trip is tightly controlled to ensure that those who attend papal Masses and prayer services are there out of genuine spiritual desire. People who want to attend an event must register through their parish. They are then assigned a pilgrim group, complete with a group leader and they must travel with that group on the day of the event. On the upside, they will get “pilgrim packs” along with their tickets, a pack of memorabilia, missals, maps, and other materials to make attending an event a spiritual event as much as possible. Of course the Pope will be traveling through the city by car and Pope mobile and people will be able to catch a glimpse of him as he passes.

Salt + Light will be bringing you full live coverage of the visit, airing the events which are televised by the host broadcaster in the UK.  Stay tuned to our website in the coming weeks for a detailed broadcast schedule.  In the meantime, here is the schedule of the trip that the Vatican released today. Times are local with Eastern Standard Time in parenthesis:

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Alicia Ambrosio

In Washington D.C. our Salt + Light team came across a young man from Kansas who comes from a long line of Knights of Columbus in his family. He’s eagerly awaiting his 17th birthday so he too can join the Catholic fraternal organization. I spoke with him about why he wants to be a Knight:

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Alicia Ambrosio

With the opening formalities out of the way, today, the second day of the 128th Supreme Convention, the Knights of Columbus get down to business. Mass this morning was celebrated by Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia at 8:00am. He reminded the congregation that today is also the feast day of Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of priests. St. John Vianney served his parish and community selflessly, and Fr. Michael McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus continued that charity in his own ministry. He founded the Knights of Columbus on the basis of that charity.

It is fitting then, that the theme of the Knight of Columbus’ convention this year is “I am my brother’s keeper” Cardinal Rigali said, adding that the theme is merely a reflection of the Knight’s core ideals and a challenge to all Knights to show solidarity with “all brothers and sisters.”

This challenge to be in solidarity with all brothers and sisters has taken the Knights far and wide.  Here in D.C. , I met a couple from Manitoba. Larry and Margaret Kustra made a trip to Cuba this past year to deliver wheelchairs to those in need. Larry is the immediate past State Deputy to Manitoba. Knights from Saskatchewan also went on a special trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic to deliver wheelchairs this past year.

Haiti is the major focus for the Knights this year. Today, along with Project Medishare, the Knights announced a new initiative called Hope for Haiti’s Children. Approximately 800 children lost limbs as a result of the earthquake and the Knights will provide prostetic limbs for all of those children. 

Receiving a prosthetic limb requires physiotherapy, so the Knights will also provide each child with a two-year program of physiotherapy administered by the University of Miami’s Medishare Hospital in Port-au-Prince.  The estimated cost of the initiative will be one million U.S. dollars.

The director of rehabilitation services for Medishare, Professor Robert Gailey, explained in Haiti, children are very low priority for prosthetic limbs.  Men are the highest priority because they are the “workers” and are generally supporting the family.  It is unheard of for a child to receive a prosthetic limb.  This initiative will ensure that kids are no longer overlooked; that if a child is missing a limb, that he or she can still live a full life and that hope is not lost. 

Gailey shared that in Haiti if a child is missing a limb, then the child is often shunned or ostracized – he may be seen as bad luck, or he did something wrong.    Gailey was hopeful that in the future, an educational component would develop to counter the stigma associated with prosthetics. 

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Alicia Ambrosio

Today was the first day of work at the Knights of Columbus Supreme Annual Convention in Washington D.C. Traditionally the convention kicks off with a concelebrated Mass at the conference venue. This year was a little different and whole lot more spectacular.

The opening Mass was celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Washington. The Basilica is one of, if not the largest church in North America and is home to the largest collection of modern ecclesiastical art. That is not, however, the reason the Basilica is so dear to U.S. Catholics. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the United States and this Basilica is dedicated to her in that context.

A Mass with the Knights is like no other. The entrance procession alone takes 10 minutes because of the honour guard that precedes the 80-plus concelebrants. This year the main celebrant was Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington D.C. Several Canadian Bishops where among the concelebrants, as was Salt + Light’s CEO Fr. Thomas Rosica.

In his homily Archbishop Wuerl marveled at the work he has seen the Knights do in his 30 years involvement with the order. He also said that Mary, with her entire life, pointed humanity toward Jesus. The challenge today, he said, is for the faithful to do the same. The faithful have to encourage others to live out the Gospel through their very lives, all their actions words and deeds. Part of this means recognizing that we are not individuals and, yes, we are responsible for those around us; we are our brother’s keeper, so to speak — – in fact the theme of this year’s convention is I Am My Brother’s Keeper.

Looking out for the “next door neighbour” in need, is perhaps one of the things the Knights do best.  In his annual report Supreme Knight Carl Anderson revealed that immediately after the earthquake in Haiti, the Knights gave Catholic Relief Services (the equivalent of Canada’s Development and Peace) $50,000 to provide immediate aid to victims of the quake. (Ultimately they’ve donated $600,000 to Haiti.) The Knights later followed that up with a special trip to Haiti during which they delivered wheelchairs to people who had been incapacitated due to injuries sustained in the earthquake. Anderson also announced that the Knights will provide prosthetic limbs for all children who have lost limbs because of the quake.

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Alicia Ambrosio

“Today our hearts are bursting, such is the gift of love.”

Those are the words Jim and Carol Collier used to express their emotions at their son’s funeral. Sapper Brian Collier was killed last week in Afghanistan by an improvised explosive device. His funeral was held yesterday at Holy Martyrs of Japan parish in Bradford, Ontario, the Collier’s hometown.

Members of the 1 Combat Engineer Regiment based in Edmonton, Alberta carried Collier’s casket into the church, while members of the 2 Combat Engineer Regiment from CFB Petawawa stood guard outside. More than one soldier was visibly shaking from the effort of trying to contain his emotions whiling standing at attention.

In his homily, Fr. Boniface Perri, the pastor of Holy Martyrs of Japan Parish, said, “If the value of a man is how many people will remember him well, and how many people he touched and loved, and how many people loved him back, then look around…Brian was sucessful in every sense of the word.”

He told the gathered mourners that a funeral is not a ceremony where the surviving relatives and friends simply promise to remember the deceased and keep his or her memory alive. Instead, a funeral is a recognition that, for the faithful, death is not an end, but a change in life.

“Thus whenever our thoughts and prayers go to him, we will be with Brian. No, he is not gone but moved far away.”

“This moment is heartbreaking, but it would be sadder still if we remained in it,” Fr. Perri said.

“God beckons to us, too,” he added. “Beckons us to realize that He is not simply the refuge of those who have fallen. He is also the sure hope of those who are alive.”

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Alicia Ambrosio

Earlier this year, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged priests to become familiar with new media as a possible tool for evangelization. In light of this, the United States Conference of Bishops have released guidelines for church-personnel on how to use social media-such as blogs and Facebook pages- as part of ministry.

The document said that social communications can offer three principle opportunities and challenges to the the Church and to the world at large:

• Visibility
• Community and
• Accountability

Furthermore, the USCCB said social media can offer increased visibility, a tool to strengthen the community and accountability. Among other things, Church groups are instructed to define boundaries of appropriate communication for their site, include a code of conduct on the site, and provide instruction to users on how to report inappropriate material and block offensive users. When providing links to other website church groups are instructed to provide links to trusted website and be familiar with what is on those sites.

For the full list of guidelines visit www.usccb.org/comm and click on diocesan resources.

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Alicia Ambrosio

Did you know that the Roman Catacombs were not built to serve as secret churches? The Catacombs were truly just burial places. Just like today’s cemeteries which have chapels on-site, these early burial places also had built in chapels to perform the final blessing of a body before entombment. While Christians were persecuted at various times, they celebrated Mass in people’s homes, under the guise of a friendly gathering, and not in underground chapels.

Today the entrance to these early Christian burial sites are found in some of the most unexpected places. The Catacombs of St. Thecla, which I had the privilege of visiting Tuesday, are found in the basement of a building belonging to an Italian insurance company in a residential neighbourhood of Rome. No joking. Of course, the insurance company is a recent addition to the landscape.

The Catacombs of St. Thecla appear on pilgrimage maps as early as the seventh century. It’s believed there was a shrine to St. Thecla not far from today’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, in the place Thecla was believed to have been buried. However, today it is not certain if the St. Thecla referred to was the virgin saint referred to in ancient legends.

It was in the 19th century that the Catacombs were rediscovered by archeologists.

Fast forward to 2008 when the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology was attempting to restore a portion of the Catacombs. Most of the Catacombs are chambers with crypts all the way up the wall. It seems at some point there was a plague and large numbers of people needed to be buried all at once. Hence these mass crypt chambers that could then be sealed off. In one wing of the Catacombs, however, was a crypt that seemed to have housed only two bodies. It was this chamber that the Commission for Sacred Archeology wanted to restore. Generally a private crypt means a noble family, which means it was no doubt decorated. In fact, faints hints of frescoes were evident in this special crypt, referred to in archeological terms as a double cubiculum.

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Alicia Ambrosio

Bishop Don Bolen of Saskatoon was in Rome this week, introducing the priests of his diocese to his former home.

In truth they were here for the International Meeting for Priests that wrapped up Thursday in St. Peter’s square. Alas, it’s a long flight from Saskatoon to Rome, so Bishop Bolen and his priests, along with Archbishop Daniel Bohan of Regina, Archbishop Emeritus of St. Boniface Emilius Goulet and priests from those dioceses, stayed on a few days longer. Bishop Bolen returned to his former parish here in Rome, a beautiful little international community of English speakers at San Francesco della Caravita, for a special Mass this past Sunday.

Bishop Bolen is a remarkable homilist. I first heard him preach in 2007 when I attended my first Mass at this Caravita parish and I remember that homily to this day. This Sunday his homily was particularly moving. The Gospel was the woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Bishop Bolen spoke about the different ways we can look at this Gospel… from the eyes of the woman, from the eyes of the observer who says,  “Hey, but don’t you know what kind of woman she is?” or from the eyes of faith. When you look at that scene through the eyes of faith, what you see is Mercy.

If you saw the Witness interview with Bishop Bolen earlier this year, you might recall that his Bishop’s motto is “Mercy within Mercy within Mercy.” Hence, a subject he has reflected on deeply.

When we look at that scene with the eyes of faith and see Mercy, we see that God’s mercy is, first of all greater than we deserve, and secondly, greater than what we can ever ask for.

We must sincerely recognize that we are in need of his mercy, and turn to him humbly, and honestly.

I can tell you there was a hush in the church as Bishop Bolen finished his homily. It kinda made me want to move to Saskatoon… but just for the summer.

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Photo courtesy of Larry Litman

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Alicia Ambrosio

Let me just say it: I did some traveling this past weekend. I went to Oberammergau, Germany after being invited to attend the premiere of the Passionspiele, the Passion Play that happens once every ten years. (You can find out more about our Salt + Light sponsored trip in August to see the Passion Play HERE.) The closest major city to Oberammergau is Munich and I got to spend an evening and a morning there. Having limited time, I grabbed a city map, asked a local for suggestions on where to go and soon found myself in the heart of historic Munich, surrounded by people wearing orange scarves.

Using my very limited German (I can order water and say I’m sleepy) I found someone who spoke English and asked, “What is that?”, pointing to the orange scarf. It turns out the orange scarves were part of the swag being given out at something called Kirchentag, or Church Congress.

Kirchentag began in 1949 as an annual congress of Germany’s protestant Churches. The idea was that since the Church and state had officially been separated by the Nazi regime, Christians needed a way to come together, be strengthened in their faith, and encouraged in bearing witness to Christ in their daily lives. In 1954 it became a biannual event, happening every two years. In 2003, Kirchentag went Ecumenical with Catholic and Protestant churches working together to organize the event and opening it to all faiths. 2010 Kirchentag was held in Munich this past week and the theme was “That you may have hope”.

One participant told me, “It’s not just praying together. We discuss all kinds of issues — immigration, human rights, poverty, universities — in the light of our faith. You know, we’re from all different back grounds, but on those topics we believe a lot of the same things.”

The majority of Kirchentag participants happen to be under thirty, so a major focus of the congress is on bringing youth of different faiths together to see that they’re not all that different.

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Alicia Ambrosio

Part of Salt + Light’s first upcoming Blessed Journeys Series is the famous Passion Play in the German village of Oberammergau.

Ever had trouble sticking to a routine? Tried to do a daily exercise routine only to discover after a week that somehow it hasn’t gone too well? Or committed your self to a new routine of daily prayer and after a couple weeks realize although you’ve been praying it hasn’t been daily, exactly. The people of Oberammergau, Germany could put all of us to shame.

In 1633 the town was caught in the crossfire of the Thirty Years War. Food was scarce and the undernourished citizens were succumbing to the bubonic plague. The town of Oberammergau decided to isolate itself from the outside world to prevent the plague from taking hold in their town. The plan worked well until October of 1633.

The town decided to ago ahead with their annual festival celebrating the anniversary of the consecration of their church. One Oberammergauer was working as a farmhand in a nearby village and sneaked home for the festival. He had no way of knowing it, but he was carrying the plague. Within days both he and his family in Oberammergau were dead. By the end of that October 84 people had died in Oberammergau because of the plague. The tiny town was losing citizens fast.

To stop the spread of the disease and famine, the town did the one thing within their power: they prayed. The town council and the citizens (those who were well enough) walked to the main church and prayed to be spared from the plague and famine. They vowed to God that if they were spared, every ten years they would put on a Passion Play – something common at the time – as an act of penitence, worship and thanksgiving.

From that moment there were no more plague deaths in Oberammergau. The next year, the residents of Oberammergau put on their first Passion Play. The entire cast and crew were the villagers of Oberammergau.

Now 375 years later, the townspeople of Oberammergau are still putting on a Passion Play every ten years. The cast and crew are all from Oberammergau or have lived in Oberammergau for at least 20 years. Out of a population of 5200, about 2500 participate in the play in some way, either as cast, crew or front-of-house staff.

The director, Christian Stuckle is a former wood carver. His theatre career began during his woodcarving apprenticeship when he put together an informal theatre group. He eventually left behind woodcarving in favour of theatre. Today he is the director of the Munich Volkstheatre or Folk Theatre and since 1992 has been the official director of the Oberammergau Passion Play. The music score being used was composed by Oberammergauer Rochus Dedler in 1820. The cast and crew are all Oberammergauers. Jesus is a psychologist, Mary Magdalene is a flight attendant, several of the high priests are wood carvers, Pontius Pilate is an innkeeper and Herod is a dentist.

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Alicia Ambrosio