PAPAL VISIT TO ASTI FOR “FAMILY TIME” – POPE APPOINTS RELIGION TEACHER AS NEW SECRETARY FOR DICASTERY FOR LAITY, FAMILY AND LIFE

An important weekend for two people: Pope Francis who visited family in Asti, in Italy’s northern region of Piedmont, and Brazilian-born Gleison De Paula Souza, a family man and high school teacher in Puglia, southern Italy, whom the Pope named as secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

I remember interviewing the late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago the day before the cardinal electors started meeting in congregations before the March 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis. He noted that the reform of the Roman Curia was high on the agenda of many cardinals, and suggested that the time had come for well-qualified lay people to head some of the offices in the Roman Curia, and to be placed in positions of importance. For example, Cardinal George specified he saw no reason why a competent, experience layman or woman should not head a pontifical council (The councils are now called dicasteries).

And Pope Francis has brought some lay people into responsible positions during the reform of the Roman Curia. Though none head a dicastery, he did name Lateran University Professor Vincenzo Buonomo to head the Disciplinary Commissionof the Roman Curia in 2021.

PAPAL VISIT TO ASTI FOR “FAMILY TIME”

Bishop Marco Prastaro told Vatican News: “The Pope threw himself into our arms.”Asti’s bishop, who accompanied Francis on his two days in Piedmont, spoke of “an experience of great joy and great human warmth that made us feel part of something beautiful.” The inhabitants of Asti took “a step forward towards him, and the Pontiff embraced us all,” one by one. Of the homily, the bishop said: “He reminded us that God is present in every man’s life and takes it all into consideration.”

Before boarding the helicopter, Bishop Prastaro told Vatican News, “the Pope thanked us for the warm welcome and added ‘sorry to disturb you’. I had just said to him again: ‘Holiness, come back whenever you want, this is your home’.” Asti’s bishop thus recalled the final moments of the “long-awaited meeting” with Pope Francis, who came “to rediscover the flavor of his roots” as he confided in the Mass in the cathedral.

This photo of Pope Francis – nè Jorge Mario Bergoglio – was taken in the bishop’s residence in Asti with several generations of his relatives.

POPE APPOINTS RELIGION TEACHER AS NEW SECRETARY FOR DICASTERY FOR LAITY, FAMILY AND LIFE

A 38-year-old husband and father of two, Gleison De Paula Souza has been appointed secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. Originally hailing from Brazil, Souza teaches high school in Puglia.

By Vatican News staff reporter

Originally from the state of Minas Geiras, in south-eastern Brazil, Gelison De Paula Souza’s journey has taken him to Puglia, in the ‘heel’ of Italy, and now to the Vatican. On Thursday, Pope Francis appointed Souza as secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. Thirty-eight years old, married and father of two daughters, De Paula Souza teaches religion at a secondary school, the A. Vallone Liceo Scientifico e Linguistico Statale in Galatina, Puglia.

The newly appointed secretary of the dicastery was a member of the Orionian religious family, between 2005 and 2016. In 2015, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Theology at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome and in 2019 a Master’s degree in Philosophical Sciences at the University of Salento in Lecce.

POPE TO TRAVEL TO ASTI, ITALY, TO MEET RELATIVES – GENERAL AUDIENCE: RE-READING OUR LIFE’S STORY TO DISCOVER CHRIST

POPE TO TRAVEL TO ASTI, ITALY, TO MEET RELATIVES 

The director of the Holy See Press Office announced today that, “on the afternoon of Saturday, November 19, Pope Francis will go to Asti, Italy on a private visit to meet family on the occasion of the 90^th birthday of a cousin. Sunday November 20, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Holy Father will preside over the Eucharist at 11:00 am in the Cathedral of Asti, to meet the diocesan community from which his relatives emigrated to Argentina. In the afternoon the Holy Father will return to the Vatican.”

Pope Francis previously met some of his Italian relatives in 2015 on a visit to Turin, as well as during a visit to Genoa in May, 2017.

GENERAL AUDIENCE: RE-READING OUR LIFE’S STORY TO DISCOVER CHRIST

Wednesday at the general audience, in the presence of a large crowd of pilgrims, Pope Francis circled a sun-splashed St. Peter’s Square in the papal jeep, giving a ride to five school children.

Rome has been marked by beautiful clear skies and unseasonably warm temperatures in what the Italians call “le ottobrate romane,” the equivalent of the English term “Indian summer.”

In his catechesis in Italian, later summarized in French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Polish, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on discernment, saying, “we now consider the importance of interpreting, in the light of God’s provident care, our own life story. Through prayer and spiritual insight, we can learn to discern the thread of God’s grace running through our lives.”

“Our life is the most precious ‘book’ that is given to us, a book that unfortunately many do not read, or rather they do so too late, before dying.”

He explained that, “taking stock of our personal history in this way can make us aware of negative attitudes harmful for our spiritual growth, but also open our eyes to the often hidden events and encounters that quietly reveal the Lord’s loving plan for our eternal happiness.”

The more we reread our life’s story, he added, the more refined our perception becomes, making it easier to discover God’s action in our lives.

The Holy Father noted that, “the lives of the saints also shed light upon our personal path to holiness. In the Confessions, Saint Augustine shared his gradual understanding of how God mysteriously led him to discover and embrace the truth that alone satisfies the deepest desires of our heart.”

Francis then underlined how “Saint Ignatius Loyola, another great spiritual guide, drew upon his own journey of conversion in order to teach us how to discern God’s voice speaking deep within us, guiding our steps through life, and calling us to ever deeper union with himself.”

Later, in greeting English-speaking pilgrims at the audience, the Pope welcomed pilgrims “from Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Indonesia, Canada and the United States of America, including the priests of the Institute for Continuing Theological Education at the Pontifical North American College.

He then had special words for “pilgrims present from Nigeria. I think of the violent rains that have fallen on their country in these days, causing flooding, numerous deaths and tremendous damage. Let us pray for all who have lost their lives and for everyone affected by this devastating natural disaster. May these, our brothers and sisters, experience our solidarity and the support of the international community.”