Pope Francis tweeted today: Fasting is not only about abstaining from food. It also means sharing food with those who are hungry.
The Vatican announced today that Pope Francis will meet with European Union leaders a day before a special summit marking the 60th anniversary of the Union’s founding treaty.The audience will be held March 24, the eve of the summit marking the anniversary of the EU founding Treaty of Rome. The evening meeting is expected to be public.
VATICAN INSIDER LOOKS AT ROME’S LENTEN STATION CHURCHES
I have a special report instead of a guest this week on Vatican Insider. I explore the history and current story of Rome’s famed Lenten Station Churches, a beautiful, tradition born ever so many centuries ago. If you are in Rome for Lent and want to attend 7 am morning Mass at the church of the day, you can find the list here: https://www.pnac.org/station-churches/
Today’s Station Church is: Santi Giovanni e Paolo: https://www.pnac.org/station-churches/week-of-ash-wed/friday-after-ash-wednesday-santi-giovanni-e-paolo/
ALSO: https://www.romeartlover.it/Vasi53.htm
In the United States, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (there is a list of U.S. stations at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio. Outside the U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” Vatican Insider airs Saturday mornings at 9:00am (ET). On the SKY satellite feed to the UK and parts of Europe, VI airs on audio channel 0147 at 11:30 am CET on Saturdays, and 5:30am and 10pm CET on Sundays. It’s also available on demand on the EWTN app and on the website. CHECK YOUR TIME ZONE. Here’s a link to download VI to your iTunes library: http://www.ewtn.com/se/pg/DatService.svc/feed/~LE.xml For VI archives: http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/file_index.asp?seriesId=7096&pgnu=
PAPAL LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS FOR MARCH, APRIL
The Vatican Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff on Friday published the calendar of liturgical celebrations at which Pope Francis will preside during March and April of 2017. The list includes the Masses to be celebrated during the Holy Father’s pastoral visits to Milan on March 25 and Carpi on April 2, as well as other events surrounding Holy Week and Easter.
MARCH
Friday 17: at 5 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, penitential celebration.
Saturday 25: Solemnity of the Annunciation. Pastoral visit to Milan.
APRIL
Sunday 2: Fifth Sunday of Lent. Pastoral visit to Carpi.
Sunday 9: Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord: At 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, commemoration of the entry of the Lord in Jerusalem, and Holy Mass.
Thursday 13: Holy Thursday. At 9.30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Chrism Mass.
Friday 14: Good Friday. At 5 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, celebration of the Passion of the Lord.
At 9.15 p.m. at the Colosseum, Rome: Via Crucis (Way of the Cross).
Saturday 15: Holy Saturday. At 8.30 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Easter vigil.
Sunday 16: Easter Sunday. At 10 a.m., in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass.
At noon, from the central balcony or logia of the Vatican Basilica, “Urbi et Orbi” blessing.
The Vatican announced Friday that Pope Francis will meet with European Union leaders a day before a special summit marking the 60th anniversary of the bloc’s founding treaty.The audience will be held March 24, the eve of the summit marking the anniversary of the EU founding Treaty of Rome. The evening meeting is expected to be public.
TWITTER DIPLOMACY AT THE HOLY SEE
(Vatican Radio) A one-day workshop was held on Friday in the Vatican on “Twitter Diplomacy at the Holy See.” The event was hosted by the Vatican Secretariat for Communications (SPC), in conjunction with the British Embassy to the Holy See.
Participants in the workshop included Britain’s Ambassadors to the Holy See, Sally Axworthy and to Austria, Leigh Turner, along with Hungary’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Eduard Habsburg, and Professor Giovanni Maria Vian, director of the Osservatore Romano.
Pope Francis touches minds and hearts on social networks, said the Vatican release. “Where people are, the Church is, and this is why the Pope is present on Twitter and Instagram,” said SPC’s secretary, Msgr. Lucio Adrian Ruiz.
The event brought together diplomats and other personalities who, in the Vatican and the Church, seek to spread the message of the Gospel through social media, especially on Twitter.
Workshop participants shared their experiences and the ways in which communications have changed after the spread of social networks – even at the institutional level.
Participants gave particular attention to the positive role offered by Pope Francis daily through his account @Pontifex, which is followed by more than 32 million people in 9 languages.
They called the Pope a leader on social networks, because he knows how to touch minds and hearts through his interventions on important themes for all people, believers and non-believers alike.
Sally Axworthy, Britain’s ambassador to the Holy See, told Alessandro Gisotti after the event that the digital dimension is assuming an ever greater role in diplomacy. She said there are many points on which, even via Twitter, that the Holy See and international diplomacy can find a way to collaborate.
Ms. Axworthy also underlined that, as Pope Francis has eloquently shown, social networks can help reach an extremely wide public on themes of common interest.
The British Ambassador published this communiqué after the meeting:
Monsignor Lucío Adrian Ruiz, secretary at the Secretariat for Communications and Leigh Turner, British Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna, opened the proceedings. The editor of L’Osservatore Romano, Professor Giovanni M. Vian, gave an overview on newspaper’s global reach on Twitter and Eduard Habsburg, Hungary’s Ambassador to the Holy See, shared his tips and experience.
The workshop looked at how the Holy See, Cardinals, Vatican Dicasteries and Ambassadors are increasingly explaining their work and initiatives through Twitter. It also gave insights into how to use Twitter to promote campaigns and establish a true dialogue with the public.
Representatives from the Pontifical Council for Culture, Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Dicastery for Integral Human Development, Cor Unum, Caritas Internationalis , the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, and Ambassadors accredited to the Holy See participated in the discussion, which was held under the Chatham House Rule.**
Speaking after the event, the British Ambassador to the Holy See Sally Axworthy said:
“Today we had a lively discussion on Twitter diplomacy at the Holy See. I learned a great deal about Pope Francis’ approach to social media. I look forward to working with colleagues to promote the issues we all care about through Twitter, using some of the ideas we discussed today.”
“The workshop showed how digital has become an integral part of today’s diplomacy, and how this tool can be a real asset to modern diplomats, in engaging directly with their audience and reaching out to a wider public.“
Note for editors: Twitter is an increasingly popular means of communication within the Holy See community. The Pope is the world’s most influential leader, with over 32 million followers for his Twitter account in 9 languages.
** I did not know what the Chatham House Rule was so looked it up: The Chatham House Rule originated at Chatham House with the aim of providing anonymity to speakers and to encourage openness and the sharing of information. It is now used throughout the world as an aid to free discussion.
The Chatham House Rule reads as follows: When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. (https://www.chathamhouse.org/about/chatham-house-rule)
Joan's Rome 