I will soon be leaving to film a spot for EWTN television and, immediately after that, will meet up with Caritas members at St. Peter’s Basilica for the papal Mass at 5:30 that will open the 20th General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis. The press conference held this morning to present the general assembly as it meets on the theme, “One Human Family, Caring for Creation,” just ended. Presenters included CI President, Cardinal Oscar Rodrigues Maradiaga (who is also one of the C9, the Council of 9 cardinals who advise the Pope), CI Secretary General Michel Roy, Dominican theologian, Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, and Haridas Varikottil, an agriculural expert in Caritas India.
For a report on that conference, you might want to go to news.va where, in midafternoon, Rome time,VIS will post its multi-lingual account of the press conference. Other news of the day will also be in the VIS report. (www.news.va)
CUBAN BISHOPS ANNOUNCE PAPAL ITINERARY FOR SEPTEMBER VISIT
The Cuban bishops have announced the preliminary details of Pope Francis’ September 19 to 22 visit to this Caribbean island. Francis will be the third Pope to visit since St. John Paul’s five-day stay in 1998 and Benedict XVI’s pilgrimage in 2012.
The Holy Father will visit three Cuban cities and the national Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, the shrine of Cuba’s patron saint, according to the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba.
He is scheduled to go to Havana, Holguín, and the shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre (Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre). El Cobre is about 12 miles outside Santiago. The statue of Our Lady, known affectionately in Cuba as La Cachita, was rescued by three fishermen in the Bay of Nipe after a storm from a ship about to capsize. The Madonna wore a sign that read “Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridad” (I am the Virgin of Charity).
The most important shrine for Cubans is located in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra near the old copper mines that give it its name. Built in 1927, its full name is El Sanctuario de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre. The Virgin is the protectress of Cuba. In 1998 St. John Paul II visited the shrine, and called the Virgin “La Reina de los Cubanos” (Queen of Cubans) and donated a rosary and crown. Our Lady is clothed in a glittering gold robe.
The Cuban bishops said the Holy Father would arrive in Cuba on Saturday, September 19 and remain on the island until September 22 when he leaves from Santiago for his trip to the United States.
Joan's Rome 