VATICAN INSIDER: VICE POSTULATOR SPEAKS ABOUT ARCHBISHOP SHEEN – THE HOLY FATHER IN THAILAND

VATICAN INSIDER: VICE POSTULATOR SPEAKS ABOUT ARCHBISHOP SHEEN

You must all know by now that the Vatican has approved a miracle through the intercession of Venerable Servant of God Archbishop Fulton Sheen and that on Monday, November 18, the diocese of Peoria in Illinois where he is buried announced that Sheen will be beatified in Peoria on December 21st. Given that great news, this weekend and next in the interview segment of Vatican Insider, we are re-airing a conversation I had with Msgr. Richard Soseman, a pastor in the diocese of Peoria and also the vice postulator of the cause for sainthood of Archbishop Sheen.

We talk about Msgr. Soseman’s priestly life, his time studying in Rome and then working at Congregation for clergy, how his life and priesthood was impacted by Sheen, how he was assigned to the cause for sainthood, the role of a vice postulator and the miracle that led to Sheen’s beatification. A second miracle, by the way, is needed for canonization. So stay tuned after the news highlights and a Q&A for Part I of that conversation.

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at http://www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. 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.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on http://www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive (write Vatican Insider where it says Search Shows and Episodes)

THE HOLY FATHER IN THAILAND

What it means to be a Christian
Pope Francis meets with priests, religious, consecrated men and women, seminarians and catechists in Bangkok, and shares guidelines on how to achieve apostolic fruitfulness, and on what it means to be a Christian. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-11/pope-in-thailand-what-it-means-to-be-a-christian.html

Pope to Bishops: Holy Spirit is the protagonist of mission
Pope Francis addresses the Bishops of Thailand and of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) at the Shrine of Blessed Nicholas Bunkerd Kitbamrung in Bangkok. The Pope began his discourse to the Bishops by placing their meeting under the “watchful gaze” of Blessed Nicholas Bunkerd, “so that his example may inspire us with a great zeal for evangelization in all the local Churches of Asia.” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-11/pope-to-bishops-in-thailand-be-servants-not-managers.html

Encounter and mutual dialogue needed in a challenging world
Pope Francis meets Christian leaders and leaders of other religions at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, telling them co-operation and mutual respect are needed more than ever in a world filled with complex challenges. In 1897, Thailand’s King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) visited Rome and met Pope Leo XIII, the first time that a non-Christian Head of State was received in the Vatican. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-11/pope-encounter-mutual-dialogue-needed-in-a-challenging-world.html

Pope to youth in Thailand: rooted in faith through friendship with Jesus
Pope Francis celebrates Mass for young people Friday evening in Bangkok’s Cathedral. A strong faith based on a deep friendship with Jesus, he says, will see them through life’s difficulties, as their elders testify. Pope Francis is asking the young people of Thailand to be deeply rooted and anchored in their faith by cultivating a friendship with Jesus, saying it will provide them with the oil needed to light up the path of their life and those of others around them. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-11/pope-francis-apostolic-journey-thailand-mass-youth.html

VATICAN INSIDER: VICE POSTULATOR OF VENERABLE SHEEN SAINTHOOD CAUSE – POPE APPOINTS NEW COMMUNICATIONS OFFCIALS

VATICAN INSIDER: VICE POSTULATOR OF VENERABLE SHEEN SAINTHOOD CAUSE

I normally announce my weekend Vatican Insider guest on my Friday blog but am trying today to get a bit ahead of myself as I’ll be on the road tomorrow afternoon and you never know what snafus there might be with travel plans. I’ll be going to a piece of heaven that Italians call the Amalfi Coast to join a niece and her beautiful family on Part Two of their Italian vacation. Hope to post some amazing photos just so you can get a glimpse of heaven here on earth.

I urge you to stay tuned after the news segment of Vatican Insider for my conversation with Msgr. Richard Soseman of the diocese of Peoria in Illinois. He is the vice postulator for the cause for canonization of Venerable Servant of God Abp. Fulton Sheen. You won’t want to miss this!

At EWTN studios in Rome:

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at http://www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. 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.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on http://www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: http://www.ewtn.com/multimedia/audio-library/index.asp (write Vatican Insider where it says Search Shows and Episodes)

POPE APPOINTS NEW COMMUNICATIONS OFFCIALS

Pope Francis today made some important appointments in the Vatican’s communications field, naming Matteo Bruni as director of the Holy See Press Office. He also appointed Alessandro Gisotti, interim director for the past 6 plus months, and Sergio Centofanti as deputy directors of the Editorial Directorate at the Dicastery for Communication.

British-born Matteo Bruni becomes the new spokesperson of the Holy See on July 22. He graduated in modern and contemporary foreign languages and literature from Rome’s La Sapienza University. He has been working since July 2009 at the Holy See Press Office, where he has been overseeing the accreditation of journalists and operational communications as coordinator of the accreditation section. In this role, he organized reporters accompanying the Holy Father on papal trips outside Italy. Bruni speaks Italian, English, Spanish and French.

Alessandro Gisotti, interim director until July 22, is a graduate of political science from Rome’s La Sapienza University and a professional journalist. After a stint at the United Nations Office of Information in Rome, he began working at Vatican Radio in 2000. From 2011 to 2016 he was deputy editor-in-chief at the Pope’s radio. In 2017 he became the coordinator of social media of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication.

He has taught journalism at the Jesuit Maximus Institute in Rome and theories and techniques of journalism at the Pontifical Lateran University. (photo of Gisotti in press office from Angela Ambrogetti of ACI Stampa/EWTN)

Thank you, Alessandro! Tante grazie!

Born in Naples, Sergio Centofanti, 59, graduated in literature from Rome’s La Sapienza University in 1986. Starting his career as a journalist in the early ‘80s, he joined Vatican Radio in 1986, working for the first 10 years with the morning edition world news in Italian. He has covered Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis on various Italian and international trips. In 2017 he was called to be part of the Multimedia Editorial Center in charge of coordinating the activities of the various language units of Vatican Radio-Vatican News.