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Month: March 2022

Italy 7: Assisi to Loreto to Manoppello to Lanciano

Posted by | Mar 25, 2022 | , , |

Another eventful day but also a good bit of bus time which we filled with fun activities. After a casual breakfast we left our Giotto Hotel and went down into the valley to visit the Church of Mary of the Angels. This is where the Portiuncola is situated, the small chapel where the San Damiano […]

The post Italy 7: Assisi to Loreto to Manoppello to Lanciano appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

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Mary’s Magnificat

Posted by | Mar 25, 2022 | , |

In honour of Mary’s Fiat on this Solemnity of the Annunciation, it is fitting we present one of the greatest of Church musicians, Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina, a master of counterpoint polyphony, of the ars perfecta, the most perfect art of music. Palestrina was contemporaneous with his spiritual director, Saint Philip Neri, who encouraged him[…]

The post Mary’s Magnificat appeared first on Catholic Insight.

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As it happened: Pope Francis’ Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Posted by | Mar 25, 2022 | , |


An image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at St. Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria. / Diana Ringo via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0 at).

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2022 / 09:55 am (CNA).

12:17 p.m.

That wraps up our live coverage of the Vatican event. Thank you for following the act of consecration here. We will be posting further reports on our website.

11:51 a.m.

Flowers are presented to a statue of Mary in St. Peter’s Basilica

Pope Francis presents flowers to a Marian statue following the act of consecration.
Pope Francis presents flowers to a Marian statue following the act of consecration.

After reading the consecration, the pope placed flowers before the statue of Mary and censed it. Young children joined the pope as the Immaculata hymn was sung.

11:40 a.m.

Pope Francis consecrates humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart

Pope Francis reads the act of consecration. Screenshot from EWTN YouTube channel.
Pope Francis reads the act of consecration. Screenshot from EWTN YouTube channel.

The pope recites the consecration prayer, beginning, “O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you.”

Cardinals and bishops kneel as Pope Francis reads the act of consecration. Courtney Mares/CNA.
Cardinals and bishops kneel as Pope Francis reads the act of consecration. Courtney Mares/CNA.

11:29 a.m.

Mass held at Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross

Father Yaroslav Nalysnyk concelebrates a Mass marking the consecration of Russia and Ukraine at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross, March 25, 2022.
Father Yaroslav Nalysnyk concelebrates a Mass marking the consecration of Russia and Ukraine at Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross, March 25, 2022.

At the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley is saying a Mass for the consecration, concelebrated by Father Yaroslav Nalysnyk, pastor of Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic parish in Boston. Bishop Robert Reed, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, preached at the Mass.

Bishop Robert Reed, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, preaches at the Mass in Boston.
Bishop Robert Reed, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, preaches at the Mass in Boston.

11:20 a.m.
All Catholics invited to take part in the act of consecration

The penitential service in St. Peter’s Basilica. Courtney Mares/CNA.
The penitential service in St. Peter’s Basilica. Courtney Mares/CNA.

Pope Francis has appealed to all the world’s Catholics to join him in reciting the act of consecration.

In a letter sent to the world’s bishops, he wrote: “I ask you to join in this act by inviting the priests, religious and faithful to assemble in their churches and places of prayer on March 25, so that God’s Holy People may raise a heartfelt and choral plea to Mary our Mother.”

He said: “This act of consecration is meant to be a gesture of the universal Church, which in this dramatic moment lifts up to God, through his Mother and ours, the cry of pain of all those who suffer and implore an end to the violence, and to entrust the future of our human family to the Queen of Peace.”

11:04 a.m.
Pope Francis goes to confession, then hears confessions

Pope Francis prays during the penitential service. Vatican Pool.
Pope Francis prays during the penitential service. Vatican Pool.

After Pope Francis preached his homily, there was a moment of total silence in the basilica. Following the recitation of the Confiteor, the prayer beginning “I confess to almighty God…”, the pope walked across the basilica to the area with the confessionals. There, he made his confession while standing. He then walked over to a confessional and began to hear confessions himself.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is also available in the square outside the basilica.

Confessions are heard outside St. Peter’s Basilica during the penitential service. Cindy Wooden/Aigav.
Confessions are heard outside St. Peter’s Basilica during the penitential service. Cindy Wooden/Aigav.

10:54 a.m.
An act followed in Russia and Ukraine

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow, Russia. Maxim Apryatin via Shutterstock.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow, Russia. Maxim Apryatin via Shutterstock.

Catholics in the Russian capital Moscow are gathering today to pray and follow the live feed of the act of consecration. They are meeting at Immaculate Conception Cathedral, a building with a turbulent history.

Ukrainian Catholics will also be praying the act of consecration, which has been shared on the website of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, based in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, has tweeted this:

10:44 a.m.
The ‘sacrament of joy’

Confessors arrive for the penitential service inside St. Peter’s Basilica. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA.
Confessors arrive for the penitential service inside St. Peter’s Basilica. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA.

The penitential service includes the opportunity for individual confession. Here are the confessors arriving in the basilica.

Confessors in St. Peter’s Basilica. Courtney Mares/CNA.
Confessors in St. Peter’s Basilica. Courtney Mares/CNA.

In his homily, Pope Francis spoke about confession, describing it as “the sacrament of joy.”

10:34 a.m.
The meaning of the act of consecration

Pope Francis attends the penitential service. Courtney Mares/CNA.
Pope Francis attends the penitential service. Courtney Mares/CNA.

The act of consecration is long and theologically rich. Here are five things to know about it.

Some commentators have raised questions about a phrase found in some non-English versions of the text. The phrase, “Earth of Heaven,” is present in the Spanish text (“tierra del Cielo”) and the Italian translation (“terra del Cielo”).

The Vatican has issued an explanation of the phrase. You can find it here.

10:24 a.m.
The statue of Mary inside St. Peter’s Basilica

The statue of the Virgin Mary in St. Peter’s Basilica. Vatican Pool.
The statue of the Virgin Mary in St. Peter’s Basilica. Vatican Pool.

Pope Francis is expected to stand before this statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary as he reads the act of consecration. The act is available on the Vatican website in an impressive 36 languages, including Ukrainian and Russian. The pope is expected to make the act of consecration in Italian.

10:14 a.m.
A guide to the penitential service

The booklet for the penitential service and act of consecration. Courtney Mares/CNA.
The booklet for the penitential service and act of consecration. Courtney Mares/CNA.

Here is the booklet for the penitential service and act of consecration given to members of the congregation inside St. Peter’s Basilica. You can see the contents here.

10:12 a.m.
How to watch live

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle arrives for the penitential service and act of consecration. Courtney Mares/CNA.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle arrives for the penitential service and act of consecration. Courtney Mares/CNA.

If you’d like to watch the consecration live, we encourage you to tune in via EWTN.

The pope is expected to recite the act of consecration at around 6:30 p.m. local time.

When is 6:30 p.m. Rome time for you? There’s a handy cheat sheet here.

10:08 a.m.
Inside the basilica

Inside St Peter’s Basilica ahead of the consecration of Ukraine and Russia. Courtney Mares/CNA.
Inside St Peter’s Basilica ahead of the consecration of Ukraine and Russia. Courtney Mares/CNA.

This was the scene inside the basilica ahead of the penitential service and act of consecration.

Here are the preparations, as seen by our reporters at the basilica:

09:55 a.m.
Welcome to readers

People gather in St Peter’s Square ahead of the consecration of Ukraine and Russia. Courtney Mares/CNA.
People gather in St Peter’s Square ahead of the consecration of Ukraine and Russia. Courtney Mares/CNA.

Welcome to CNA’s live coverage of the momentous global act of consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our reporters are inside St. Peter’s Basilica, where a penitential service will begin shortly, followed by the consecration.

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Live updates: Pope Francis’ Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Posted by | Mar 25, 2022 | , , , , , , , , , , , |

An image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at St. Peter’s Church, Vienna, Austria. / Diana Ringo via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0 at).

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2022 / 09:55 am (CNA).
11:04 a.m.Pope Francis goes to confession, then hears confessions
Pope…

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