News from the Church in Malta
The Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI marked his 88th birthday on Thursday (April 16th) with a Bavarian-style celebration. He received birthday greetings from a group of Gebirgsschutzen (mountain protection units) from his native Bavaria, dressed in traditional costumes. Among those present to celebrate his birthday were his older brother Monsignor Georg Ratzinger and the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, Archbishop George Ganswein.
Since resigning as Pope in February 2013, Benedict XVI has lived a life of prayer and reclusion at the Mater Ecclesiae situated inside the Vatican Gardens. Speaking in an interview with Vatican Radio, Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, the former second secretary of Benedict XVI, said affection for the Pope Emeritus has increased over the past two years…
On Thursday 16th April 2015, Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna celebrated Mass on the occasion of the State Visit of His Eminence Fra Matthew Festing, Grandmaster of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta.
Your Excellency Madame President,
Most Eminent Highness, Your Excellencies, members of the Order,
The Maltese are very familiar with four words in Latin that represent the ethos of the Order, which, we Maltese note with pride, takes its name from our country- The four words are: Tuitio Fidei; Obsequium Pauperum, the defence of the faith, respect, or rather, veneration of the poor…
The number of Catholics in the world and the number of priests and permanent deacons rose slightly in 2013, while the number of men and women in religious orders declined, according to Vatican statistics.
For the second year in a row, the number of candidates for the priesthood also decreased. The numbers come from the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, which was completed in February and published in March…
On Tuesday 14th April 2015, Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna celebrated Mass at ‘Dar tal-Kleru’, Fleur-de-lys. The priests who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their ordination to the priesthood, concelebrated with the Archbishop.
Photos: Ian Noel Pace
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The image of God is not only displayed in man and woman individually but also together as a couple. These were the words of Pope Francis during his General Audience today in St. Peter’s Square. The Holy Father said that today’s catechesis and the following will reflect on the sacrament of marriage and the complementarity between man and woman.
The Pope began his catechesis by recalling the story of creation in which God, after creating the universe and all living things, created his masterpiece: mankind. “As we all know, sexual difference is present in many forms of life, in the long ladder of the living,” he noted…
On Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis proclaimed the great Armenian Saint Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Universal Church. The solemn proclamation took place during the introductory rites at the beginning of a Mass commemorating the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the massacre of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.
The Prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, made the formal request for the proclamation, recalling the similar declaration, almost one hundred years ago, of another Eastern Saint, Ephrem the Syrian, as a Doctor of the Church…
A new initaitive for young dancers who want to develop both their art and their faith. A team of experts within the Church Youth Commission (KDŻ) is preparing an innovative programme in Dance Ministry. The first phase of the project is a christian Dance Camp in Foggia (Italy) from June 28 to July 5. Dancers, both trained and amateur, between 13 and 31 are welcome…
Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna and Fr Joe Galea Curmi, Vicar General, today, Tuesday 14th April 2015, at noon, met with the Provincial of the Maltese Dominican Province, Fr Frans Micallef O.P. and Fr Mark Montebello O.P., at the Archbishop’s Curia, Floriana. During the cordial meeting, the Archbishop encouraged Fr Mark to continue his outreach to gay people, and requested that he continue to follow Church practice and discipline in his ministry, especially in the celebration of sacred rites and Church rituals…
