News

Pope leads prayer vigil ahead of Synod

05/10/2014

Pope Francis presided a prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday evening, ahead of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, which is set to begin on Sunday at the Vatican.
The outdoor vigil began at 7 p.m., Rome time, and drew tens of thousands of faithful. During his homily, the Pope asked that the Church pray for the Synod Fathers, in particular for the gift to listen in the manner of God, to have a spirit of openness in discussions and to maintain a fixed gaze on Jesus Christ…

04/10/2014

This morning in the Clementine Hall the Holy Father received in audience the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Clergy. “The vocation is truly a treasure that God places in the hearts of some men, chosen by Him and called to follow Him in this special state of life. This treasure, that must be discovered and brought to light, is not made to ‘enrich’ someone alone…

04/10/2014

Bejn nhar it-Tlieta 23 u l-Ħamis 25 ta’ Settembru 2014, sar live-in għall-kappillani ġodda (dawk li ġew maħtura għal dan il-ministeru għall-ewwel darba), fid-Dar tal-Irtiri Porziuncola, Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.
Għal dan il-kors attendew seba’ kappillani, li xi uħud minnhom ħadu l-pussess din is-sena, minn total ta’ disa’.

It-temi prinċipali li ġew indirizzati kienu jinkludu l-Viżjoni Pastorali, kemm dik tal-Papa Franġisku kif ukoll tas-Sinodu (Fr Joe Galea Curmi), Self Awareness (Fr Frankie Cini MSSP), Temi Prattiċi u l-Ispiritwalità tal-Kappillan (Fr Ray Toledo) u qsim ta’ esperjenzi (Fr Gordon Refalo, Kappillan ta’ Ħal Luqa u President tal-Kulleġġ tal-Kappillani u Joe Farrugia, Delegat tal-Arċisqof għal-Lajċi…

04/10/2014

‘Family and future of Europe’ is the theme of the plenary assembly taking place in these days at the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE). On Friday morning Pope Francis received seventy of its members, including the President of the Maltese Episcopal Conference, Bishop Mario Grech, to whom he delivered an off-the-cuff address. He subsequently handed them a written discourse underlining how, as pastors close to their flock, they well know the complexity of the panorama and the challenges the mission of the Church faces, even in Europe…

02/10/2014

Oratorju tal-Konkatidral ta’ San Ġwann, il-Belt Valletta
1 ta’ Ottubru 2014
Insellem lilek Eċċellenza Aġent President, u nirringrazzja lilkom ilkoll tal-preżenza tagħkom.

Jiena nixtieq nislet ftit ħsibijiet ispirati mill-kelma ta’ Alla li għadna kemm smajna. Il-kelma hija dik assenjata mill-Knisja għal din il-ġurnata, it-tlieta fis-26 ġimgħa ta’ matul is-sena. Illum infakkru wkoll il-festa ta’ Santa Tereżina tal-Bambin Ġesù, Tereża ta’ Lisieux…

02/10/2014

02/10/2014

On the eve of the one year anniversary of a devastating shipwreck, Pope Francis has called on the men and women of Europe to ‘open the doors of their hearts’ and welcome migrants who risk their lives at sea to flee war and poverty.
Around 370 people, most of them Eritrean and Syrian asylum-seekers, drowned on Oct. 3, 2013 when their smugglers’ boat capsized off the island of Lampedusa…

01/10/2014

On Wednesday 1st October 2014, Bishop Mario Grech, President of the Maltese Episcopal Conference, addressed a press conference, before leaving Malta to attend an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The Synod, which starts on Sunday 5th October and ends on Sunday 19th October, will be discussing the theme ‘Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the context of Evangelisation’…

01/10/2014

Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for the extraordinary general session of the Synod of Bishops on the Family due to open on Sunday. Around 150 Synod fathers from across the globe will take place in the meeting to discuss the pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization. The Synod will last two weeks, ending with a conclusive Mass on Oct 19…

01/10/2014

With the Synod of Bishops on the family about to open on Sunday, the Vatican has revealed that the message for next year’s World Communications Day is also focused on the theme of the family as ‘a privileged place of encounter with the gift of love’.

‘Communicating the Family’ is the title of the message which is traditionally published in full on January 24th, feast day of St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers and journalists…