France prepares for visit of German pope

fter six weeks of few public appearances, the pontificate of Benedict XVI will return to its usual intensity in September. The Pope's first major engagement will take place on the first day of the month when he receives former hostage Ingrid Betancourt in private audience at Castel Gandolfo. Soon after she was freed from Marxist guerrillas in Colombia on July 2, the Franco-Colombian politician expressed a desire to meet the Pope.
Now. the devout Catholic mother of two, who prayed the rosary daily while in captivity, will have her wish realised and meet the Holy Father in the late morning on September 1, accompanied by her family. Betancourt's mother, Yolanda Pulecio, met Benedict XVI in February when she attended a general audience and asked for his prayers for her daughter's release.
Ten days after her release, Betancourt and her family made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, offering thanksgiving and prayers for the hostages still in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
After his Wednesday general audience, Benedict XVI will travel to the Italian island of Sardinia on September 7. There he will preside over the closing celebrations in Cagliari to mark the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Our Lady of Bonaria as patroness of the island. Soon after arriving, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in the town's Basilica of Bonaria and bless all of Sardinia's centenarians.
The visit will just last a day and include lunch in the regional seminary, meetings with the sick and prisoners, and a discourse with Sardinian clergy in the cathedral. Also on the agenda is a meeting with youth who will celebrate the papal visit in song.
But once back the Pope won't have much time in Rome before he leaves for France his 10th international trip. The September 1215 visit is principally to preside over celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions in Lourdes, but it will also be an opportunity for the Holy Father to extend his blessings to France. He will meet President Nicholas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in Paris and deliver an address to cultural leaders at Bemardins College in Paris. He is also due to celebrate Vespers with priests and religious, greet a group of young people and celebrate Mass in the city.
The Pope is expected to receive a warm official welcome from Mr Sarkozy: the French premier may be a twice divorced non-practising Catholic, yet he is probably one of the most pro-Catholic leaders in Western Europe and shares the Pope's concerns about Europe losing its Christian roots. When he visited Benedict XVI last year, Mr Sarkozy stressed that secular morality risks wearing out or changing into fanaticism "when it isn't backed up by hope that aspires to the infinite" a sentiment close the Pope's very own.
The Church in France sees the Pope's visit as a valuable opportunity to rekindle its country's faith. Church attendance is among the lowest in Europe with a non-attendance rate of 79 per cent. Some protests are expected. mainly from secularist groups, but the visit is very unlikely to be as controversial as John Paul II's in 1996 when the Pope described France as the "eldest daughter of the Church".
Once back from France, the Pope will have to a few weeks to prepare for the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Bible which runs from October 5-26. On the eve of the meeting, the Holy Father will visit Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano, and later in the month, on October 19 , he is scheduled to visit Pompey on where he will visit the city's shrine of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
‘he pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI will pass into history as one of the greatest of the modern era," said one world leader last week. He is a captivating intellectual and an extraordinary man a great point of reference for all believers and non-believers.Say what you like about Silvio Berlusconi, but he certainly knows how to lavish praise.