En Estados Unidos, grupos de jóvenes se reunirán para colectar durante el fin de semana del “Gran Juego”, el 11 y 12 de febrero. Todo lo recaudado se enviará a las Misiones del Sagrado Corazón y a los Samaritanos. Le pedimos que sean generosos y nos ayuden a alcanzar nuestra meta de $600 y 300 productos enlatados.
Vírgenes y Santos
San Juan Bosco. Enero 31
Fiesta de la presentación del Señor. Purificación de
María Santísima y Día de la Candelaria. Feb. 2
Nuestra Señora de Supaya. Feb. 3
Nuestra Señora de Lourdes. Feb. 11
San Valentín. Patrono de los Enamorados. Feb. 14
Dia de los Presidentes. Feb. 20
Martes de Carnaval. Feb. 21
Miércoles de Ceniza. Feb. 22
Envíenos sus fotos a editor@jacksondiocese.org Síganos en Facebook @ Diócesis Católica de Jackson Para disfrutar el boletín Mande un texto: MSCATHOLIC a 84576
ES BUENO Por Elizabeth Scalia Al igual que Santa Teresa de Ávila, tengo una calavera en mi escritorio – de hecho, tengo dos, una sencilla y otra profusamente decorada en verde y morado. Creo que son divertidas; me recuerdan que no debo tomarme a mí misma ni al mundo demasiado en serio. Cuando me he hecho un nudo debido a alguna debilidad percibida, o he pasado más de un minuto pensando porque me siento ignorada, las calaveras se burlan de mí con todos sus dientes y susurran las palabras del profeta Isaías: “Toda carne es como la hierba… La hierba se seca, la flor se marchita” (Is. 40:6-7).
A woman with her face painted as a skull attends the start of the “Las Catrinas” festival Oct. 26, ahead of the Day of the Dead in Cupula, Mexico. La Catrina is a popular figure in Mexico known as “The Elegant Skull.” The annual Day of the Dead is observed Nov. 1 and 2. (CNS photo/Alan Ortega, Reuters)
En nuestra sociedad de alto estímulo, mantener una filosofía de “toda carne es como hierba” puede traer equilibrio y perspectiva. Coincide con algo que he leído sobre Santa Bernardita Soubirous: cuando una hermana exaltada dentro de su comunidad desacreditaba a la vidente de Lourdes debido a su baja estatura o su incipiente educación, Bernadette decía: “Continúa criatura,” para sí misma, así como para su torturador. “Solo importa Cristo”. “Continúa criatura” es, como las calaveras sonrientes, una excelente manera de recordarnos a nosotros mismos que no debemos invertir demasiado tiempo en nuestros sentimientos heridos o en nuestra ofensa. Nos recuerda que las estupideces humanas pasajeras y los insultos no deberían ocupar demasiado espacio en las almas bien fundamentadas. Las redes sociales nos han condicionado a creer que todo lo que hacemos, todo lo que pensamos, cada pequeño resentimiento que sentimos y cada desaire irreflexivo ofrecido por un extraño en un teclado distante debe ser marcado y luego respondido por otros, votados a favor o en contra en el circo virtual del consenso caótico en el que perdemos tanto tiempo. Nosotros nos tomamos muy en serio: aburrimos a los demás con los detalles de nuestras dietas, nos preocupamos por nuestros planes de jubilación o nuestros programas de entrenamiento. ¿Cuánto es muy poco, cuánto es demasiado? ¿Algo de esto alguna vez será suficiente?”
El Solideo (sólo a Dios “soli Deo”) o (sombrero de la calavera- skull cap, en inglés) es morado, púrpura o blanco para obispo, cardenal o el Papa, respectivamente. El solideo del Obispo Joseph Kopacz descansa durante la Misa de Hora Santa el 22 de marzo de 2020. (Foto de Tereza Ma)
No hay nada de malo en querer estar en forma o en planear para algún día futuro cuando (con un poco de suerte) todos los entrenamientos e inversiones hayan valido la pena y esté listo para retirarse. Pero mientras hacemos todo eso, vale la pena recordar un dicho judío: “Tú haces planes; Dios se ríe”. Todos nuestros esfuerzos por transitar hacia el siguiente día, o década, y vivir con relativa comodidad dependen de controles que, en última instancia, no poseemos. ¿Cuántas veces hemos escuchado que alguien que “hizo todo bien” en términos de dieta y ejercicio de repente sucumbió a un ataque al corazón que salió de la nada? ¿Cuántas historias podemos contar sobre la pérdida de los ahorros de toda una vida debido a un giro imprevisto del mercado? En general, somos impotentes ante los caprichos de la vida. En lugar de perturbarnos, esa realidad debería ayudar a los cristianos a adoptar una mentalidad diaria de rendición pragmática. Sí, somos responsables de nosotros mismos, de nuestras familias, de nuestros cuerpos, de nuestros vecinos. Somos espíritu y materia y, hasta cierto punto, las consideraciones materiales sí importan. Pero nuestras vidas son breves (“nuestros años son 70, 80 si somos fuertes”, dice el Salmo 90), y nuestro control es, en parte, ilusorio. San Felipe Neri nos recuerda: “Todos los propósitos de Dios son para el bien” y, en última instancia, demuestran ser correctos y justos. Tendemos a olvidar eso cuando estamos estresados por los horarios, tomando en serio todos nuestros errores o dejando que la rudeza de otra persona arruine nuestro día. Por eso es bueno tener una calavera burlona, para ayudarnos a reírnos de nosotros mismos al recordar que toda carne sigue el camino de la hierba que se desvanece y la flor que se marchita.
(Elizabeth Scalia es la editora de cultura de OSV News. Su columna, “It is Good” aparece quincenalmente en OSV News.)
El Día de los Muertos o Día de los Fieles Difuntos es una tradición católica para recordar a las almas de las personas que ya partieron al Padre. Los mexicanos tienen una manera muy peculiar de hacer de este día una celebración de la vida del difunto, trayendo a los altares la representación de la muerte a través de la calavera, pero además la idea del disfrute de la vida, con la comida y bebida que el fallecido disfrutaba. En foto de archivo de 2019, una muestra del altar de Día de Muertos, que año tras año realiza el grupo de jóvenes, bajo la dirección del matrimonio Montoya, para recordar a familiares y amigos de la parroquia de St. Therese Jackson. (Foto de Berta Mexidor)Una niña disfrazada asiste a una vigilia tradicional del Día de los Muertos el 1 de noviembre en el Cementerio Calvary en el Este de Los Ángeles, patrocinado por los Cementerios Católicos de la Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles. (Foto CNS/Víctor Alemán, Vida-Nueva.com)
Por Kate Scanlon WASHINGTON (OSV News) – La Marcha por la Vida celebró su evento anual número 50 el 20 de enero, el primer evento nacional de esta organización luego de la revocación de la decisión Roe vs. Wade que inicialmente llevó a su creación. Activistas citaron una serie de próximos pasos, desde continuar presionando por leyes que limiten el aborto hasta expandir las medidas de la red de seguridad social. El evento de 2023 fue la primera Marcha nacional por la vida desde el fallo del tribunal superior de junio de 2022 en Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization que anuló a Roe. “Si bien la Marcha comenzó como una respuesta a Roe, no terminamos como una respuesta a la revocación de Roe”, dijo Jeanne Mancini, la organizadora de la Marcha, a decenas de miles de personas reunidas en la manifestación previa a la Marcha. “¿Por qué? Porque aún no hemos terminado”.
SOUTHAVEN – El evento dominical del Souper Bowl dirigido por jóvenes a nivel nacional comenzó en 1990 y ha recaudado $33 millones para grupos caritativos. Un joven seminarista comenzó el movimiento juvenil para unir el fútbol y la diversión para unificar a la nación en ayudar a los necesitados, mediante la colecta de dólares y alimentos enlatados que beneficiaran a los de su propia comunidad. En foto de archivo, algunas de las donaciones recibidas en Christ the King. (Foto de Laura Grisham)Pro-life demonstrators carry a banner past the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 20, 2023, for the first time since the high court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion decision June 24, 2022. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
Por Tom Tracy MIAMI (OSV News) – El plan del presidente Joe Biden para abordar la afluencia de solicitantes de asilo que intentan ingresar a los Estados Unidos, incluidos los refugiados en bote que aterrizan en las costas de Florida, probablemente, es más un vendaje que una solución permanente, según la opinión funcionarios de la iglesia del sur de la Florida. Sin embargo, el plan abre la posibilidad a que las parroquias católicas tengan un papel en el patrocinio de algunos solicitantes de asilo. Cientos de migrantes de Cuba y Haití comenzaron a llegar en bote en mayor número a fines de diciembre y las primeras semanas de 2023. El 1 de enero, aproximadamente 300 personas llegaron en bote, como refugiados, al Parque Nacional Dry Tortugas, ubicado a unas 70 millas al oeste de Key West, con 45 personas adicionales ingresando a Key West.
Migrantes haitianos se paran afuera de una casa después de llegar en bote a Summerland Key, Florida, el 14 de marzo de 2022. Citando un empeoramiento continuo de la crisis humanitaria en Haití, la administración Biden anunció el 5 de diciembre que permitiría que más migrantes haitianos, que ya están en los Estados Unidos, soliciten el Estatus de Protección Temporal, o TPS. (Foto de CNS/Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Monroe a través de Reuters)
La atención nacional a la crisis llevó al gobernador de Florida, Ron DeSantis, a firmar una orden ejecutiva que activa a la Guardia Nacional de Florida y otras agencias estatales de aplicación de la ley para brindar un mayor apoyo a los funcionarios locales en los Cayos de Florida. La oficina de DeSantis informó que desde agosto de 2022, las fuerzas del orden público federales, estatales y locales se han encontrado con más de 8,000 migrantes en aguas frente a la costa de Florida. Además, en el año fiscal 2021-2022, más de 220 000 cubanos habrían sido detenidos en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México, casi seis veces más que el año anterior. El presidente Biden dijo a principios de enero que personas de Cuba, Haití, Nicaragua y Venezuela “representaban la mayoría de las personas que viajaban a México para comenzar una nueva vida al llegar a la frontera estadounidense e intentar cruzar”. En respuesta, la administración anunció recientemente que comenzaría a rechazar de inmediato a cubanos, haitianos y nicaragüenses que, sin autorización, cruzan la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México. Esto sigue a un plan anunciado en octubre pasado para limitar la entrada de inmigrantes venezolanos sin autorización el año pasado.
Miles de jóvenes cubanos entre 18 y 35 años llegan a la Florida en barco, 25 años despues que San Juan Pablo II visitó el país. En la foto, niños con banderas cubanas e imágenes del Papa Juan Pablo II marcan posiciones donde podrían tener la oportunidad de ver al pontífice, el día antes de su llegada a La Habana en esta foto de archivo del 20 de enero de 1998. El Papa Francisco escribió una carta a los católicos cubanos para conmemorar la visita de San Juan Pablo II a a isla. (Foto del CNS/Alyssa Banta)
Durante los próximos dos años, la administración de Biden planea aceptar a 30.000 personas por mes de Cuba, Haití, Nicaragua y Venezuela, ofreciéndoles permisos de trabajo si usan “vías legales” para ingresar, como solicitar en sus países de origen; tener patrocinadores elegibles; y pasar la investigación de y verificaciones de antecedentes. Quienes crucen la frontera de Estados Unidos desde México pondrán en peligro sus solicitudes de asilo. “El plan no parece funcionar porque dice que los refugiados pueden entrar por dos años, ¿entonces qué sucede después de esos dos años? ¿Tendremos renovaciones como las que tenemos para las personas con Estatus de Protección Temporal, como los estados en TPS durante 20 años pero sin un camino real a la ciudadanía?” preguntó el arzobispo de Miami Thomas G. Wenski, quien habló con OSV News por teléfono el 13 de enero. “Se requiere que alguien tenga un patrocinador aquí, para que no se conviertan en una carga pública, pero con solo una ventana de dos años para los permisos de trabajo. Uno se pregunta qué tipo de carga supone eso para los miembros de la familia y no aborda el problema de gente que viene en botes”, dijo el arzobispo.
Agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza de EE. UU. a lo largo del río Bravo cerca de Ciudad Juárez, México, disparan balas de goma a los migrantes venezolanos que regresan a México después de cruzar a los Estados Unidos durante una protesta contra las nuevas políticas de inmigración el 31 de octubre de 2022. (Foto CNS/José Luis González, Reuters)
Una verdadera política estadounidense a largo plazo hacia Haití, Cuba, Venezuela y Nicaragua tendría que abordar los llamados factores de “empuje y atracción” que impulsan las migraciones de esos países a los EE. UU., señaló el arzobispo Wenski. La situación en Haití se ha ido convirtiendo en una de violencia generalizada y pobreza sin esperanza, mientras que las malas relaciones entre Estados Unidos y Cuba han exacerbado la disfunción económica en Cuba, señaló. Mientras tanto, EE. UU. enfrenta una escasez de empleados de la industria de servicios luego de la pandemia global, pero la mayoría de los que llegaron a EE. UU. en el último año no pueden trabajar legalmente, pagar impuestos o contribuir a la salud económica de EE. UU., dijo el arzobispo. Randy McGrorty, director ejecutivo de Servicios Legales Católicos de la Arquidiócesis de Miami, advirtió que la cantidad de refugiados que llegan en barco recientemente no es tan grande como la que se vio en las décadas de 1980 y 1990. Dijo que las fronteras terrestres del sur de Estados Unidos siguen siendo el primer punto de entrada para los cubanos y otros. McGrorty también señaló que es probable que entre la mitad y dos tercios de los 30.000 solicitantes de asilo mensuales que la administración de Biden aceptará se dirijan al sur de Florida, donde presentarán sus solicitudes de asilo en los tribunales estadounidenses y donde las poblaciones cubana, haitiana y centroamericana ya están establecidas. McGrorty dijo que aún no está claro si el nuevo programa de libertad condicional de Biden funcionará de manera efectiva para reducir las presiones de la inmigración ilegal en la frontera de EE. UU. y en el mar, pero que el plan introduce una nueva forma de patrocinio de EE. UU. para quienes buscan asilo. “Una cosa que es un concepto muy interesante: no es necesariamente un pariente o una persona el patrocinador; una parroquia o una empresa podría patrocinar a un refugiado”, dijo McGrorty. “El patrocinio por lo general tenía que ser a través de un miembro de la familia o una agencia gubernamental, por lo que ahora una parroquia puede patrocinar a un refugiado y alentaría a las parroquias y las empresas a patrocinar a personas, en particular a trabajadores no calificados. Los hogares individuales también pueden servir como patrocinadores si se investigan adecuadamente, ” agregó. Peter Routsis-Arroyo, director ejecutivo de Caridades Católicas de la Arquidiócesis de Miami, señaló que si bien la afluencia de refugiados en bote este mes ha creado una tormenta mediática menor, la situación aún no ha afectado a las agencias eclesiásticas en la región.
Migrantes, en su mayoría de Nicaragua, que fueron secuestrados en el estado mexicano de Durango y liberados días después por el Ejército Mexicano, cruzan el Río Bravo para entregarse a los agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza de EE. UU. para solicitar asilo en El Paso, Texas, visto desde Ciudad Juárez, México, 11 de diciembre de 2022. (Foto CNS/José Luis González, Reuters)
Pero si las proyecciones se cumplen y el programa de libertad condicional de Biden introduce decenas de miles de solicitantes de asilo adicionales en el área metropolitana de Miami, eso tendrá ramificaciones en la situación de la vivienda local. “Miami es una ciudad tremendamente resiliente. Escuchas sobre estos autobuses con inmigrantes que van a Nueva York, Chicago y Boston, y en el transcurso del último año han visto más de 30 000 o más, mientras que Miami ha recibido 200 000 en ese mismo período del último año y medio”, dijo Routsis-Arroyo. Caridades Católicas invariablemente desempeñará un papel en ayudar a aquellos que “se quedan entre las grietas” del patrocinio y el empleo, dijo, en algunos casos ayudándolos a reubicarse internamente en regiones donde tienen familia o un patrocinador dispuesto. (Tom Tracy es un corresponsal de OSV News que escribe desde Florida.)
VICKSBURG – Tenth graders and second graders from Vicksburg Catholic School gathered for a photo op after the second grade Saints Celebration program. The Sophomores assisted the second graders in learning about their assigned saints to prepare for the program. (Photo by Lindsey Bradley)LELAND – Children of St. James parish celebrated Christmas Eve Mass. (Photo by Peyton Palasini)OXFORD – Christmas Eve Mass at St. John was a success thanks to Gemma Yates, Ian Yates, Jacob Zerangue, Maddie Thornton and John Whelan. (Photo by Tim Walsh)
COLUMBUS – Father Jeffrey Waldrep gives a blessing during Mass on Thursday, January 5. (Photo by Logan Waggoner)
GREENVILLE – Youth play their version of “Dirty Santa,” with another winning ticket being pulled from the pool of tickets at Sacred Heart parishes annual Christmas raffle and party. (Photo by Maurice Mosley)
TUPELO – During arts and crafts with Katya Cruz, students constructed “joy” ornaments, individual “joy” banners and created a group “joy” poster, pictured. (Photo courtesy Rhonda Hanby)
Pope Francis greets retired Pope Benedict XVI at the retired pontiff’s Vatican residence Dec. 23, 2013. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)Pope Francis prays with retired Pope Benedict XVI at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, March 23, 2013. Shortly after his election, Pope Francis traveled by helicopter from the Vatican to Castel Gandolfo for a private meeting with the former pontiff. (CNS photo/Vatican Media via Reuters)Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger greets Pope John Paul II upon the pontiff’s arrival to West Germany in 1980. Pope Benedict died Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95 in his residence at the Vatican.(CNS photo)Pope Benedict XVI and U.S. President Barack Obama clasp hands as they exchange gifts in the pontiff’s private library at the Vatican July 10, 2009. The president was accompanied by his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, right. Pope Benedict died Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95 in his residence at the Vatican. (OSV News photo/Grzegorz Galazka, Catholic Press Photo pool)Pope Benedict XVI, who had an impressive record as a teacher and defender of the basics of Catholic faith, is likely to go down in history books as the first pope in almost 600 years to resign. He is seen among pilgrims during a general audience at the Vatican Nov. 21, 2007. Pope Benedict died Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95 in his residence at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)Pope Benedict XVI is pictured with U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House April 16, 2008. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)Pope Benedict XVI carries a candle during the Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican April 7, 2012. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)Pope John Paul I greets Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Munich and Freising, the future Pope Benedict XVI, during the pontiff’s inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Sept. 3, 1978. Pope Benedict died Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95 in his residence at the Vatican. (CNS photo/KNA)
JACKSON – This issue of Mississippi Catholic is filled with materials about Pope Benedict’s life of service to the church. “From the Archives” would like to share some memories of the pontiff emeritus from Bishop Joseph N. Latino of happy memory.
Every so many years (it used to be strictly five) bishops from each bishops’ conference make a visit to the Vatican and meet with various dicasteries and the Holy Father. This is called an ad limina, which means “to the threshold.” In December of 2004, Bishop Latino made his first ad limina visit as a bishop to Rome and Vatican City. This visit was with the bishops of Region V of the U.S. Region V includes Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
St. John Paul II was the current pope, and we have many photos from that meeting. What we do not have photos of is the visit the Region V bishops made to the Congregation (now called Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose prefect at that time was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.
Bishop Latino relayed that prior to that meeting he had always thought of Cardinal Ratzinger as a stern, somber man, but after the meeting his experience of the man changed that thinking. While some of the other prefects of other dicasteries were somewhat dismissive of the bishops’ questions, Cardinal Ratzinger was extremely gracious, patient, and respectful in answering each question posed to him.
The Cardinal took multi-layered questions and with ease and clarity answered them point by point in a way that built fraternity and dialogue, Bishop remarked. And he did all this in a soft-spoken gentile manner that endeared him to those present. A few months after that visit, St. John Paul succumbed to his human frailty in April of 2005 and the soft-spoken Cardinal became Pope Benedict XVI.
In 2006, the Vatican announced it was the 500th anniversary of the Vatican Museum because in 1506 the famous Laocoön group sculpture was excavated in Rome and placed on display in the Vatican. I always marvel at the way Rome can create a need for a pilgrimage – as if a reason was ever needed to go to Rome.
Therefore, the Diocese of Jackson put together a pilgrimage for December 2006 and Bishop Latino was the leader. We included a Wednesday Papal General Audience as part of the tour. At these audiences, bishops are ushered down to the front, on to the stage, and into chairs to the right of where the Holy Father will sit and teach the faithful gathered.
I remember Bishop Latino was the first bishop to arrive that day and after a short wrestling match with the usher, was escorted down the main aisle to his chair on the stage. For a long time, he was the only bishop on the stage and our group would call out to him to keep him from feeling alone.
Finally, another bishop arrived but unfortunately did not speak English and Bishop Latino did not speak Japanese; but soon the chairs filled, Pope Benedict arrived, and awkward pleasantries and hand gestures departed.
At the end of the audience, each bishop was able to greet the Holy Father and, in the photos, both men have such looks of joy on their faces – two kind shepherds fraternally linked. Bishop Latino always enjoyed sharing the story of this encounter with Pope Benedict.
In 2013, when Pope Benedict announced his retirement, Bishop Latino issued the following statement. I think it reflects Bishop’s respect for the kind soul that was Benedict XVI.
“On behalf of the faithful of the Diocese of Jackson I offer heartfelt prayers for Pope Benedict XVI who has made the decision to resign from the papacy on Feb. 28. Through much prayer and reflection, our Holy Father has made a decision that he feels is in the best interest of our church. The papacy is a very demanding role and position in our church. It takes great wisdom to reach a decision such as this and we admire him for acting prudently on behalf of our church and for his own sake.
“Pope Benedict has led our church since 2005. During this time, he has worked for greater understanding among faith traditions, and spoken out on behalf of truth and justice tempered with mercy. He continued to engage us in a dialogue on these truths and the dangers of moral relativism. He was committed to defending the dignity of the human person as was reflected in his writings and preaching.
“We offer him our fervent prayers for fruitful retirement years, and we thank him for his life of service to our church and indeed the world. We also offer our prayers for the College of Cardinals who guided by the Holy Spirit will soon convene to elect a successor to continue to guide and lead our church in its mission of bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the world.”
R.I.P.
(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)
(OSV NEWS) – Like any bona fide cat lover, Pope Benedict XVI’s face would light up and his hand would reach out at the sight of a fluffy feline – even when that soft bundle of fur was a squirming, feisty lion cub brought to the Vatican by visiting circus performers.
His comments about how animals must be respected as “companions in creation” earned him high marks with animal welfare groups, including the Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
As cats are known to sense approaching cat lovers, Vatican kitties would apparently swarm around him. For example, one day after celebrating Mass at a small church near St. Peter’s Basilica, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger went to the church’s cemetery, which was full of cats, Konrad Baumgartner, an eyewitness and theologian, told Knight Ridder in 2005. “They all ran to him. They knew him and loved him.”
Pope Benedict XVI looks at a lion cub held by a performer of the Medrano Circus during his weekly general audience at the Vatican Jan. 28, 2009. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)
A fellow cardinal who worked under the future pope at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith portrayed him as a kind of Dr. Doolittle.
“I tried to understand the language he used with cats, who were always enchanted when they met him. I thought maybe it was a Bavarian dialect, but I don’t know,” Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone told Vatican Radio in 2005.
While the pope never owned a cat, it was reported he fed the strays that lurked around the building he lived in as a cardinal in Rome.
Being pope, however, prevented him from such daily encounters. And yet he kept a white ceramic cat – crouched next to a silver icon of Our Lady – on his large desk in the papal apartments.
He and his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, also collected plates with images of cats.
His love for creatures and nature, the pope said, came from growing up in the Bavarian countryside. In the small town of Aschau am Inn, his childhood home, “I experienced the beauty of creation,” he said. He would hike and bike the surrounding hills and mountains and play with the many animals his neighbors kept.
Pope Benedict XVI pets Pushkin the cat, held by Father Anton Guziel, at the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Birmingham, England, Sept. 19, 2010. The pope visited the oratory after beatifying Cardinal John Henry Newman. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano)
“I even herded cows,” which “brought me closer to nature, and it was important for me to have had this first experience with God’s creatures and to bond with animals,” he said.
When he later built a home in Pentling, near Regensburg, he became fast friends with the neighbor’s orange cat, Chico, who often wandered into his garden.
The neighbor, Rupert Hofbauer, said he also had a dog, Igor, who frequented the garden, “but the cardinal prefers Chico. There are dog and cat people in the world, and he is definitely a cat person.”
When Chico’s friend became famous as pope, the German “katz” became the ersatz narrator of a papal biography in the children’s book, “Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat.”
After the pope’s retirement, living at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican Gardens meant moving to kitty haven.
The good number of friendly, well cared for cats in the area – including Contessina, an often-photographed black-and-white female – meant finally being back among his feline friends.
By Msgr. Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo VATICAN – The shield chosen by Pope Benedict XVI is very simple: it is in the shape of a chalice. In each of the upper corners there is a “chape” in gold. The “chape” [cape] is a symbol of religion. It indicates an idealism inspired by monastic or, more specifically, Benedictine spirituality.
The principal field of the coat of arms is the central one which is red. At the point of honor of the shield is a large gold shell that has a triple symbolism.
Pope Benedict XVI chose the motto “Cooperatores Veritatis” (Cooperators of the Truth) for his coat of arms. The design of the shield takes inspiration from the monastic and Benedictine traditions of spirituality. Read the full description of his Coat of Arms on the Vatican’s website: https://bit.ly/PopeBenedictCoatofArms.
Its first meaning is theological. It is intended to recall a legend attributed to St. Augustine. Meeting a child on the beach who was trying to scoop up the sea into a hole in the sand, Augustine asked him what he was doing. The child explained his vain attempt and Augustine took it to refer to his own futile endeavour to encompass the infinity of God within the confines of the limited human mind.
The scallop shell, moreover, has been used for centuries to distinguish pilgrims.
Benedict XVI wanted to keep this symbolism alive, treading in the footsteps of John Paul II. The design of large shells that decorated the chasuble he wore at the solemn liturgy for the beginning of his Pontificate, Sunday, April 24, was most evident.
The scallop is also an emblem that features in the coat of arms of the ancient Monastery of Schotten near Regensburg (Ratisbon) in Bavaria, to which Joseph Ratzinger felt spiritually closely bound.
In the corner is a Moor’s head, the ancient emblem of the Diocese of Freising, founded in the eighth century, which became a Metropolitan Archdiocese with the name of München und Freising in 1818, subsequent to the Concordat between Pius VII and King Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria (June 5, 1817).
A brown bear is portrayed in the other corner of the shield, with a pack-saddle on its back. An ancient tradition tells that the first Bishop of Freising, St. Corbinian, set out for Rome on horseback. While riding through a forest he was attacked by a bear that tore his horse to pieces. Corbinian managed to tame the bear and make it carry his baggage. This explains why the bear is shown carrying a pack.
The shield carries the symbols connected to the person who displays it, to his ideals, traditions, programmes of life and the principles that inspire and guide him. The various symbols of rank, dignity and jurisdiction of the individual appear instead around the shield.
It has been a venerable tradition for the Supreme Pontiff to surround his shield with crossed keys, one gold and the other silver, in the form of a St. Andrew’s cross: these have been variously interpreted as symbols of spiritual and temporal power.
Matthew’s Gospel recounts that Christ said to Peter: “I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:19). The keys are therefore the typical symbol of the power that Christ gave to St. Peter and his Successors.
The Papal mitre shown in his arms, is silver and bears three bands of gold (the three powers: Orders, Jurisdiction and Magisterium), joined at the centre to show their unity in the same person.
There is also a completely new symbol in the arms of Pope Benedict XVI: the “pallium.” It is not part of the tradition, at least in recent years, for the Supreme Pontiffs to include it in their arms. It stands for the Pope’s responsibility as Pastor of the flock entrusted to him by Christ.
In general, it is customary to place a ribbon or cartouche below the shield, bearing a motto or a heraldic device. It expresses in a few words an ideal or a programme of life.
In his Episcopal arms, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had chosen the motto “Cooperatores Veritatis.” This remains his aspiration or personal programme but does not appear in his Papal arms, in accordance with the tradition common to the Supreme Pontiffs’ arms in recent centuries.
Pope St. John Paul II would often quote his motto, “Totus Tuus,” although it did not feature in his Papal arms. The absence of a motto in the arms implies openness to all ideals that may derive from faith, hope and charity.
By Gina Christian (OSV NEWS) – Catholic evangelizers are recalling the profound impact the late Pope Benedict XVI had on the Church’s mission of evangelization – a legacy that placed Jesus Christ at the heart of any effort to share the Gospel. “A personal relationship with Jesus – he always came back to that,” said Sherry Weddell, author of “Forming Intentional Disciples” and executive director of the Colorado Springs, Colorado-based Catherine of Siena Institute, which provides parish resources for faith formation in discipleship and evangelization. “Before we can go out and proclaim God, we must first know God ourselves. Pope Benedict XVI knew this was key to evangelize,” said Curtis Martin, founder and CEO of FOCUS, a Catholic outreach to college and university students. In an email to OSV News, Martin noted Pope Benedict significantly advanced the evangelization initiatives of Pope St. John Paul II, seeking to “reawaken the Christian faith in areas where it (had) once thrived, but had declined.”
Pope Benedict XVI arrives for a rally with young people outside St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., April 19, 2008. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)
Martin said he was honored to have been appointed by the late pope, whom he had known “for more than 30 years,” as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, which Pope Benedict established in his 2010 motu proprio “Ubicumque et Semper.” (In June 2022, the council was merged with the former Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples to create the Dicastery for Evangelization.) Pope Benedict “understood the connection between solid faith formation and evangelization,” said Father Hezekias Carnazzo, a Melkite Catholic priest and founding executive director of the adult catechetical Institute of Catholic Culture based in McLean, Virginia. For the late pope, that dynamic required “always required asking the question of who God is,” said Father Carnazzo, noting that Pope Benedict “very clearly answered that question with his encyclical ‘Deus Caritas Est’ (‘God is Love’), in which he reminds us that God is love, and love is the giving of ourselves to the beloved.” That message radiated in the late pope’s writings, said Weddell, who “quoted him extensively” in her book “Forming Intentional Disciples: the Path to Knowing and Following Jesus,” an updated edition of which was published in November by OSV Books. “The language he used was so clear,” Weddell said. “He talked about Jesus as living, present and active in his life, and was seeking … to help others have that same encounter.” Saul Keeton, a former Episcopalian who came into full communion with the Catholic Church, said Pope Benedict’s election marked “the true beginning” of his Catholic formation. “His papacy and his writings on the liturgy helped me to find my own voice,” said Keeton, now the advancement director for Family Missions Company in Abbeville, Louisiana. “I deeply appreciated the way he explained the beauty of the liturgy, and how important it was for us as humans to tap into that.” For many young people, particularly those of post-Millennial or “Gen Z” demographic, “Pope Benedict’s papacy and evangelization was foundational and formative,” said Martin. “He loved young people and brought them … to Jesus. He was their calm shepherd – his trust and his peace, which came from Our Lord, led the way.” Keeton pointed to Pope Benedict’s “very logical approach to exegesis and the fact that it began from a place of faith.” Keeton admitted he was “binging on Benedict podcasts” during his travel to the Jan. 2-6 SEEK23 conference in St. Louis. Yet the late pope’s greatest proclamation of the Gospel may well have been a silent one, said Keeton. Pope Benedict, the first pope to resign in 600 years, “spent the majority of his post-election years primarily as a contemplative intercessor,” said Keeton. “I have to imagine at times it was very lonely for him; he had to have known (his resignation) would be misunderstood. He took on this mystical element, and the suffering was unique.” The late pope’s final years witnessed to all that he had written about the faith, said Weddell. “What we have in him is a brilliant theologian who had lived it,” she said. “He had prayed it through, and you could tell by the way he talked about Jesus, his friend.”
(Gina Christian is a National Reporter for OSV News.)
