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(Vatican Radio)  On Sunday morning Pope Francis leaves the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and flies east, headed for Baku, the Azerbaijani capital and largest city on the Caspian Sea.

There he will meet with Sheik Allashukur Pashazade, head of the majority Muslim community which makes up around 85% percent of the rapidly developing nation. He’ll take part in an interreligious encounter with leaders of all the faith groups, but he’ll also celebrate Mass at the only Catholic parish in the country, which serves the few hundred local and foreign members of this tiny community.

Pope John Paul II set up the mission in Baku, run by Salesian priests and supported by sisters of Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity, just ahead of his own historic pastoral visit to the former Soviet nation in 2002.

As head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Cardinal Fernando Filoni looks after this tiny Catholic community today. He talked to Philippa Hitchen about the significance of Pope Francis’ visit there….

Listen to the full interview:

Cardinal Filone says there are two levels to this papal visit; the first level is the invitation from the government, building on Pope John Paul II’s visit which opened, in a very structural form, the presence of Catholics in Azerbaijan.

The second level, he says, is religious and includes all the components of Azerbaijan, the Shiite Muslim majority, Christians belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church, Jews and others. For the Catholics, of course, he adds, this visit means the Holy Father does not think only of the big communities but instead “all of the communities, especially the small ones, have a place in the heart of the Church and of the Holy Father”.

Asked about the relationship between this tiny Catholic community and the vast majority of Muslims, the cardinal says “the relationship is very good”, as he witnessed during his own 2012 visit there. The leader of the Muslim community, Sheik Allashukur Pashazade, the Russian Orthodox Archbishop Aleksandr, and the Apostolic Prefect, Salesian Father Vladimír Fekete, together with the president of the Jewish community, Ikhiilov, meet quite frequently, he says.

While the government of Azerbaijan is keen to maintain these peaceful relationship, the cardinal says, the different communities enjoy freedom of worship and religious rights

Commenting on Pope Francis’ recent call for peace in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region during his June visit to Armenia, Cardinal Filoni says “I am sure the Holy Father will appeal again also in Azerbaijan. It is an appeal for peace, understanding, comprehension, and for solving the problems through contact and relationships”.

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(Vatican Radio) On Sunday morning, Pope Francis concluded his two-day visit to Georgia before making his way to Azerbaijan, the last stop on his journey to the Caucasus nations.

The Pope departed by air from Georgia’s Tbilisi international airport at around 8:00 local time following a departure ceremony, thus wrapping up his two day visit to the nation.

The papal plane then landed in Baku’s Heydar Aliyev international airport shortly before 9:30 in the morning local time. Upon landing, the Holy Father was greeted by the first deputy prime minister of Azerbaijan, Yaqub Eyyubov, as well as other authorities.

The main event of Pope Francis’ visit to Azerbaijan is the celebration of Mass at the Church of the Immaculate, the Salesian center of Baku, followed by lunch with the Salesian community.

Other events include a courtesy visit to the president of the republic, Ilham Heydar, and a meeting with authorities at the Heydar Aliyev Centre.

The visit also includes a private meeting between Pope Francis and the Sheikh of the Muslims of the Caucasus in the Heydar Aliyev Mosque, and another private meeting with the Orthodox bishop of Baku and the president of the Jewish community.

Pope Francis is scheduled to depart from Heydar Aliyev international airport at 7:15 in the evening, and is expected to arrive in Rome at 10:00.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Sunday at the Salesian centre in Baku, the central event of his 10-hour visit to Azerbaijan.

The Pope’s homily, delivered to the congregation gathered in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, centred on the Lord’s call for Christian’s to live in faith and in service.

Below, please find the official English language translation of Pope Francis’ prepared homily:

Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis

Holy Mass, Baku, Church of the Immaculate Conception

2 October 2016

The word of God presents us today with two essential aspects of the Christian life: faith and service.  With regard to faith, two specific requests are made to the Lord.

The first is made by the Prophet Habakkuk, who implores God to intervene in order to re-establish the justice and peace which men have shattered by violence, quarrels and disputes: “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (Hab 1:2), pleads the Prophet.  God, in response, does not intervene directly, does not resolve the situation in an abrupt way, does not make himself present by a show of force.  Rather, he invites patient waiting, without ever losing hope; above all, he emphasizes the importance of faith, since it is by faith that man will live (cf. Hab 2:4).  God treats us in the same way: he does not indulge our desire to immediately and repeatedly change the world and other people.  Instead, he intends primarily to heal the heart, my heart, your heart, and the heart of each person; God changes the world by transforming our hearts, and this he cannot do without us.  The Lord wants us to open the door of our hearts, in order to enter into our lives.  This act of opening to him, this trust in him is precisely “the victory that overcomes the world, our faith” (1 Jn 5:4).  For when God finds an open and trusting heart, then he can work wonders there.

But to have faith, a lively faith, is not easy; and so we pass to the second request, which the Apostles bring to the Lord in the Gospel: “Increase our faith!” (Lk 17:6).  It is a good question, a prayer which we too can direct to the Lord each day.  But the divine response is surprising and here too turns the question around: “If you had faith…”.  It is the Lord who asks us to have faith.  Because faith, which is always God’s gift and always to be asked for, must be nurtured by us.  It is no magic power which comes down from heaven, it is not a “talent” which is given once and for all, not a special force for solving life’s problems.  A faith useful for satisfying our needs would be a selfish one, centred entirely on ourselves.  Faith must not be confused with well-being or feeling well, with having consolation in our heart that gives us inner peace.  Faith is the golden thread which binds us to the Lord, the pure joy of being with him, united to him; it is a gift that lasts our whole life, but bears fruit only if we play our part.

And what is our part?  Jesus helps us understand that it consists of service. In the Gospel, immediately following his words on the power of faith, Jesus speaks of service.  Faith and service cannot be separated; on the contrary, they are intimately linked, interwoven with each other.   In order to explain this, I would like to take an image very familiar to you, that of a beautiful carpet.  Your carpets are true works of art and have an ancient heritage.  The Christian life that each of you has, also comes from afar.  It is a gift we received in the Church which comes from the heart of God our Father, who wishes to make each of us a masterpiece of creation and of history.  Every carpet, and you know this well, must be made according to a weft and a warp; only with this form can the carpet be harmoniously woven.  So too in the Christian life: every day it must be woven patiently, intertwining a precise weft and warp: the weft of faith and the warp of service.  When faith is interwoven with service, the heart remains open and youthful, and it expands in the process of doing good.  Thus faith, as Jesus tells us in the Gospel, becomes powerful and accomplishes marvellous deeds. If faith follows this path, it matures and grows in strength, but only when it is joined to service.

But what is service?  We might think that it consists only in being faithful to our duties or carrying out some good action.  For Jesus it is much more.  In today’s Gospel, and in very firm and radical terms, he asks us for complete availability, a life offered in complete openness, free of calculation and gain.  Why is he so exacting?  Because he loved us in this way, making himself our servant “to the end” (Jn 13:1), coming “to serve, and to give his life” (Mk 10:45).  And this takes place again every time we celebrate the Eucharist: the Lord comes among us, and as much as we intend to serve him and love him, it is always he who precedes us, serving us and loving us more than we can imagine or deserve.  He gives us his very own life.  He invites us to imitate him, saying: “If anyone serves me, he must follow me” (Jn 12:26).

And so, we are not called to serve merely in order to receive a reward, but rather to imitate God, who made himself a servant for our love.  Nor are we called to serve only now and again, but to live in serving.  Service is thus a way of life; indeed it recapitulates the entire Christian way of life: serving God in adoration and prayer; being open and available; loving our neighbour with practical deeds; passionately working for the common good.

For Christians too, there are temptations which lead us away from the path of service and end up by rendering life pointless.  Here too we can identify two forms.  One is that of allowing our hearts to grow lukewarm.  A lukewarm heart becomes self-absorbed in lazy living and it stifles the fire of love.  The lukewarm person lives to satisfy his or her own convenience, which is never enough, and in that way is never satisfied; gradually such a Christian ends up being content with a mediocre life.  The lukewarm person allocates to God and others a “percentage” of their time and their own heart, never spending too much, but rather always trying to economize.  And so, he or she can lose the zest for life: rather like a cup of truly fine tea, which is unbearable to taste when it gets cold.  I am sure, however, that when you look to the example of those who have gone before you in faith, you will not let your hearts become lukewarm.  The whole Church, in showing you special affection, looks to you and offers you encouragement: you are a little flock that is so precious in God’s eyes.          

There is a second temptation, which we can fall into not so much because we are passive, but because we are “overactive”: the one of thinking like masters, of giving oneself only in order to gain something or become someone.  In such cases service becomes a means and not an end, because the end has become prestige; and then comes power, the desire to be great. “It shall not be so among you”, Jesus reminds all of us, “but whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Mt 20:26).  This is the way the Church grows and is adorned.  Returning to our image of the carpet, and applying it to your fine community: each of you is like a magnificent silk thread.  Only if you are woven together, however, will the different threads form a beautiful composition; on their own, they are of no use.  Stay united always, living humbly in charity and joy; the Lord, who creates harmony from differences, will protect you. 

May we be aided by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and by the saints, especially Saint Teresa of Calcutta, the fruits of whose faith and service are in your midst.  Let us recall some of her noble words to summarize today’s message: “The fruit of faith is love.  The fruit of love is service.  The fruit of service is peace” (A Simple Path, Introduction).

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday sent a telegram to Georgia’s president, expressing his gratitude for the hospitality he received during his two-day pastoral visit to the Caucasus nation.

The telegram was sent to President Giorgi Margvelashvili while the Pope was in flight on his way to Azerbaijan to begin the second leg of his journey.

See the text of Pope Francis’ telegram to the president of Georgia:

His excellency Giorgi Margvelashvili

President of the republic of Georgia

Tbilisi

As I leave Georgia for my pastoral visit to Azerbaijan, I express my heartfelt appreciation to your excellency and the beloved people of the nation for your generous welcome and hospitality.  Upon all of you I willingly invoke God’s abundant blessings of peace and prosperity.

Franciscus pp.

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Vatican City, Oct 2, 2016 / 01:31 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis celebrated Mass immediately after landing in Azerbaijan Sunday, telling faithful gathered in the small church that faith and service are the heart of Christian life, and are woven together like the different threads of a carpet.

“Faith and service cannot be separated; on the contrary, they are intimately linked, interwoven with each other,” the Pope said Oct. 2.

To help make the concept more concrete, Pope Francis used the image of carpet weaving, which is an ancient tradition in Azerbaijan.

Traditionally handmade in different sizes and with a dense texture, the Azerbaijani rug since ancient times has been used to cover to floors or decorate walls, sofas, beds, chairs and tables. Carpet making is typically a family tradition passed down orally and through practice, mostly through women.

In his homily, Pope Francis pointed to the two processes of “wefting” and “warping.” In their technical definition, the terms refer to two types of thread used to weave the finished textile product.

The warp is the tightly stretched threads that run lengthwise and form the core of the fabric, whereas the weft is the thread woven between the warp to create the different patterns.

“Your carpets are true works of art,” the Pope said, explaining that each one must be “harmoniously woven” with the warp and the weft. The same goes for the Christian life: “every day it must be woven patiently, intertwining a precise weft and warp: the weft of faith and the warp of service.”

“When faith is interwoven with service, the heart remains open and youthful, and it expands in the process of doing good,” he said, adding that if faith follows this path, “it matures and grows in strength, but only when it is joined to service.”

Pope Francis traveled to Azerbaijan on the last of this three-day trip to there and Georgia, both of which have a small minority Catholic presence. Azerbaijan marks the first time the Pope has traveled to a majority Shi’ite nation. Georgia was a majority Georgian Orthodox.

After landing at the Heydar Aliyev airport of Baku earlier this morning, Francis celebrated Mass at the Church of the Immaculate in the Salesian Center of Baku, the only Catholic church in Azerbaijan.

Originally built in 1915, the church was destroyed by the communist regime in 1931, and the pastor sent to a forced labor camp, where he later died. After the end of Soviet rule in the country, the Catholics in the country began to regroup.

It was after St. John Paul II’s visit in 2002 that the Catholic community was finally able to purchase the land to rebuild the church, which was completed in 2009. It is believed that Apostle Bartholomew was martyred in Azerbaijan, near Baku, in 71 AD.

In his reflections on faith, Francis pointed God’s response to the Habakkuk in the First Reading, in which the prophet asked God to step in and re-establish the justice and peace that had been shattered by violence and disagreements.

Instead of jumping in, God “does not intervene directly,” and nor does not resolve the situation “in an abrupt way” or make himself present with force. Rather, “he invites patient waiting, without ever losing hope; above all, he emphasizes the importance of faith.”

God treats us in the same way, he said, explaining that he doesn’t “indulge our desire to immediately and repeatedly change the world and other people,” but rather seeks to heal the heart of the person.

“God changes the world by transforming our hearts, and this he cannot do without us,” he said, adding that “when God finds an open and trusting heart, then he can work wonders there.”

Having faith isn’t always easy, he said, and pointed to the Apostles’ petition to Jesus in the Gospel of Luke to “increase our faith.”

Jesus’ response “is surprising,” because he turns the question back on them and says “if you had faith…” In this answer, the Lord asks us to have faith, he said, adding that faith is as a gift from God that must always be asked for, faith has to be nurtured.

“It is no magic power which comes down from heaven,” and nor is it “a special force for solving life’s problems.”

A faith that satisfies our needs “would be a selfish one, centered entirely on ourselves,” Francis said, adding that faith shouldn’t be confused with well-being or feeling good, nor with having a consolation in our heart that brings inner peace.

“Faith is the golden thread which binds us to the Lord, the pure joy of being with him, united to him; it is a gift that lasts our whole life, but bears fruit only if we play our part.”

When it comes to service, this doesn’t mean just fulfilling our duties or doing some good act, but “is much more,” Francis said, noting how in the Gospel, Jesus asks “in very radical terms” for our complete availability, “a life offered in complete openness, free of calculation and gain.”

The Pope then cautioned against two temptations that Christians face which lead away from service and end up “rendering life pointless.” These temptations, he said, are allowing ourselves to grow lukewarm, and to think “like masters.”

“A lukewarm heart becomes self-absorbed in lazy living and it stifles the fire of love,” he said, explaining that a lukewarm person “lives to satisfy his or her own convenience, which is never enough, and in that way is never satisfied.”

Gradually Christians like this end up being content with mediocrity, allocating to God and others only a percentage of their time, “never spending too much, but rather always trying to economize.”

Rather than being passive, the second temptation of “thinking like masters” centers on being too active, the Pope observed, explaining that a person like this only gives of themselves “only in order to gain something or become someone.”

“In such cases service becomes a means and not an end, because the end has become prestige; and then comes power, the desire to be great,” he said, but cautioned that the Church “grows and is adorned” only through service.

Pope Francis concluded his homily by returning to the image of the carpet, telling the local community that “each of you is like a magnificent silk thread.”

However, he stressed that only if you are woven together will the different threads form a beautiful composition; on their own, they are of no use,” and urged Azerbaijanis to always be united, humbly living in joy and charity.

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(Vatican)  Seeing is believing!  And for that you should have been here, not only to believe, but to experience in all of your senses and much more what a typical Indonesian welcome and hospitality is like in the northernmost province of North Sulawesi.   I’m talking about the village of Tataaran, some 40 kms south of the provincial capital, Manado.  It was Friday night, the eve of the of the Oct.1-6 Indonesian Youth Day (IYD) that is being hosted by the Diocese of Manado, whose jurisdiction stretches across the provinces of North Sulawesi, Gorantalo and Central Sulawesi.  The theme of the event is, “The Joy of Gospel Amidst a Plural Society in Indonesia”.
For the Second Indonesian Youth Day, which follows from the first one in October 2012 in Sanggau, West Kalimantan, 2600 young men and women from Indonesia’s 37 dioceses have been assigned to 37 of Manado’s parishes.  The first three days have been dedicated to participants living in and participating in the normal life of the local families.   The Parish of St. Anthony of Padua in Tataaran village has shown its large heart, taking in 63 young guests who for the next three days will be ‘members’ of 63 different families.   
These guests arrived in Tataaran on 30th September to a tumultuous welcome by the parish and the neighbourhood, which to an outsider would seem a carnival.  The young people arrived like VIPs, with their vehicles escorted by the police, while other police controlled the crowd and traffic.  A short distance away from St. Anthony’s Church, the young guests, clad in their blue IYD T-shirts, got off their vehicles and the leaders were garlanded.   The procession to the church began with a young guest holding aloft a wooden cross, while spear-wielding performers clad in red costume and feathers, large bird beaks and animal skulls as headgear, led the way dancing the fiery Kabasaran, a traditional Minahasan war dance from North Sulawesi.  
In front of the Church, Parish Priest Fr. Christian Santie welcomed his 63 guests to deafening cheers and applause by the crowd, that included not just Catholics but also Protestants, Muslims and others, proof of the great spirit of tolerance, harmony and brotherhood reigning among religions in the region.  Fr. Christian took the cross from his guest and accompanied by processional dance entered the church and set it up in front of the altar.  But a typical Sulawesi welcome is never complete without a meal which soon followed after the spirited rendering of the official theme song of the Indonesian Youth Day.  
After three days of live-in programme, the Indonesia Youth Day will be officially inaugurated on Oct. 4 at Manado City’s Klabat Stadium, where all the participants will gather for a Mass, cultural shows, and dinner, an event which the provincial governor,  the Apostolic Nuncio, the mayor and 5 district chiefs are expected to attend.  

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