(Vatican Radio) The Vatican announced Friday that Pope Francis will make an Apostolic Journey to Colombia from 6 to 11 September 2017.Listen to our report: A communique from the Holy See Press Office confirmed that the Holy Father will visit the cities of Bogotá, Villavicencio, Medellín, and Cartagena:“Accepting the invitation of the President of the Republic and the Colombian bishops, His Holiness the Pope Francis will make an Apostolic Trip to Colombia from 6 to 11 September 2017, visiting the cities of Bogotá, Villavicencio, Medellín and Cartagena. The programme for the trip will be published shortly.”Official Logo and MottoThe logo of the Journey contains the motto of the Pope’s Apostolic Journey: “Let’s take the first step” [Demos el primer paso].A message accompanying the logo says the words refer to "the more than 50 years of violence" which divided Colombia.“The visit of Pope Francis to C...
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican announced Friday that Pope Francis will make an Apostolic Journey to Colombia from 6 to 11 September 2017.
Listen to our report:
A communique from the Holy See Press Office confirmed that the Holy Father will visit the cities of Bogotá, Villavicencio, Medellín, and Cartagena:
“Accepting the invitation of the President of the Republic and the Colombian bishops, His Holiness the Pope Francis will make an Apostolic Trip to Colombia from 6 to 11 September 2017, visiting the cities of Bogotá, Villavicencio, Medellín and Cartagena. The programme for the trip will be published shortly.”
Official Logo and Motto
The logo of the Journey contains the motto of the Pope’s Apostolic Journey: “Let’s take the first step” [Demos el primer paso].
A message accompanying the logo says the words refer to "the more than 50 years of violence" which divided Colombia.
“The visit of Pope Francis to Colombia is a moment of grace and happiness in order to dream about the possibility of transforming our country and taking the first step. The Holy Father is a missionary of reconciliation.”
The message goes on to say the logo represents the Pope’s visit “with the image of the Holy Father walking, as a symbol of action, taking a step to begin to build and to dream, because every change begins with the conversion of the heart (individual) and every change requires a moment to return to encountering one another (collective). It is the moment in our history to discover our identity as a country, which is reflected in the depiction of Colombia’s pre-Columbian figure.”
Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...
