Category: Popes

St Gregory The Great

http://catholicus-maximus.ning.com/profiles/blogs/saint-gregory-the-great

http://catholicus-maximus.ning.com/profiles/blogs/saint-gregory-the-great

Pope Gregory I (c. 540 – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was Pope from 3 September 590 to his death in 604. (Wikipedia)

Saint Gregory the Great

He is not wise to me who is wise in words only, but he who is wise in deeds.
– St Gregory

Pope Francis says ………

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Pope Francis says ………

I have come to tell you that Jesus is Lord.

Please know, Jesus never lets you down!

The Lord knows what to say to you.

Please know the Love and tenderness of Mother Mary never let you down.

And holding on to her mantle and the power that comes from  Jesus’s love on the cross, let us move forward, always forward.

And walk together as brothers and sisters, in the Lord,  forward.

 

 

Pope Francis In Twenty Facts

pope-francis-graphic-biography-montagePope Francis is beginning to look like a good champion of the Faith, and may turn out to be the greatest Pope in the modern history of papacy.

Pope Francis is invigorating the Catholic Church and in so doing also the Christian faith in general.

I have to admit that my favourite pope, (though I am not a practising Roman Catholic anymore – but they say a Catholic will always be a Catholic, just look into the history of Henry VIII!) is Pope Benedict XVI. I was so disappointed when he resigned but I do understand it now. He said that he that he heard from God that it was time for him to go and let someone with more vim and vigour to take over. How right that was!

Since he became in charge of the Papal Seat, Pope Francis has been vocal and proactive.  He has tackled things head-on which is admirable in the short time that he has been the Pope.

Let us get to know him more, below are 20 facts about Pope Francis.

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Pope Francis In Twenty Facts

 

He’s had a girlfriend, he loves the tango, and at one point he worked as a bouncer. Here’s 20 things you didn’t know about this most humble of Popes.

Pope francis twenty things you may not know

Pope Francis is a passionate fan of San Lorenzo Football Club Photo: Reuters

By Harry Alsop

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9931413/Pope-Francis-20-things-you-didnt-know.html

1. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born Dec 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of five children born to an Italian railway worker and his wife.

2. His father, Mario Jorge, emigrated to Argentina from the Piedmont region of Italy.

3. He speaks Italian, German and Spanish fluently, in addition to a smattering of English, French and Portuguese. He can also speak a bit of the Piedmontaise dialect too.

4. He lost part of his lung to infection as a youth.

5. He is a fan of the tango. “I love tango and I used to dance when I was young,” he told Francesca Ambrogetti and Sergio Rubin, the authors of his 2010 biography El Jesuita.

6. He had a girlfriend. “She was one of a group of friends I went dancing with. But then I discovered my religious vocation,” he said to Ambrogetti and Rubin

7. He worked as a bouncer in a Buenos Aires bar to earn money as a student.

8. He is a passionate fan of San Lorenzo Football Club, his local team. They were the first Argentine team to win the domestic double, in 1972.

9. His favourite painting is The White Crucifixion, painted by Marc Chagall in 1938. The painting shows Jesus being crucified on the cross, wearing a prayer shawl as a symbol that he is Jewish. The painting originally showed a soldier with a swastika on his armband burning down a synagogue.

10. His favourite film is Babette’s Feast, a 1987 Danish drama directed by Gabriel Axel.

An early 1950’s picture of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, right, posing with unidentified schoolmates (AP)

11. He studied philosophy at the Catholic University of Buenos Aires and also has a master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires.

12. He was a teacher of literature, psychology, philosophy and theology before becoming the Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

13. He is the co-author of “Sobre el Cielo y la Tierra (On Heaven and Earth)”, which can be purchased for Kindle.

14. He was previously Archbishop of Buenos Aires, from 1998 to 2013. He was known during this time to try and set an example for others, eschewing the extravagant robes of his position for the humble robes of a simple priest.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, centre, speaking with a passanger during a travel in metro in Buenos Aires (Ediciones B/EPA)

15. He used public transport rather than taxis or a chauffeured car to get around and lived in a small flat with an older priest and made all his own meals, despite having access to the Archbishop’s quarters and a chef.

16. He was made a Cardinal by John Paul II in 2001.

17. During the 2005 conclave in which he was runner up, he was reportedly the victim of a smear campaign by other, more liberal members of the Jesuit order, who claimed that he never smiled.

18. He travelled to the conclave in Rome on an economy flight.

19. Francis is the first non-European pope since Gregory III, who was born in modern-day Syria and elected in 731.

20. He is apparently not Francis I but Pope Francis. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi explains: “It will become Francis I after we have a Francis II.” Pope John Paul I, the last pope to affix a ‘I’, decided to attach it himself.

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Latest endeavour of the Pope is an invitation to engaged couple to attend a special meeting with him on St Valentine’s Day.  How human and lovely is that?!!!

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Saint John Paul The Great (Pope Paul II)

“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”
– St John Paul The Great

Saint John Paul The Great (Pope Paul II)

Darkness can only be scattered by light, hatred can only be conquered by love.
– St John Paul The Great

Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity.  Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.
– St John Paul The Great

Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say.
– St John Paul The Great

the distinctive mark of the Christian,today more than ever, must be love for the poor, the weak, the suffering.
– St John Paul The Great

The truth is not always the same as the majority decision.
– St John Paul the Great
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Update:

John Paul II was canonised on 27 April 2014, alongside Pope John XXIII.  He’s now known as Pope Saints John Paul II or Saints John Paul the Great.

He made history during his term:

  • He was the second longest serving pope in modern history (The longest was Pope Pius IX)

; he reigned for 27 years.

  • He was the first non-Italian pope since 1523.
  • He helped end communist ruling in his home country, Poland.
  • He’s one of the most well travelled world leaders.
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Pope Saint John Paul II Born Karol Józef Wojtyła

I still remember when Pope John Paul II first came to the Philippines in 1981. I was in college then but we were asked to line up Roxas Boulevard and wait for the Pope’s arrival. We were advised to shout Totus Tuus to the Pope.  They actually did not tell us what it meant. But we said it anyway with so much gusto. Totus Tuus means Totally Yours, which was the motto of Pope John Paul II.

Pope John Paul II was much beloved in the Philippines.  In February of 1981, he beatified Lorenzo Ruiz, who became our very first Filipino saint.  The beatification was attended by the thousands in Luneta.

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3rd July 2013

Apparently the saintly Pope is officially being made into a saint. They reckon that he will be a saint before the end of the year. He will be canonized at the same time as John XXIII (23), the good pope.

Pope Francis has to give his final approval.

New Pope Elected

Religious Leader

 

New Pope Elected


At 6.19 pm (7.19pm) white smoke issued from the most watched chimney in the world verified by the chiming bells of St Peters.

Just over 24 hours when the college of cardinals conclave convened; 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide have a new spiritual leader.

At  6.48 pm (7.48) Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI appears on the balcony.

 at 7.15 (8.15) pm Jean-Louis Tauran announces the fateful words “Habemus Papam”, or “We have a Pope”

7.20 (8.20)pm Cardinal  Bergoglio  the 76-year-old Archbishop(he became Cardinal in 2001) of Buenos Aires is named as the new Pope

His name will be Pope Francis I

He is from Argentina of Italian parentage. A Cardinal said  The church will be blessed. He is known to be a conservative, spiritual, humble and will look to be a reformer

Not since 741 has a Pope has been chosen outside of Europe

He is 76 and lost a lung as a child

A river of humanity streams around St Peters wanting to be near the new Pope

 At 7.35 (8.35)pm  The curtains to the balcony part  & open, Pope Francis I, clad in white, appears on the balcony of St Peter’s before the mass of humanity below. He speaks, makes a small joke, and asks the crowd to pray for him  He then blesses the screaming crowd and worldwide Christians.

 

Good luck and God bless the new pope, Pope Francis I.