In the spirit of Mary

Portugal is eagerly looking forward to the forthcoming visit of Benedict XVI (May 11-14). Over the past weeks, as SIR amply reported, the Portuguese bishops issued a Pastoral Note in which they convey their hope that the visit will not be remembered as “an occasional – albeit largely attended and festive – event”. Rather, they said, “it ought to constitute the seed of spiritual, apostolic and social renewal”. These words appear to have been fully appreciated by Portuguese faithful. Indeed, the general coordinator of the visit Msgr. Carlos Azevedo, on the official website www.bentoxviportugal.pt, says it already bore “fruits”. The first fruits. “We acknowledge surging dynamism – said Msgr. Azevedo – which is gratifying. We received phone-calls of people who said that they wished to be there, to help and participate. And even though it’s too late to follow through their proposals, the wave of enthusiasm is remarkable”. “People are touched when they perceive someone else as different, since that person not only represents the stature of a government. That person carries the burden of what he represents – said the auxiliary bishop of Lisbon – and this is what people perceive, causing them to pulsate and burst of joy; leading to their renewal. Let us hope that such enthusiasm isn’t affected by the economic difficulties which we all know are causing serious concerns to too many”. For Msgr. Azevedo “it will be very interesting to analyse the impact of the event on those working in the media environment, who will acknowledge the high level of the Church’s organization and of individuals’ formation, in their attentiveness and in their approach to the life of the Church”. Among the fruits of the preparations under way over the past months, “people, and Christian believers in particular, have come to learn more of the figure of Pope Benedict XVI”, the prelate said, recalling that “some 50 different volumes regarding Benedict XVI, are available in Portuguese in bookshops across the nation”. “The Pope is highly esteemed and appreciated for his ideas. Parishes and Christians have acknowledged this fact with the ongoing preparations, and this is a fruit that has been borne even before his arrival”.Words of hope. Portuguese Father Duarte da Cunha, Secretary General of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) said that Portugal awaits words “of hope” and “of thrust towards the future”. “In recent times Portugal has become a depressed Country, due to the crisis in the economy and in terms of the progressive departure from faith”, Fr. Da Cunha told SIR Europe. “The population is losing all hopes, and need to recover the motivations for joy. People long for words of realism and for a positive thrust towards the future”. Father Da Cunha, who recently returned from Portugal and will soon depart to accompany the apostolic visit, confirmed that his Country “is taking this trip very seriously, and not only among Church faithful but the public opinion at national level as well. There is much enthusiasm and this warm reception is visible in the posters put up along the streets; a sincere, uncritical attitude is being perceived”. Father Duarte da Cunha also believes that “Benedict XVI’s choice going to Lisbon, Fatima and Oporto is not incidental. Lisbon is Portugal’s capital city, where the Holy Father will meet representatives of the cultural environment, and there are great expectations for what the Pope will say on this occasion. In Fatima the Pope will serve as pilgrim among other pilgrims, while Porto is located in the North of the Country, which is the area that was most affected by the economic crisis. Also the youth are preparing to welcome the Pope. They will salute him at the airport, and will follow the Holy Father along the entire apostolic visit”. On May 11, the day of his arrival, “they organized a serenade in front of the nunciature where His Holiness will be staying”. A Marian emphasis. On May 4 the Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi presented the program of the 15th apostolic visit of the Holy Father outside of Italy. The cultural environment, the members of the clergy and the social pastoral care, are the object of three special meetings that Benedict XVI will preside over in the visit whose motto is “Together With You We Will Walk in Hope”, Father Lombardi said. Indeed, the Visit will have a Marian emphasis. The Holy Father will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the beatification of the little shepherds Jacinta and Francisco Marto who, together with their cousin Lucia dos Santos, who died in 2005, were the witnesses of Our Lady’s apparitions in 1917. For Father Lombardi, Fatima is “a Marian shrine in which events occurred with which Benedict XVI has been personally concerned in a very profound way, also from the point of view of theology and spirituality. And, of course, Fatima is a place where one extends one’s gaze for a meditation on history,” said Father Lombardi. Benedict XVI is the third Pope that visits Fatima after Paul VI (1967) and John Paul II (1982, 1991 e 2000).