https://www.facebook.com/1562418210677446/

Catholic, Rome (2026)

11/02/2019

On October 6, 1536, a man named William Tyndale, a man to whom we all owe more than we'll ever know, was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned. His crime, translating the Bible into English. The fact that you have a Bible in our language is largely due to his labors, and many of the very phrases you read in it retain the flavor of his understanding of the Greek and Hebrew.

03/01/2018

Pope Benedict IX reigned as pope, not once, not twice, but on three separate occasions. He was also the first pope to resign and the youngest ever elected.

...The only official requirements to being elected pope are to be male and to be a baptized Catholic. However, don’t hold your breath – the last time a non-Cardinal was elected was over 600 years ago. That makes being elected to the papacy an incredible and literally once in a life time honor, to be elected the actual Vicar of Jesus Christ. In fact, old Church traditions would have the pontiff-elect refuse the office twice to show the proper reverence before finally accepting. But can you believe there was a pontiff who held the office of the papacy not once or twice, but three total times?

The papacy of Pope Benedict IX is the one of the most unique in the Church’s history. He was the youngest pope ever elected, the first verified pope to ever resign, and the only person to ever hold the office more than once – a total of three times.

Born Theophylactus of Tusculum, he first ascended to the papacy at the age of 20, although some historians place his age at 11 or 12. He began his first and longest term as pope in October of 1032, taking the papal name Benedict IX. it is traditionally said he led a rather dissolute life, and his young age and inexperience made him unqualified for the papacy. However, in matters of theology and Church functions he was entirely orthodox.

In 1044, Benedict IX was deposed by a crowd who drove him from the Lateran Palace over charges of immorality and living a scandalous lifestyle, ending his first term as pope. Pope Sylvester III was elected to succeed him. However, Sylvester III did not sit on the Chair of Peter for more than four months before Benedict IX returned with an army and retook the papacy in the Spring of 1045, beginning his second term.

Not even a month passed in his second term before Benedict IX decided he wished to marry. Benedict IX offered the papacy to his godfather, John Gratian, provided he pay him a hefty sum in return for becoming Pope Gregory VI in 1045. However, Benedict IX soon became bored with life and returned to Rome in 1046, taking the city and the the papacy with it, while Gregory VI continued to be recognized as the true pope. At the same time, Sylvester III reasserted his claim to the papacy.

With three separate claims to the papacy, Emperor Henry III called for the Council of Sutri, in which all three claimants were deposed, and Pope Clement II installed as the new pope. However, Benedict IX did not accept his deposition, and when Clement II died of mysterious causes in in 1047, Benedict IX again seized the throne by force, beginning his third term in November of 1047.

In July of 1048, Benedict IX was forced out of Rome by German soldiers, ending his third term, and then excommunicated for failing to appear on charges of simony. He was sent to live out the end of his days at the Abbey of Grottaferrata. The abbot recounted that before his death in 1056, Benedict IX repented for his sins, made penance, and was welcomed into full communion with the Church.

All three terms of Pope Benedict IX were strife with harsh accusations of living an immoral, scandalous, and dissolute life. However, the late Oxford University historian Reginald Lane Poole suggests these accusations were made by his incredibly hostile political enemies, saying that,

“In a time of acute political hostility, accusations, as we know too well, are made and are believed, which in a calmer time would never have been suggested.”

15/11/2017

Pope Francis gets $237,000 Lamborghini as gift, but he puts it up for auction to raise money for charity

Lamborghini gave Pope Francis a personalised white supercar on Wednesday, but he put it up for auction to raise money for charity rather than give up his trademark popemobile.

The Huracan sports car, which boasts a 610 metric horsepower, was blessed by the pontiff, who bent to scrawl his signature on its gleaming bonnet before it was sent off to Sotheby's auction house.
The supercar usually goes for around 200,000 euros ($237,000), but this model -- featuring gold stripes and gold-rimmed wing mirrors in homage to the pope's gold-tipped stole -- is expected to beat that.
The money raised will go to four charitable projects, including one aimed at rebuilding the homes and churches of persecuted Christians in the Nineveh Plains in Iraq.
The Lamborghini will also help fund an Italian association helping victims of human trafficking and prostitution rings, as well as two organisations active in Africa aimed at supporting vulnerable women and children.
It is not the first time the Argentine has received a high-speed gift: in 2014 he was given a Harley Davidson motorbike and jacket, both of which he auctioned off for charity.
The famously humble pontiff is more of a fan of buses.
He opted to ride one the day after his election in 2013 instead of taking a limousine, and regularly used them in his homeland Argentina instead of taxis.
The pope, who loves to be close to the people, has stuck doggedly to using his open-topped popemobile to move through the crowds at masses at both the Vatican and on foreign trips, despite security fears.
He has stayed faithful to the white all-terrain vehicles with bubble tops despite an accident in Colombia this year in which he lost his balance while it was moving and ended up with a black eye.
Historically, popes moved around on a "sedia gestatoria", a ceremonial red silk-covered throne which was carried on shoulders until the 20th century, when it was swapped for the popemobile.

29/09/2017

THIS IS WHY I'M CATHOLIC!
1. The Catholic Church gave us the Gregorian
calendar which we all use today.
2. The Catholic Church gave us the date for
Easter.
3. The Catholic Church gave us the date for
Christmas which means Christ-Mass.
The remains of all of the Apostles are in Catholic
Churches, and so are all of the Gospel writers.
Note! Some relics are divided between Catholic
Churches.
St. Peter is in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
St. Paul is in St. Paul's Church in Rome.
St. Matthew is in the Cathedral of St. Matthew in
Messina, Sicily.
St. James the Greater is in St. James Church in
Compostela Spain.
St. James the Less (the Just) is in the Basilica
of the Holy Apostles in Rome.
St. Bartholomew is in St. Bartholomew-in-the-
island Church in Rome.
St. Andrew is in the Cathedral of Amalfi in Italy.
St. Philip is in the Church of the Dodici Apostoli
in Rome, Basilica of the Holy Apostles.
St. Simon is in the Vatican, under the Altar of
the Crucifixion.
St. Jude is in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
St. Thomas is in the Cathedral of Saint Thomas
in Mylapore, India.
St. Matthias is in St. Matthews Abbey in Trier
Germany, and in St. Mary Major Basilica in
Rome.
St. John is in the ruins of the Basilica of St.
John in Ephesus Turkey.
"You are built upon the foundation of the
Apostles and Prophets with Jesus Christ Himself
as the Chief Corner Stone."
Ephesians 2:20.
Even though he was not an Apostle, he did write
the Gospel of Mark.
St. Mark is in St. Mark's Church in Venice, Italy.
Even though he was not an Apostle, he did write
the Gospel of Luke.
St. Luke is in the Basilica of Santa Giustina in
Padua, Italy.
The first Christian Martyr. Acts 7:60
St. Stephen is in Rome in the Basilica of St.
Lawrence Outside the Walls.
The first person to arrive at the tomb of the
Risen Christ. John 20:1
St. Mary Magdalene is in the Basilica of St.
Maximin in Villalata, France.
He produced the first Bible containing both the
Old and New Testaments, the Latin Vulgate. St.
Jerome is in St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome.
We know from the many authentic Relics that
the Catholic Church has in its possession. Among
them are:
1. The Relic of the True Cross on which Jesus
Christ was crucified. John 19:17-18
2. The "INRI" inscription from the True Cross,
called "Titulus Crucis". John 19-19
3. The Nails which held Jesus to the cross. John
20:25
4. The Lance Point of Saint Longinus which
pierced the side of Jesus. John 19:34
5. The Crown of Thorns and the individual thorns
from it. John 19:2
6. The Table used at the Last Supper is in St.
John Lateran Basilica in Rome. Matthew 26:20
7. The Scala Santa, the steps which Jesus Christ
ascended on His way to meet Pontius Pilate.
8. The Chains of Saint Peter, in the Church of St.
Peter in Chains in Rome.
Many more.........
We know from its sheer Size and Rapid Growth,
with over 1,057,000,000* (one billion, fifty-seven
million) members, or one in six of the entire
population of the earth, as of February 2000.
That is an increase of over 40,000,000 (forty
million), since December 1997, more than half of
the total membership of the largest single non-
Catholic denomination. In 2001, the Catholic
Church grew to over 1,070,540,000* members,
plus another 216,000,000* Orthodox. Bar none,
the Catholic Church is the fastest growing
Christian Church in the world. All of the over
36,400 various Non-Catholic denominations,
collectively added, total less* than the Catholic
membership.
For those detractors of the Catholic Church who
say that numbers are irrelevant, they are in
effect, saying that Satan is winning souls and
that GOD is losing souls. They are saying that
more people are convinced by the lie from the
father of lies, John 8:44, than they are convinced
of the truth of GOD, John 14:6. They have
forgotten, or maybe they never knew, that Satan
can only do what GOD allows him to do.

27/09/2017

May our God be praised....

Some days ago, hundreds of thousands
gathered in the streets of
Ukraine to Praise the
Name of Jesus, after the president finally gave liberty to preach the gospel which was banned for many years ..

11/06/2017

Pope Francis wades into the crisis In Catholic diocese Of Ahiara in Imo State Nigeria.

At an audience for a delegation from the Nigerian Diocese of Ahiara, Pope Francis said he had been “deeply saddened” by the refusal of the diocese to accept the Bishop appointed for them.

During the audience, the Pope requested explicitly that the diocese receive Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke a priest of Awka Diocese, who was appointed to Ahiara by Pope Benedict in 2012. In his address to the delegation, the Holy Father, while asking pardon for the harsh language, said the Church in Ahiara “is like a widow for having prevented the Bishop from coming to the diocese.” He called to mind the parable, from the Gospel of Matthew, of the murderous tenants who wanted to steal the inheritance. “In this current situation, the Diocese of Ahiara is without the bridegroom, has lost her fertility, and cannot bear fruit. Whoever is opposed to Bishop Okpaleke taking possession of the diocese wants to destroy the Church.”

In such a situation, Pope Francis continued, where the Church is suffering, “the Pope cannot remain indifferent.”

In response to that situation, which he described as “an attempted taking over of the vineyard of the Lord,” Pope Francis asked “every priest or ecclesiastic incardinated in the Diocese of Ahiara, whether he resides there or works elsewhere, even abroad, write a letter addressed to me in which he asks for forgiveness; all must write individually and personally. We all must share this common sorrow.”

Whoever fails to do so within thirty days, the Pope said, “will be ipso facto [by that very fact] suspended a divinis [‘from divine things,’ such as the celebration of the sacraments] and will lose his current office.”

This course of action was necessary, he continued, “Because the people of God are scandalized. Jesus reminds us that whoever causes scandal must suffer the consequences. Maybe someone has been manipulated without having full awareness of the wound inflicted upon the ecclesial communion.”

Following the Pope’s address, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja and Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara, thanked the Holy Father. Following his remarks, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, asked the Holy Father that the Diocese of Ahiara, with its Bishop, might make a pilgrimage to Rome to meet with him when the situation was resolved; a request the Pope accepted.

The Audience concluded with a prayer to Mary and the blessing of the Holy Father.

The full text of Pope Francis’ address can be read below:

I cordially greet the delegation and thank you for coming from Nigeria in a spirit of pilgrimage.
For me, this meeting is a consolation because I am deeply saddened by the events of the Church in Ahiara.

In fact, the Church (and excuse the wording) is like a widow for having prevented the Bishop from coming to the Diocese. Many times I have thought about the parable of the murderous tenants, of which the Gospel speaks (cf. Mt 21:33-44), that want to grasp the inheritance. In this current situation the Diocese of Ahiara is without the bridegroom, has lost her fertility and cannot bear fruit. Whoever was opposed to Bishop Okpaleke taking possession of the Diocese wants to destroy the Church. This is forbidden; perhaps he does not realize it, but the Church is suffering as well as the People of God within her. The Pope cannot be indifferent.

I know very well the events that have been dragging on for years and I am thankful for the attitude of great patience of the Bishop, indeed the holy patience demonstrated by him. I listened and reflected much, even about the possibility of suppressing the Diocese, but then I thought that the Church is a mother and cannot abandon her many children. I feel great sorrow for those priests who are being manipulated even from abroad and from outside the Diocese.

I think that, in this case, we are not dealing with tribalism, but with an attempted taking of the vineyard of the Lord. The Church is a mother and whoever offends her commits a mortal sin, it’s very serious. However, I decided not to suppress the Diocese. Instead, I wish to give some indications that are to be communicated to all: first of all it must be said that the Pope is deeply saddened. Therefore, I ask that every priest or ecclesiastic incardinated in the Diocese of Ahiara, whether he resides there or works elsewhere, even abroad, write a letter addressed to me in which he asks for forgiveness; all must write individually and personally. We all must share this common sorrow. In the letter:

1. One must clearly manifest total obedience to the Pope, and

2. Whoever writes must be willing to accept the Bishop whom the Pope sends and has appointed.

3. The letter must be sent within 30 days, from today to July 9th, 2017. Whoever does not do this will be ipso facto suspended a divinis and will lose his current office.

This seems very hard, but why must the Pope do this? Because the people of God are scandalized. Jesus reminds us that whoever causes scandal must suffer the consequences. Maybe someone has been manipulated without having full awareness of the wound inflicted upon the ecclesial communion.

To you brothers and sisters, I would like to express my sincere thanks for your presence; and also to Cardinal Onaiyekan for his patience and to Bishop Okpaleke, whose patience and humility I admire.

Thank you all.

10/06/2017

DONALD TRUMP AND FAMILY MEETS WITH POPE AT VATICAN.

Donald Trump, master of the mixed message, has experienced confused feelings of admiration, disapproval, and, even, an intimate sense of identification, towards Pope Francis, 226th sovereign of Vatican City. And where better to publish his mercurial grapplings than Twitter? Back in 2013, when the notoriously modest Argentinian Jesuit was elected, Trump was upbeat. “People that know him love him!” he typed, brightly, suggesting an exclusive level of celestial insight. But, just five days later, it was this modesty that tainted his effulgent view of the pontiff. “I don’t like seeing the Pope standing at the checkout counter (front desk) of a hotel in order to pay his bill. It’s not Pope-like!” reprimanded the proprietor of Trump Towers. His misgivings were short-lived. By December that year, Trump had developed a sneaking suspicion that—although he would never be caught near any checkout counter—the duo shared the same sort of chaste aura. “The new Pope is a humble man, very much like me, which probably explains why I like him so much!”
Wednesday morning, on the third leg of his first foreign trip as president, Trump met with the pope at the Apostolic Palace. Despite only deciding to visit shortly before, a trip to the Vatican seemed the natural way to conclude his whistle-stop tour of world religions, during which he had already called for a collective fight against terror while securing a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, and wrapped-up a visit to Israel by sagely asserting that both Israelis and Palestinian leaders “ are ready to reach for peace .”
Exhausted by his endeavors, this was to be Trump’s most challenging meeting yet. The president and the pope possess bluntly antithetical slants on issues such as immigration and climate change. Francis has berated Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric, and denounced his pledge to build a wall across the Mexican border. “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they might be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” he said.
Trump, who appeared to have retained his belief in his divine credentials, but conveniently lost the papal part, hit back, saying it was “disgraceful” of the pope to question his faith. “If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’ ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president,” he declared, during his election campaign.
But, if Trump’s touchdown in Riyadh was
accompanied by a macabre fanfair of celebration, with billboards round the city thumping with flashing snippets of his tweets, his reception in Rome was a less cinematic but still cordial affair. Accompanied by an entourage of aides and advisors, he arrived at the palace in a limousine. Shortly after, the pope pulled up in a blue Ford Focus, in time for their 8:30 A.M meeting, squeezed in before his weekly, 10 A.M address.
Greeted by Archbishop Georg Ganswein , the prefect of the pontifical household, Trump entered a small elevator taking him to the third floor of the Palace and, after a ceremonial walk past frescoed corridors, shook the pope’s hand at the entrance to his private study.
Perhaps the most nervous person present was the translator, charged with mediating between the pair for precisely 29 minutes. “It is my desire that you become an olive tree to construct peace,” the pope apparently said, via the interpreter, gifting the president as small sculpted version of said tree. Trump responded: “We can use peace.” Francis also gave Trump a signed copy of his 2017 peace message whose title is “Nonviolence — A Style of Politics for Peace,” and a copy of his 2015 encyclical letter on the need to protect the environment from the effects of climate change. “Well, I’ll be reading them,” Trump said.
It wasn’t the first time the pope has seemed to offer oblique criticism of the president. After their tête-à-tête, the pair were joined by others, including Melania and Ivanka Trump , and
Jared Kusher. Francis apparently asked the Slovenian First Lady if she fed her her husband
potica , a popular type of cake. There was a pause. Melania might have been living in the States too long. “Pizza?” she replied. “Yes.” A press spokesperson for the Vatican commented that the pope personally loves potica , and tends to mention it whenever he meets a Slovenian.
Beyond the pageantry, and the photographs, and the cultural culinary jokes, the meeting of the two leaders is significant. But, with their utterly different understandings on how to tackle global problems, it might not move beyond symbolism. Speaking on the papal plane after a recent trip to Portugal, Francis was lucid about what he would say to Trump. “In our talk things will come out, I will say what I think, he will say what he thinks, but I never, ever, wanted to make a judgement without hearing the person.”
Trump leaves Rome later today, and flies to Brussels for a NATO meeting Thursday. In the wake of Monday’s terror attack in Manchester, which killed 22, and recent atrocities across Berlin, London, Nice, Brussels, Stockholm and Paris, the summit will be under sharp scrutiny. It remains to see how the pope’s measured message of peace will play out.

10/06/2017

According to the Telegraph , women meeting the Pope have traditionally been required to wear black, long sleeves and a mantilla, the lace veil worn in the Roman Catholic Church. Certain Catholic queens and princesses are allowed to wear white. But Pope Francis has been easing up on the dress code: “Things have become more relaxed over the last few years there are no hard and fast rules," a spokesperson for the Vatican told the Telegraph.

Culled

24/04/2017

In the church's aggressive push for evangelism and expansion, wouldn't it make sense to have a place of learning specifically meant for the poor of the fold, attached to each parish or zone...having these will be an easy and effective way to preach the gospel, win more souls whilst ensuring every member no matter their status has their wards in school especially with the biting recession in the land. The net effect would be massive- value reorientation, education & empowerment and above all massive job creation for the teaching and administrative staff of these new schools.

Written by a concerned Christian

19/04/2017

Strictly for Catholics.

Masses with the Pope at St Peter's Basilica:

Most of the masses from the Pontifical liturgical calendar are celebrated at St Peters Basilica.
St Peter's Basilica has a huge capacity and can easily host more than 15.000 people which seems big enough for most of the Papal Masses.
However there are some Masses when the Holy See is expecting a larger number of people and for those Masses they will use St Peters Square.
For more details please see below " Masses at St Peters Square".
Normally the Holy see issues different kind of tickets for St Peters Basilica Masses.
Tickets for Cardinals, Governors and Diplomats ,Bishops, Priests, special guests and public tickets.
For most of the Masses with the Pope you will need to have a ticket.
Tickets are always free.
If you have a regular ticket to participate in a Papal Mass and you are looking for a good close up picture of the Pope or a location close to the Altar you will need to arrive early to the Mass.
Don't forget that to attend these celebrations you will need to pass through security scanners (like the airport) and long lines are to be expected.
We recommend you if you have a regular public ticket and you are looking for a good place to arrive 1- 3 hrs before the scheduled start time.

01/03/2017

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption. Catholics all over the world should endeavor to observe this holy day, and participate in the Lenten period fully without sentiments. Avoid alcohol, s*x and every unholy acts during this period. Pls share this post and help in evangelizing to the world. You don't have to be an evangelist to do so. Remember that he who denies Jesus before men, Jesus will deny him/her in front of his father on the last day. Remain blessed as you share this post

24/02/2017

How often do you pray your Rosary. Holy rosary is the key to unlock every closed door. Catholics take note

Catholic

11/02/2019

03/01/2018

15/11/2017

29/09/2017

27/09/2017

11/06/2017

10/06/2017

10/06/2017

24/04/2017

19/04/2017

01/03/2017

24/02/2017

Indirizzo

Sito Web

Notifiche

Scelte rapide

Condividi

Digitare