VATICAN CITY, JULY 30, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI’s year 2010 has been marked by the creation of a new pontifical council and the completion of Vol. 2 of his bestselling «Jesus of Nazareth.»
These and other noteworthy elements of the year thus far were compiled and published by the Vatican today, spanning April through July.
On Thursday, a similar list of January through March was presented.
In mid-April the Vatican continued full-swing in the fight against sexual abuse. A guide to understanding the procedures of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on sexual abuse allegations toward minors was published at the Web site’s Focus section.
On April 15, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, presided at a Mass for Polish President Lech Kaczynski and other victims of the air accident that occurred five days before in Smolensk, Russia.
Two days later, the Holy Father headed to Malta for his 16th international pilgrimage.
On April 19, the Pontiff celebrated his fifth anniversary as St. Peter’s 264th Successor.
The new ambassadors from Belgium and Congo presented the Pope letters of credence April 24 and April 29, respectively.
April ended with the death of Cardinal Paul Mayer at age 98. He had served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
May: sealed and delivered
Benedict XVI started off May by joining the thousands of pilgrims who would take advantage of the extraordinary exposition of the Holy Shroud. He travelled May 2 to Turin to see the cloth thought to have enwrapped Jesus in the tomb.
On May 4, Cardinal Luigi Poggi died at age 92. He had served as archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives, librarian of the Vatican Library, and apostolic nuncio to several countries, including Peru and Italy.
The president of the Swiss Confederation visited the Pope on May 6, as did the emir of Kuwait, and the next day, the president of Georgia.
On May 10, it was announced that Vol. 2 of the Pope’s work on «Jesus of Nazareth» had been sent to the publishers. It centers on Christ’s passion and resurrection, and picks up where Vol. 1 left off. (This week, it was announced that the volume in English will be published by Ignatius Press.)
May 11-14 saw the Holy Father in Portugal.
On the 17th, the president of Bolivia visited and on the 20th, new ambassadors from the United Arab Emirates and Mongolia, as well as the prime minister of Tonga.
The next day, the Pontiff received the president of the Dominican Republic, and on the 24th, the president of Congo as well as the acting president of the Republic of Moldova.
On the 28th, Benin’s first ambassador to the Holy See gave his letters of credence to the Pope.
June: another trip
June saw the Holy Father traveling again, this time for a three-day trip to Cyprus (June 4-6).
Recently returned to Rome, on June 9-11, he led the closing of the Year for Priests, which had marked the 150th anniversary of St. John Vianney’s death.
The prime minister of Spain visited June 10, while priests of the world were in Rome for the celebrations of their year.
On June 28, the Holy Father created the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.
July: out of Rome
July started off with a visit from Iraq’s new ambassador to the Holy See.
The Pope spent July 4 visiting Sulmona in Italy’s Abruzzo region.
A few days later, July 7, he moved into the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.
On July 13, the theme of the 2011 World Day of Peace was announced: «Religious freedom, the path to peace.»
And July is wrapping up with another step in the fight against priestly sexual abuse: On July 15, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published its new «Norms concerning the most serious crimes.»
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
A look at January through March: www.zenit.org/article-30034?l=english
