RADIO VATICANA REPORT: Happy Birthday Holy Father!
From all over the world, from Heads of State, from Church leaders, from believers and non believers, greetings have been pouring in for Pope Benedict XVI’s 84th birthday. A normal working day for the Holy Father, who spent Saturday giving private audiences and public addresses.
In a message, Queen Elizabeth II sent her prayers, recalling the Pope’s memorable visit to the UK last year. For his part, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, on behalf of the Italian bishops, thanked the Pope for being "a faithful witness and steadfast example who teaches us how to live according to Christ."
Mgr. Josef Clemens, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and long-time secretary to then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, recalls the many birthday’s he has celebrated with the Pope : “I have celebrated his birthday with him over the past 27 years and I remember in particular his 60th here in Rome: it was also Holy Thursday, many pilgrims had come for the week and we had a really big celebration in his titular church and there was also an audience with Pope John Paul II. Then I remember his 65th, when we were together in Jerusalem. Then there was his 75th birthday which we celebrated at my house with a small group of friends and we had a nice, private dinner. And finally, of course, I remember the cardinal's last birthday, 16 April 2005, we celebrated it together, just the three of us: there was the Cardinal, was his assistant, Ingrid Stampa, and I”.
Mgr .Clemens notes the coincidence of Benedict XVI’s birthday in relation to Easter and his election as Pope. “Easter is an important aspect right from the beginning of Joseph Ratzinger’s life. He was baptised on Holy Saturday very early in the morning, as was the custom in Bavaria”, and just three days after his birthday in 2005 he was elected Pope.
Pope Benedict XVI, was born Joseph Ratzinger, at Marktl am Inn, Southern Germany on 16 April 1927 (Holy Saturday) and was baptised on the same day. His father, a policeman, belonged to an old family of farmers from Lower Bavaria of modest economic resources. His mother was the daughter of artisans. He spent his childhood and adolescence in a small village near the Austrian border. In this environment, which he himself has defined as "Mozartian", he received his Christian, cultural and human formation.
His youthful years were not easy. His faith and the education received at home prepared him for the harsh experience of those years during which the Nazi regime pursued a hostile attitude towards the Catholic Church. It was precisely during that complex situation that he discovered the beauty and truth of faith in Christ, his personal calling and the beginnings of a journey that would lead to the Chair of Peter.
Fast forward 80 years and the eve of Palm Sunday, a sunny spring day, there are many faithful and tourists milling around the square before the basilica that enshrines the tomb of the first apostle, below the windows of the apartments that have been home to Pope Benedict, his 264th successor, for the past six years. They, in their own simple way, also send their greetings to Pope Benedict, ‘Benedetto’ as the bishop of Rome is locally known, with spontaneous songs and cheers in the hope he will hear.
Finally, Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, Vatican Radio and Vatican Television Center on behalf of our listeners, viewers and readers all over the world; “84 years! Happy Birthday, Holy Father! A long life committed to serving the Lord and His Church, with total and tireless dedication. All of us at Vatican Radio, the Vatican Television Center, the Holy See Press Office and the other various bodies working together daily for you, follow you with gratitude and admiration, and feel privileged to be associated with your ministry that leads the universal Church”.http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=479332
From all over the world, from Heads of State, from Church leaders, from believers and non believers, greetings have been pouring in for Pope Benedict XVI’s 84th birthday. A normal working day for the Holy Father, who spent Saturday giving private audiences and public addresses.In a message, Queen Elizabeth II sent her prayers, recalling the Pope’s memorable visit to the UK last year. For his part, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, on behalf of the Italian bishops, thanked the Pope for being "a faithful witness and steadfast example who teaches us how to live according to Christ."
Mgr. Josef Clemens, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and long-time secretary to then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, recalls the many birthday’s he has celebrated with the Pope : “I have celebrated his birthday with him over the past 27 years and I remember in particular his 60th here in Rome: it was also Holy Thursday, many pilgrims had come for the week and we had a really big celebration in his titular church and there was also an audience with Pope John Paul II. Then I remember his 65th, when we were together in Jerusalem. Then there was his 75th birthday which we celebrated at my house with a small group of friends and we had a nice, private dinner. And finally, of course, I remember the cardinal's last birthday, 16 April 2005, we celebrated it together, just the three of us: there was the Cardinal, was his assistant, Ingrid Stampa, and I”.
Mgr .Clemens notes the coincidence of Benedict XVI’s birthday in relation to Easter and his election as Pope. “Easter is an important aspect right from the beginning of Joseph Ratzinger’s life. He was baptised on Holy Saturday very early in the morning, as was the custom in Bavaria”, and just three days after his birthday in 2005 he was elected Pope.
Pope Benedict XVI, was born Joseph Ratzinger, at Marktl am Inn, Southern Germany on 16 April 1927 (Holy Saturday) and was baptised on the same day. His father, a policeman, belonged to an old family of farmers from Lower Bavaria of modest economic resources. His mother was the daughter of artisans. He spent his childhood and adolescence in a small village near the Austrian border. In this environment, which he himself has defined as "Mozartian", he received his Christian, cultural and human formation.
His youthful years were not easy. His faith and the education received at home prepared him for the harsh experience of those years during which the Nazi regime pursued a hostile attitude towards the Catholic Church. It was precisely during that complex situation that he discovered the beauty and truth of faith in Christ, his personal calling and the beginnings of a journey that would lead to the Chair of Peter.
Fast forward 80 years and the eve of Palm Sunday, a sunny spring day, there are many faithful and tourists milling around the square before the basilica that enshrines the tomb of the first apostle, below the windows of the apartments that have been home to Pope Benedict, his 264th successor, for the past six years. They, in their own simple way, also send their greetings to Pope Benedict, ‘Benedetto’ as the bishop of Rome is locally known, with spontaneous songs and cheers in the hope he will hear.
Finally, Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, Vatican Radio and Vatican Television Center on behalf of our listeners, viewers and readers all over the world; “84 years! Happy Birthday, Holy Father! A long life committed to serving the Lord and His Church, with total and tireless dedication. All of us at Vatican Radio, the Vatican Television Center, the Holy See Press Office and the other various bodies working together daily for you, follow you with gratitude and admiration, and feel privileged to be associated with your ministry that leads the universal Church”.http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=479332
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