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Events Today in Church History

   Today is the sixty-first anniversary of the death of Blessed Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun and Messenger of Divine Mercy who was given the devotion to Divine Mercy and many lessons from Jesus which she recorded in her diary Divine Mercy in My Soul. Today the Chaplet of Divine Mercy has become widespread and countless Catholics reserve three o'clock in the afternoon, the hour Our Lord died on the cross, to call down Divine Mercy on the world through the Chaplet. As a Godincidence, she was beatified the same day as Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla, our featured TOP 100 CATHOLIC OF THE CENTURY today. For other pertinent events throughout the centuries that are memorable in Church history today, click on MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES

Historical Events in Church Annals for October 5:

545 A.D.


Death of Saint Placid, disciple of Saint Benedict. It was Placid's father who helped Benedict secure the property of the famous monastery Monte Cassino.

550 A.D.


Death of Saint Galla, daughter of the Roman Consul who jointed a community of consecrated women on the Vatican Hill and cared for the sick. She died of cancer on this date.

578 A.D.


Death of the first Crusader Robrecht of Jerusalem, Count of Flanders.

787 A.D.


Opening of the 8th Ecumenical Council also known as the 4th Council of Constantinople which ended the Greek schism and deposed Photius.

1347 A.D.


Death of Saint Flora, mystic and patroness of abandoned convents, single women and victims of betrayal. Many miracles were attributed to her after her death.

1582 A.D.


First day of the new Gregorian Calendar which was introduced in Italy and other Catholic countries. In order to make the transition from the old Julian Calendar to the new one authored by Pope Gregory XIII it was necessary to eliminate ten days. Thus, when people went to sleep on the night of the 4th in 1582, the next day they woke up was October 15th.

1920 A.D.


Pope Benedict XV issues his eighth encyclical Principi Apostolorum Petro on St. Ephrem the Syrian.

1938 A.D.


Death of Blessed Sister Faustina Kowalska, Polish religious and messenger for the Devotion to Divine Mercy. She recorded all the messages from the Sacred Heart of Jesus and compiled them in a 600-page diary entitled Divine Mercy in my soul. Born on August 25, 1905 in Glogowiec, Poland she died at the age of 33, the same age as Jesus was when He died on the Cross. She was beatified by fellow Pole Pope John Paul II on April 18, 1993.

1993 A.D.


Pope John Paul II issues his tenth encyclical Veritatis Splendor the "Splendor of Truth" that was completed August 6, 1993 and released on this day to the world.

Appreciation of the Commissions and Committees

    Today we continue with our new series in the search to uncover the great treasuries of the Church contained in the great Deposit of Faith. We continue with the Roman Curia, treating today the second part of the non-curial offices of the commissions and committees assigned to the Curia in Rome. For the twenty-fifth installment, click on APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH

THE ROMAN CURIA

    Having covered the Curial offices, today and tomorrow we will finish up the non-curia institutes which assist in the work of the Holy See - the chief commissions and committees - before returning to teachings of the Church in the great Deposit of Faith. Today we cover the first ten, taken from the 1999 Catholic Almanac word for word:

Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences

   This office, headed by Monsignor Walter Brandmuller, was instituted by Pope Pius XII on April 7, 1954 as a continuation of a commission dating back to 1883 during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII.

Committee for the Grand Jubilee of the Holy Year 2000

   This office is headed by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray and was instituted by Pope John Paul II on November 15, 1994 in preparation for all the events leading up to and including the Jubilee Year in addition to helping with Tertium Annum and the immediate three year preparation dedicated to the Holy Trinity - Jesus, God the Son in 1997, the Holy Spirit in 1998, and God the Father in 1999.

Vatican II Archives

   This office, headed by Monsignor Vincenzo Carbone as Director, is a standard office that was established by Pope Paul VI to preserve the documents of the Second Vatican Council in addition to other archives. This is separate from the Vatican Archives itself.

Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia

   This office, headed by Bishop Mario Francesco Pompedda is exactly what it says, serving to oversee discipline for members of the Curia who would overstep their boundaries. Hopefully the bishop is not too busy.

Fabric of St. Peter

   This office, headed Cardinal Virgilio Noe, the Archpriest of the Patriarchal Vatican Basilica and President, was established in the 1600's and is in charge of the administration, care and preservation of St. Peter's Basilica exterior and interior. This includes the complete restoration of the exterior of the grand basilica which was dedicated and blessed this past Friday with the official unveiling of the new look basilica now bathed in light, bright pastels rather than the old dirty, dusky browns and earth tones caused by centuries of pollution.

Office of Papal Charities

   This office, headed by Bishop Oscar Rizzato as almoner distributes alms and aid to those in need in the name of the Pope. It dates back centuries and has always been more of a ceremonial office since the coffers for this are quite limited. This has nothing to do with "Peter's Pence."

Council of Cardinals for Study of Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See

   This office is composed of approximately 15 cardinals from countries throughout the world including Cardinal John J. O'Connor and Cardinal Roger Mahony and is more of an advisory capacity. It was establed in 1981 by Pope John Paul II.

Commission for the Protection of the Historical and Artistic Monuments of the Holy See

   This office is headed by the head of the Fabric of Peter Cardinal Virgilio Noe to maintain the statues and paintings of the Vatican. It was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1923 and reorganized by Paul VI in 1963.

Institute for Works of Religion

    This office is headed by a commission of cardinals which includes the Secretariat of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano and Cardinal John J. O'Connor. It was instituted by Pius XII on June 27, 1942 to invest and administer funds for works of religion. It replaced the earlier administration established by Leo XIII in 1887. Pope John Paul reorganized it on March 1, 1990 with his chirograph.

Labor Office of the Apostolic See

   This office, headed by Cardinal Jan Schotte, was instituted by Pope John Paul II with his Motu Proprio of January 1, 1989 with its functions reaffirmed and efinitive text of statues approved by the Holy Father with his Motu Proprio of September 30, 1994. This office has competence in regard to all those who work fo rthe Apostolic See. It is charged with settling labor issues. Leo XIII in 1879. On February 11, 1986 Pope John Paul II made it a pontifical committee with new statutes.

There are other committees and commissions, but these are the major ones headquartered in Rome.

tomorrow: The role of the priest

      They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the words of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen have been known to launch a thousand images in one's mind, one of the ways this late luminary did so much to evangelize the faith. Because of the urgency of the times and because few there are today who possess the wisdom, simplicity and insight than the late Archbishop who touched millions, we are bringing you daily gems from his writings. The good bishop makes it so simple that we have dubbed this daily series: "SIMPLY SHEEN".

"The best way to help others is by identifying ourselves with their affliction, getting into them and feeling their pains as our own. It is not enough merely to have an intellectual understanding of another person's difficulty; we need to go a little farther to feel it as our own burden, as the Samaritan put the wounded man upon a beast of burden and took him to an inn."

    Today is the Twenty-seventh Tuesday in Ordinary Time and tomorrow we continue with Ordinary Time plus the Feast of Saint Bruno, priest, hermit and religious founder and the Feast of Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, virgin and religious founder. For the readings, liturgies, meditations, and vignettes on these feasts, click on DAILY LITURGY.

Tuesday October 5:
Twenty-Seventh Tuesday in Ordinary Time

Green vestments

First Reading: Jonah 3: 1-10
Psalms: Psalm 130: 1-4, 7-8
Gospel Reading: Luke 10: 38-42

Wednesday October 6:
Twenty-Seventh Wednesday in Ordinary Time and
Feast of Saint Bruno, Priest, Hermit and Religious Founder andFeast of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, Virgin and Religious Founder

Green or White vestments

First Reading: Jonah 4: 1-11
Psalms: Psalm 86: 3-6, 9-10, 15
Gospel Reading: Luke 11: 1-4

Feast of Saint Bruno, Priest, Hermit and Religious Founder

      Born in 1035 in Cologne, Germany, Saint Bruno Hartenfaust became a priest and canon of the famous cathedral there, gaining great renown as an eloquent preacher. He strongly supported Pope Saint Gregory VII in his great reform, encouraging his fellow clergy members to strengthen their own morality and fight simony. Though he was appointed Bishop of Rheims, he politely declined and retired to a Cistercian monastery in 1082 where he lived practically as a hermit. He left there a few years later and traveled to Grenoble where he was given a place of solitude at Chartreuse and helped begin the Carthusian Order with its founder Robert of Molesmes. His counsel was so valuable that Blessed Pope Urban II who had studied under Bruno in Germany, called him to Rome to be the personal advisor to the supreme pontiff. However in 1092 the notorious antipope Clement III forced Bruno from Rome. He journed to Calabria in south Italy, founding a charterhouse for the Carthusian Order. Shortly before his death, in an effort to suppress the Berengarius heresy, he publicly made a profession of faith declaring the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. He died in Calabria in shortly after the turn of the century in 1101.

Feast of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, Virgin and Religious Founder

      This Canadian-born holy woman Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, whose canonization is imminent, was born in Quebec City, Canada in 1811 as the tenth of eleven children into a good Catholic family. One of her brothers, a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate priest, asked Marie, when she turned 18, to help at his parish where she served as a lay apostle for thirteen years. With the assistance of the Oblates, she established the first parish sodality in all of Canada. In 1843 she so impressed her Bishop that he asked her to found the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, patterning it on the same religious congregation in Marseilles, France where the Oblates founder Saint Eugene de Mazenod was Bishop. In keeping with the Oblate mission of ministering to the poorest and most abandoned children, Marie Rose recruited many women to join. She died a happy death in 1849 and ten years later the Sisters expanded into the United States with a mission in Oregon. Pope John Paul II beatified Marie on May 23, 1982.

   Tomorrow we will feature the Opening Prayer for Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher. Today we present, for tomorrow's Feast of Saint Bruno, the Opening Prayer for the Mass in his honor.

Father, You called St. Bruno to serve You in solitude. In answer to his prayers help us to remain faithful to You amid the changes of this world.

Holy See not pulling any punches in acknowledging the "quiet apostasy" in Europe, sets sights on healing strife

    "The idea that Christianity has failed is widespread" admitted Cardinal Pierre Eyt of France who also coined the phrase "quiet apostasy." The lukewarm atmosphere of most of Europe has caused concern by most of the Bishops at the Synod this month, attended daily by the Holy Father, and the Body of Bishops is hoping to formulate programs that will bring the faithful back with a renewed enthusiasm and zeal for the Faith in the new millennium. For more, click on European Synod

    VATICAN CITY, OCT 4 (ZENIT).- From the very first day, the Synod for Europe, being held in the Vatican from October 1-23, began discussing the grave challenges the Catholic Church must face if Christianity in Europe is not to become something of the past in the third millennium.

    The pace of the discussions was set by an initial report by the Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Rouco, who later met the press and made it very clear that the 197 Synod Fathers and the close to 50 auditors and fraternal delegates must answer an urgent question: What does the Church have to say to Europe, after the fall of the Wall and the reinforcement of (the Continent's) political and cultural ties? More importantly, what can (the Church) say to a Continent that seems to be moving toward a 'quiet apostasy?'"

    Replies to this question have come as a authentic deluge. Until October 11, the participants physical endurance will be tested, as they are having to listen to between 25-30 talks a day. John Paul II follows every discussions in person together with all the other bishops.

Failure of Christianity?

    The expression, "quiet apostasy" was coined by Cardinal Pierre Eyt, Archbishop of Bordeaux, France, in the Synod "aula" just minutes before Cardinal Rouco's meeting with the press. Cardinal Eyt offered a very penetrating analysis of the situation in the West.

    "The idea that Christianity has failed in Europe is widespread; at times it implies a distancing of contemporary culture from the Church and Christianity. This is the origin of the 'quiet apostasy' among a majority of Europeans, at least in the West, and especially among adolescents and youth." Paraphrasing the Fathers of the Church, the French Cardinal said "the European soul is no longer naturally Christian."

    Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, used harsh and stirring words to describe the European cultural scene: "intellectual agnosticism, cultural amnesia, ethical chaos, religious asphyxiation, spiritual anemia." Cardinal Poupard, who is co-president of the Synod, stated that "doubt and irony, controversy and criticism, skepticism and agnosticism have never constructed a thing, except a dumb consensus." Consequently, "By being less Christian, European culture has become less human. Therefore, to evangelize European culture means to return to a fully human culture."

European Drama

    Bishop Andre Fort of Perpignan, analyzed in depth the grave European drama at this time. "Our exaggerated discretion in asserting our hope of eternal life and our desire for 'the coming of Christ, the only one who can destroy death' has grave consequences. In face of a human condition that has suffered the amputation of its eschatological dimension, failure, suffering and death become unbearable," the Bishop said.

    "Christ is not desired or awaited, because he is not really loved. Then the Christian sense of sin becomes something incomprehensible and the priesthood seems useless."

Reason for Hope

    Although the Synod did not hesitate to put its finger on the sore, this does not imply that the "aula" remained imprisoned by despair. The signs of a new springtime of the spirit in Europe are evident. A good number of Bishops and Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague, in particular, mentioned the importance of the new ecclesial movements. Their merit resides in having discovered the wisdom of a life committed to the faith in this new Europe. "It is not shameful for us, the Church's teachers, to put ourselves in a position of listening to these experiences" that "even before transmitting Christian life, are committed to living it," the Czech Cardinal, who is president of the European Episcopal Conferences, explained. There can be instances of "immaturity, exaggeration and -- on occasion even deviations," but at present these forces are going through "a new level of ecclesial maturity." After his words, there was a hearty round of applause from the section of the "auditores," among whom are numerous representatives, and even a few founders, of several new Catholic movements.

    Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, contrasted the spiritual vacuum that is asphyxiating Europe with the force of the 450,000 nuns and 100,000 men religious in Europe who live consecrated to God.

    Nor was downright frightening testimony missing, which opens new horizons for Christianity in Europe, as Czech Bishop Frantisek Radkovsky recalled. During "the Communist persecution, Jesus was ... in our midst and gave us the strength to love the enemy and helped us to endure the adversary together with the joy and hope in Christ's victory."

    "The countless martyrs of our time (over 10,000 worldwide this century), are a living challenge for the Church of the third millennium, especially for youth," Ukrainian Bishop Michel Hrynchyshyn said. ZE99100401

Head of Caritas Priest and workers thought to be murdered emerge safe and sound in East Timor as citizens prepare to welcome back Bishop Belo

    Finally some good news out of East Timor. Just days before the island's spiritual leader Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo returns to Dili, Father Francisco Barreto, head of Catholic Caritas in East Timor and feared murdered two weeks ago, emerged from his hiding place in the mountains along with twenty of his workers safe and sound and giving thanks to God for protecting them during the terrible ordeals where so many of their countrymen were killed by pro-Indonesia militia Moslems. For more, click on Safe in East Timor.

    DILI, East Timor (CWNews.com) - The head of East Timor's Caritas Catholic charity and 20 of his workers returned safely to Dili on Monday after being reported dead weeks ago.

    Father Francisco Barreto and the workers had been hiding in the mountains outside Dili since anti-independence militias went on a rampage following an independence vote on August 30. Caritas Australia had reported on August 9 that Father Barreto and the others had been killed in the town of Suai by Indonesian soldiers.

    "We were devastated when we thought they had been killed," Caritas Australia's national director Tom Story said. "In the reports these are just facts and figures but to us they were real people. We are so grateful they have been spared," he said in a statement.

    Story said he planned to meet with them on Monday to discuss the rebuilding of East Timor. "They will play a key role in rehabilitation and rebuilding the community after they have recovered from their ordeal," he said. Story added that a benefit concert was planned for Friday in Sydney to raise funds for Caritas' work.

    Meanwhile, Bishop Carlos Belo of Dili plans to return to the city on Wednesday, after having fled for his life following an attack which burned his home and offices earlier last month. Dozens of people sheltering at the residence were reportedly killed in the attack supported by Indonesian soldiers.

    Australian Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, commander of the international force in East Timor, said enormously popular Bishop Belo would be protected when he returned. "We know that he's a very significant figure. He has been an important rallying point for East Timorese for a number of years and no doubt there will be keen interest in his visit," Cosgrove said.

Papal itinerary for closing Asian Synod set for November

    The Holy Father will spend November 5 to November 8 in India then spend two days in Georgia in the capitol city of Tbilisi. Highlights of his Indian trip will include a visit to the tomb of Mahatma Ghandi and a meeting with religious leaders of India. On the second day of his visit he will formally sign the Apostolic Exhortation containing the conclusions of the Synod held last year in Rome. He will do so at the Cathedral in New Delhi and the next day officially close the Synod with an outdoor Mass in the massive New Delhi soccer stadium before heading for the former Soviet Union satellite in Georgia. For more, click on Asian itinerary .

    VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The Vatican has made public the schedule for the November trip by Pope John Paul II to India and Georgia.

    The Holy Father will arrive in New Delhi in the evening on November 5, and spend the night there without any public appointments. The following day, he will make a courtesy call at the presidential palace that evening. After meeting with the country's political leaders, he will travel to the tomb of Mohandas Gandhi, which he also visited on his first visit to India in February 1986.

    That evening, November 6, at a ceremony in the New Delhi cathedral which will involve bishops from all around the continent, the Pope will sign the apostolic exhortation reflecting the conclusions of the Synod assembly, which met in Rome during April and May of 1998. The next day he will formally close the Synod, with a Mass at a public stadium in New Delhi.

    After that ceremony, the Holy Father will meet with leaders of other religious groups n New Delhi: the final item on his agenda for the visit to India.

    On his return trip to Rome, the Pope will stop on November 8 in Tbilisi, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Georgia. There he will meet with the Orthodox Patriarch Georgie II and members of the Orthodox synod, then travel to the cathedral in Mtshkheta, about a half-hour's drive from the capital.

    On November 9 the Pope will bless a house for the poor built by Caritas, the Catholic charity, in Tbilisi. Then he will celebrate Mass in city square for the city's small Catholic population. In the afternoon he will meet with Georgian President Edouard Shevardnadze, and later with cultural and scientific leaders, before departing for Rome.

    The visit to Georgia will be the Pope's second trip to a country where the population is primarily Orthodox. (The first was his May trip to Romania.) Only about 2 percent of Georgia's population is Catholic.

Group of staunch Catholic businessmen who form Legatus spending week at the Vatican

    On their annual pilgrimage to Rome, the forty-five businessmen which compose Legatus, a non-profit organization of influential Catholic businessmen founded by pizza magnate Thomas Monaghan a few years ago, visited with various curia members and were given an inspirational talk by the Archbishop of Vienna, Austria - the dynamic Cardinal Christoph Schonborn who is rumored to be in line for a high curial post though he would prefer to stay in Austria with his people and continue the healing. He encouraged members of Legatus not to compromise their principles or feel guilty for making a profit as long as it is all for the glory and honor of God and to not be afraid to speak out for God as leaders of their communities. Most members will stay through the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary before returning to the states. For more, click on Legatus.

For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site at the CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and the features, dossiers and Daily Dispatches at ZENIT International News Agency. CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

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October 5, 1999 volume 10, no. 189  DAILY CATHOLIC