Post date: Jan 16, 2011 5:32:55 PM
Pope Benedict focuses on the beatification of John Paul II, deadly floods and migration in his Angelus address in St. Peter's Square.
VATICAN CITY (JANUARY 16, 2011) CTV - Pope Benedict XVI expressed his happiness on Sunday (January 16) over the impending beatification of the late John Paul II, while offering prayers for the victims of catastrophic flooding around the world.
"Dear brothers and sisters, as you know, on May 1st, I will have the joy of proclaiming the beatification of the venerable John Paul II, my beloved predecessor. The chosen date is especially meaningful: it will be the second Sunday of the Easter period, that he devoted to the Divine Mercy, and on the eve of which his earthly life came to an end. All those who knew him and loved him will rejoice with the Church for this event," Benedict told a crowd gathered at St. Peter's Square.The ceremony marking the last step before sainthood will take place in the square on May 1, and is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people, harkening back to the funeral of the charismatic pope in 2005, one of the biggest media events of the new century.
John Paul's 27-year papacy was one of the most historic and tumultuous of modern times. During his pontificate, communism collapsed across eastern Europe, starting in his native Poland, where the news was greeted with jubilation.
During his weekly Angelus address at the Vatican, Benedict also sent his thoughts to the many populations recently hit by devastating floods in Australia, Brazil and elsewhere.
"I wish to pray for the populations of Australia, Brazil, Philippines and Sri Lanka, recently hit by devastating floods. May the Lord welcome the souls of the deceased ones, give strength to the displaced and support the efforts of those who are struggling to relieve all the suffering and discomfort," he said.
Floods in Australia began in the northern mining state of Queensland last month and have caused billions of dollars in damage from broken infrastructure, lost commodity exports and the paralysis of the state capital, Brisbane, a city of two million.
With Sunday marking the 2011 World Day of Migrants and Refugees of the Catholic Church, the pontiff also remembered Christians who had to leave their native countries and migrate.
"The Church has always been living the experience of migration. Sometimes, sadly, Christians are forced to leave their own country with great suffering, thus impoverishing the places where their ancestors lived," he said.
The U.N. reported that thousands of Iraqi Christians fled their homes to semi-autonomous Kurdish areas and neighbouring countries after a Catholic church in Baghdad was attacked on October 31, leaving 52 hostages and police dead.