(01 Mar 09 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI is gathered in prayer with the cardinals bishops
and priests of the Curia this evening in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic
Palace.
Today is the first day of the Holy Father’s Lenten Spiritual Exercises
that will conclude Saturday next. As a result there will be no papal audiences, including
the Wednesday audience, this week.
This year the reflection will focus
on the theme “the priest encounters Christ and follows him” and will be given by Nigerian
Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship.
Leader
of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, explains why
this time of intense prayer and meditation is essential for the Holy Father and the
Universal Church: