Cardinal Ce preach at Pope’s first Lenten spiritual exercises

(March 1,2006) Cardinal Marco Ce, retired patriarch of Venice, will direct Pope Benedict’s first spiritual exercises as Pontiff. In keeping with tradition, the Pope will be accompanied by officials of the Roman Curia. The theme of the exercises, which begin next Sunday and end on Saturday, March 11, is "Walking with Jesus toward Easter." Cardinal Ce will deliver his talks in the Mater Redemptoris Chapel in the Vatican. From Monday to Friday of next week there will be three meditations daily: two in the morning and one in the afternoon. During that week Pope Benedict will not hold any audiences including the weekly general audience of Wednesday March 8.The heads of Vatican organizations will also spend most of the week in prayer. 80-year-old Cardinal Ce, has preached spiritual exercises to bishops, priests, religious and laity, since he handed over the pastoral governance of the Venice Archdiocese to Cardinal Angelo Scola in 2002.