Vatican Radio CTV, bringing Rome to your home for JPII beatification
What has been described in Catholic circles as the ‘Big Weekend’ is now upon us.
This Sunday the Venerable John Paul II will be proclaimed Blessed by his friend and
successor to the Chair of St Peter, Benedict XVI. Rome’s army of council workers are
labouring around the clock to ensure that everything will be all right on the night
and the day after, with giant screens and loud speakers being hauled into place ahead
of Saturday’s “White night of prayer” and Sunday’s Beatification Mass.
The
Eternal City has been draped with banners depicting the ‘Pope from a far off country”
who became more Roman than the Romans themselves and its streets and public buses
carry posters with quotes from Poland’s favourite son. Rome is ready, so the question
remains, where will you be for the Beatification? Wherever you maybe, you can experience
it all first hand here, with Vatican Radio.
For those who have travelled the
distance below is a run down of what’s on and where in Rome this weekend. For those
following from home, how to access celebrations live online from the comfort of you
own home.
1. The Vigil, 30 April (Circus Maximus, 20.00 to 22.30).
The
celebration will be divided into two parts. The first part will be dedicated to remembering
the words and actions of John Paul II. There shall then be a solemn procession during
which the icon of Our Lady Salus Populi Romani will be enthroned; this shall be accompanied
by representatives of all the parishes and chaplaincies of the diocese. Personal testimonies
will then be given by two of John Paul II’s closest collaborators, Joaquin Navarro-Valls
and Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, and by Sr. Marie Simon-Pierre, whose miraculous recovery
opened the way for the beatification process. This first part of the celebrations
will be concluded with the hymn "Totus tuus", composed for the 50th anniversary of
John Paul's priestly ordination.
The second part will focus on the celebration
of theMysteries of Light of the Rosary, which were introduced by John Paul II. After
the hymn "Open the doors to Christ", Cardinal Vallini will give an introduction summarising
the spiritual and pastoral character of John Paul II. The Rosary will then be recited,
with a live connection to five Marian sanctuaries around the world. Each of the five
Mysteries of the Rosary shall be linked to a prayer intention of importance to John
Paul II. In the Sanctuary of Lagniewniki, Krakow, the prayer intention will take the
theme of youth; in the Sanctuary of Kawekamo, Bugando, Tanzania, the family; in the
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa, evangelisation; in the Basilica of Sancta
Maria de Guadalupe, Mexico City, hope and peace among peoples; and in the Sanctuary
of Fatima, the Church.
To conclude the vigil, Pope Benedict XVI will recite
the final oration and impart his apostolic blessing to all participants, in live link
up from the Apostolic Palace.
That night, across Rome, the following churches
shall remain open for prayer: Sant' Agnese in Agone, Piazza Navona; San Marco al Campidoglio;
Santa Anastasia; Santissimo Nome di Gesù all'Argentina; Santa Maria in Vallicella;
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini; San Andrea della Valle; and San Bartolomeo all'Isola.
2.
Mass of Beatification, 1 May, Sunday after Easter or of Divine Mercy (St. Peter's
Square, 09.00: hour of preparation; 10.00: officiated by the Holy Father).
The
solemn liturgy of beatification will be preceded by an hour of prayerful preparation
of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a devotion introduced by Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska
and dear to the soon-to- be-Blessed John Paul II. The preparation will conclude with
an Invocation to Mercy in the world, with the hymn "Jezu ufam tobie". This will be
followed by Mass, with the texts for the First Sunday after Easter. At the end of
the rite of beatification, a tapestry depicting the newly Blessed will be unveiled
to the notes of the Hymn to the Blessed in Latin.
3. Mass of thanksgiving,
Monday 2 May (officiated by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, St. Peter's
Square, 10.30).
Mass on Monday 2 May shall be the first celebrated in honour
of the newly Blessed John Paul II. The texts shall be those of the Mass of the Blessed
John Paul II. Music during the celebrations shall be provided by the Choir of the
Diocese of Rome, with the participation of the Choir of Warsaw and the Wadowice Symphony
Orchestra, Poland.
Fr. Lombardi explained that in the evening of Friday 29
April the tomb of the Blessed Pope Innocent XI - currently in the Chapel of St. Sebastian
in St. Peter's Basilica - shall be transferred to the Altar of Transfiguration, to
make way for the body of John Paul II. That morning, the coffin of John Paul II -
which shall not be opened - will be transferred before the tomb of St. Peter, in the
Vatican grotto. On the morning of 1 May, it will be brought before the Altar of Confession
in the Basilica.
Following the beatification ceremony, the Pope and the concelebrating
cardinals will make their way to the Altar of Confession in the Basilica and will
pray for a moment before the body of the newly Blessed. From that evening, those who
wish to do so may venerate the remains of John Paul II. The Vigil from Circus
Maximus (20.00 hrs CET) with commentary in English will be carried live for radio
listeners in the Rome and Lazio area on 105 FM. It will be streamed with full video
and optional commentary on http://player.rv.va/vaticanplayer01.asp?language=en&visual=Tv.
The Beatification Mass (10.00hrs CET) with commentary in English
will be carried live for radio listeners in the Rome and Lazio area on 105 FM. It
will be streamed with full video and optional commentary on http://player.rv.va/vaticanplayer01.asp?language=en&visual=Tv.