Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Les Combes (Agenzia Fides) - On Sunday 16 July Pope Benedict XVI led the recitation of the midday Angelus prayer from a field next to the little house put a his disposal by the local Salesian community in Les Combes, Valle d’Aosta, northern Italy, where he is spending a brief period of rest. Since the early morning people had made their way to the place to meet the Pope, many of them were families and young people. “I was immediately immersed in this wonderful Alpine panorama which restores body and spirit” the Pope said introducing the Marian prayer and calling to mind John Paul II who used to spend his Summer period of rest at the same place. The Pope then thanked the local people, the Salesians, the state and regional authorities and the police all involved in arranging for the Pope’s visit
July 16 is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, “the mount on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea overlooking Galilee - the Pope said - which has on its slopes numerous natural caves where the hermits loved to live. The most famous of these men of God was the great prophet Elijah”. The contemplative Carmelite Order took its inspiration from this prophet and “spread among the Christian people devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, indicating Mary as a model of prayer, contemplation and dedication to God.” Pope Benedict then entrusted to the Queen of Mount Carmel “communities of contemplative life all over the world, in a special way those of the Carmelite Order including the Convent of Quart, not far from here. May Mary help every Christian to encounter God in the silence of prayer.”
After the Marian prayer Pope Benedict XVI made yet another appeal for peace in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East: “In the past few days the news from the Holy Land has been very concerning especially the extension to Lebanon of the fighting and numerous civilians killed. At the origin of this ruthless combat there are, sad to say, objective situations of violation of rights and justice. However neither terrorist attacks or acts of retaliation, especially when there are tragic consequences for the civilian population, can be justified. This path - as bitter experience shows - never leads to positive results. This day is dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a mountain in the Holy Land a few kilometres from Lebanon, which over-looks the Israeli city of Haifa, recently hit. We pray Mary, Queen of Peace, may intercede to obtain from God the fundamental gift of harmony, lead the political leaders back to the path of reason and open new opportunities for dialogue and understanding. In this perspective I call on the local Churches to offer special prayers for peace in the Holy Land and in the whole of the Middle East .” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 17/7/2006 - righe 33, parole 482)
