"Today, at the end of the month of May, we celebrate the feast day
that commemorates her visit to St. Elizabeth. The Gospel tells us that,
after the angel's annunciation, she went in haste, she went immediately to
serve. This is the virgin of readiness ... Our Lady of Prompt Succour. She
immediately comes to our assistance when we pray, when we ask for help and
protection. In many moments in life, when we need her help and her
protection, let us remember that she does not make us wait: she is the
Virgin of Prompt Succour and immediately comes to our aid".

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 THE POPE ON THE CHILDREN'S TRAIN
 Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican's Paul VI
Hall the Holy Father received in audience the five hundred children from
Naples and Rome participating in the "Il Treno dei Bambini"
("The Children's Train") initiative organised by the Pontifical
Council for Culture, within the ambit of the "Courtyard of the
Gentiles for Children", which completes its second edition this year.
 The children presented the Pope with bracelets made by hand with coloured
rubber bands, which he immediately put on, and a plant in a vase with earth
from the Neapolitan catacombs of St. Gennaro. Francis enjoyed their
adaptation of the famous song, "O Sole mio", as "O Papa
mio", sung by a choir of children and, after listening to them, he
chatted with the participants, and told them that the plant they had given
to him was a plant of light.
 The pontiff, recalling that the catacombs were dark, said, "You have
brought me earth that comes from the darkness ... so that it turns into
light. ... Light is always more important than darkness. ... We must go in
search of light. Always, inside ourselves. Because light gives us joy and
hope. ... And thanks to the light it is possible to do what you said when
you gave me the plant: ensure that the fruits help us to make a better
world. Can we make a better world? Yes! And how do we do this? With hate?
No, with love, all together as brothers and sisters, fighting alongside
each other for love. And for this, let me tell you something: when the
Apostle John, who was a great friend of Jesus, wanted to say who God is, do
you know what he said? He said, 'God is love'. ... And we go towards the
light to find God's love. But God's love is inside us. ... Even in moments
of darkness, he never abandons us".
 All the Pope's words were interspersed with answers from the children. At
the end, Francis said that he was very happy to have spent time with them,
and said he would pray to the Lord to make them into boys and girls, men
and women who would go forward with love. "When God's love goes ahead,
everything goes well". Finally, he asked the children to sing another
song together.

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 THE POPE: SILENCE WEAPONS IN SYRIA
 Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the Pope delivered a
message to the participants in the meeting with Catholic charitable
associations who work in the context of the crisis in Syria, organised by
the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum".
 "We meet again to evaluate the work carried out so far and to renew
our will to follow this path", he writes. "But we must accept
with great sorrow that the Syrian crisis has not been resolved, but instead
continues, and there is the risk of growing accustomed to it: of forgetting
the victims claimed on a daily basis, the unspeakable suffering, the
thousands of refugees, which include the elderly and children, who suffer
and at times die of hunger and of diseases causes by the conditions of war.
This indifference is harmful! Once again we must repeat the name of this
illness that does so much damage in today's world: the globalisation of
indifference".
 He continues, "The action of peace and the work of humanitarian aid
carried out by Catholic charitable entities in this context constitute a
faithful expression of God's love for his children, who find themselves in
conditions of oppression and anguish. God hears their cry, He knows their
suffering, and He wishes to free them; and you lend your hands and your
abilities to Him. ... This meeting offers a useful opportunity to identify
suitable forms of stable collaboration, in dialogue between the various
actors, in order to improve the organisation of our efforts to support the
local Churches and all the victims of the war, without distinction on
ethnic, religious or social grounds".
 Pope Francis launches a further appeal to the consciences of the parties
to the conflict, to world institutions and public opinion, and affirms:
"We are all aware that the future of humanity is built with peace and
not by war: war destroys, kills, and impoverishes peoples and countries. I
ask that all parties, with a view to the common good, immediately consent
to humanitarian aid and to silence their weapons as soon as possible,
making efforts to negotiate and to make their first priority the well-being
of Syria, of all her inhabitants, including the many who have had to seek
refuge elsewhere and who have the right to return to their homeland as soon
as possible. I think in particular of the dear Christian communities, the
face of a Church who suffers and hopes. Their survival in the Middle East
is of profound concern to the universal Church: Christianity must be able
to continue to live there, where its origins lie".

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 EPISCOPAL ORDINATION IN ST. PETER'S: PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE, LIKE MOSES
 Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, in the Vatican
Basilica, the Holy Father conferred episcopal ordination to Msgr. Fabio
Fabene, under-secretary of the Synod of Bishops.
 During the Eucharistic celebration, he pronounced the ritual homily from
the Roman Pontifical for the ordination of bishops, making various
off-the-cuff additions. "You have been chosen by the flock: may
vanity, pride and arrogance never come to you. And you have been
constituted by men: may your attitude always be one of service, like Jesus.
... I advise you to keep before you the words of Paul that we have heard:
Keep watch over yourselves and keep watch over God's flock. This
watchfulness means keeping vigil, being attentive, to defend yourself from
many sins and many worldly attitudes, and to defend the people of God from
the wolves that Paul said would come. ... And overseeing the people also
means praying, praying for the people, as Moses did: with raised hands,
that prayer of intercession, that courageous prayer, face-to-face with the
Lord, for the people".
 The Pope also reminded the new bishop to pay great attention to those who
do not belong to Christ's single flock, as they too have been entrusted to
him by the Lord. "And pray for them", he added.
 Finally, he emphasised that, by virtue of his mission, the prelate must be
show concern for all the Churches, generously assisting those most in need.
He concluded, "I think that this will be easy for you, considering the
task that has been entrusted to you in the Secretariat of the Synod of
Bishops".

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 DECLARATION OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE FOR THE
LIBERATION OF THE MISSIONARIES ABDUCTED IN CAMEROON
 Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - The Director of the Holy See Press
Office, Father Federico Lombardi, S.J, has issued the following
declaration:
 "The release of the two Italian missionary priests from Vicenza,
Gianantonio Allegri and Giampaolo Martha, and of the Canadian nun Gilberte
Bussière, who had been kidnapped in Cameroon at the beginning of April, is
news that fills us with joy. The Holy Father, who had followed the dramatic
story from the outset, was promptly informed. We thank God that this
incident has come to a successful conclusion. At the same time we continue
to pray and to make efforts so that every form of violence, hatred, and
conflict in the various regions of Africa and in other parts of the world
might be overcome; and we renew the memory of, and the commitment to, the
many other innocent people in different conditions and of different ages,
who - as we know well - are victims of unacceptable abductions in different
places of conflict".

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 HIS HOLINESS ARAM I, CATHOLICOS OF THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH OF
CILICIA, TO VISIT ROME
 Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia, will visit Rome to meet with His
Holiness Pope Francis. His Holiness Aram I was elected Catholicos of
Cilicia of Antelias in 1995.
 The Armenian Church consists of two catholicates and two patriarchates,
and around six million faithful. The two catholicates of Etchmiadzin and
Antelias are in full communion, but they are independent from an
administrative point of view. The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and
the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople refer to Etchmiadzin for
spiritual questions.
 Following Vatican Council II, new relations have developed between the
Catholic Church and the Armenian Church. Representatives of the two
Catholicates of Etchmiadzin and Antelias are members of the Mixed
International Commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic
Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
 His Holiness Aram I visited the Church of Rome and met with Pope John Paul
II from 23 to 26 January 1997. More recently, the Catholicos Aram I visited
Pope Benedict XVI in November 2008, and on that occasion they presided over
an ecumenical prayer together.
 On Thursday 5 June the Catholicos will meet Pope Francis and they will
pray together. They will visit the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity and various other dicasteries of the Roman Curia. Finally,
they will visit the tomb of St. Peter and pray before the statue of St.
Gregory the Illuminator, which is located on the north courtyard of the
Vatican Basilica.

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 AUDIENCES
 Vatican City, 2 June 2014 (VIS) - The Holy father received in audience:
 - Mehriban Aliyeva, president of the "Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Azerbaijan.
 - Eight prelates of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference, on their
"ad limina" visit:
 Archbishop Alexander Thomas Kaliyanil, S.V.D., of Bulawayo;
 Bishop Xavier Johnsai Munyongani of Gweru;
 Bishop Joseph Albert Serrano Anton, I.E.M.E., of Hwange;
 Bishop Michael Dixon Bhasera of Masvingo;
 Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu of Harare;
 Bishop Dieter Bernd Scholz , S.J., of Chinhoyi;
 Bishop Angel Floro Martinez, I.E.M.E., of Gokwe;
 Bishop Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa of Mutare.
 On Saturday, 31 June, the Holy Father received in audience:
 - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
 - Twelve prelates of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, on their "ad
limina" visit:
 Archbishop Valentin Sanchez Espinosa of Puebla de los Angeles, with his
auxiliaries, Bishop Eugenio Andres Lira Rugarcia, Bishop Rutilo Felipe
Pozos Lorenzini, and Bishop Tomas Lopez Duran;
 Bishop Teodoro Enrique Pino Miranda of Huajuapan de Leon;
 Bishop Rodrigo Aguilar Martinez of Tehuacan;
 Archbishop Jesus Carlos Cabrero Romero of San Luis Potosi;
 Bishop Roberto Octavio Balmori Cinta, M.J., of Ciudad Valles;
 Bishop Sigifredo Noriega Barcelo of Zacatecas;
 Archbishop Domingo Diaz Martinez of Tulancingo;
 Bishop Gerardo de Jesus Rojas Lopez of Tabasco;
 Bishop Georges M. Saad Abi Younes, O.L.M., of Nuestra Senora de los
Martires del Libano en Mexico of the Maronites.

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 OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
 Vatican City, 2 June 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:
 - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of
Paramaribo, Suriname, presented by Bishop Wilhelmus de Bekker, upon
reaching the age limit. He is succeeded by Fr. Antonius te Dorshorst,
O.M.I., as apostolic administrator "sede vacante et at nutum Sanctae
Sedis" of the same diocese.
 - appointed Fr. Tadeusz Kusy, O.F.M. as coadjutor of the diocese of
Kaga-Bandoro (area 95,000, population 251,000, Catholics 91,691, priests
20, religious 20), Central African Republic. The bishop-elect was born in
Cieszyn, Poland in 1951 and was ordained a priest in 1974. He holds a
licentiate in theology from the Institute of Science and Theology of
Religions, Paris, France, and has served in a number of pastoral roles,
including: master of novices in Mbujimayi and Lukafu, Democratic Republic
of Congo, and priest of the parishes of Obo and Rafai, Central African
Republic. He is currently master of postulants and head of formation in the
archdiocese of Bangui, head of the diocesan commission for consecrated
life, and member of the council of consultors.

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