Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Vacationing pope makes private, public field trips in northern Italy

After spending a week behind the walls of the seminary in Bressanone, the northern Italian town where he is vacationing, Pope Benedict XVI paid an unannounced visit to a nearby village and a fairly publicized visit to the birthplace of the region's most famous saint.

When the pope visited the little village of Sant'Andrea Aug. 3 and prayed at the tomb of Father Anton Agreider, a missionary friend who died in 2003, no one was expecting him.

In fact, the pastor of the Church of St. Andrew, where the tomb is located in the parish cemetery, was on vacation and missed the papal visit.

Margit Jocher, who lives across the street, told the Italian news agency ANSA: "I saw the dark cars stop right out front. The pope and his brother (Msgr. Georg Ratzinger) got out and went toward the tomb."

A few people in the village came out to see what the commotion was, but the pope's security detail would let only the children get close to the pope. Jocher's daughter and son, Johanna and Mathias, were among them.

But the Vatican publicly announced the pope's plan for an Aug. 5 visit to the birthplace of St. Joseph Freinademetz in Oies, a small collection of houses outside Val Badia, Italy.

St. Freinademetz was born in 1852 in Oies, which was part of Austria at the time. He was ordained to the priesthood, met the founder of the Divine Word missionaries and left for China in 1879.

Canonizing him in 2003, Pope John Paul II said: "With the tenacity typical of the people of the mountains, this generous 'witness of love' gave himself to the Chinese people of southern Shandong. For love and with love, he embraced the conditions of their life."

Pope John Paul recalled that the saint, who is buried in China, used to say, "Even in heaven I want to be Chinese."

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said of Pope Benedict's August visit, "Having been announced a bit in advance, it has become an event not only for the private devotion of the Holy Father, but also for the local people."

The pope also was scheduled to stop in a church near the saint's birthplace.

Given the fact that the pope Aug. 3 expressed his best wishes for China as it hosts the Olympic Games and that he was about to visit the birthplace of a missionary to China, Vatican Radio asked Father Lombardi if China was particularly present in the pope's thoughts.

The Jesuit responded, "The church continually has its heart turned toward China," as does the pope.

The example of St. Freinademetz "is very important," Father Lombardi said. "He went through a process of learning about and appreciating Chinese culture" and in the end was "extremely loved by the Chinese."

The saint's example, he said, shows "the possibility of understanding one another, of dialogue and of bringing a spiritual message to China with full respect for the extraordinary culture of this great country."
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