In conjunction with the papal visit, NCEA has launched a campaign similar in scope to the Child-to-Child endeavor that responded to Hurricane Katrina—but this time seeking service hours in honor of the Holy Father’s 81st birthday, which he will celebrate during his U.S. visit.

For more information, please go to: /birthday_blessing.

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THE PAULINE YEAR: MALTA

The Conversion of the Maltese Population to Catholicism

Rabat (Malta). St. Agatha's Catacomb.

After being held prisoner for two years and after hearings before the council of priests, before the Roman procurator Felix and his successor Festus, before Herod Agrippa II, and again before Festus, he appealed to Rome on his citizen’s right. So he was sent to Rome under guard. (Acts 21.27–28) On the way they were shipwrecked on Malta but finally landed at Puteoli (Puzzuoli). Paul was imprisoned (A.D. 60) in Rome but was allowed to conduct his ministry among the Roman Christians and Jews who visited him. Of his final fate tradition says that he was beheaded south of the city, near the Ostian Way, probably during the persecution of Nero. A lesser tradition claims that Paul was released after his first imprisonment and that he went East again, and perhaps also to Spain, before his martyrdom. Some scholars believe that Paul was executed after his initial imprisonment, probably A.D. 62. St. Paul’s tomb and shrine are at the Roman basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.

Rabat (Malta). St. Agatha's Catacomb.

“In the morning they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned to run the ship ashore, if they could. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes that tied the steering-oars; then hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the ship aground; the bow stuck and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.” (Acts 27.39-44).

Malta. St. Paul's Catacomb. Entrance.

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“After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us round it. Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were expecting him to swell up or drop dead, but after they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual had happened to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god. Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and cured him by praying and putting his hands on him. After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. They bestowed many honors on us, and when we were about to sail, they put on board all the provisions we needed. Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers as its figurehead. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there for three days; then we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day there a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. The believers from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.” (Acts 28.1-15)

 Rabat (Malta). St. Agatha's Catacomb. Interior with Eucharistic Table.

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Feast of St Paul's Shipwreck
Valletta, Malta
On his return from the Holy Land in A.D. 60, Saint Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Saint Paul is the Patron Saint of Malta and the anniversary of the shipwreck is now a public holiday, celebrated with church services. The day is a public holiday throughout the islands.

Valletta (Malta). St. Paul's Church. Interior.

Valletta (Malta). St. Paul's Church. Exterior.

St. Paul preached the Gospel during his three-month stay in Malta. He converted many Maltese to Christianity during his stay, one of them being Publius. Publius was later appointed Bishop of Malta. The conversion of the Maltese to Christianity was quite slow. However, it is evident that by the 3rd Century A.D., Christianity became the accepted religion among the majority of the population.

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IF YOU'RE IN ST. PETERSBURG, CLEVELAND, OR ST. PAUL

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida: It's not often the Vatican goes on a road show.
When you're one of the planet's foremost cultural and religious institutions, the world tends to come to you. Those who want to see art commissioned by the popes or vie for an up close look at Pope Benedict XVI's fisherman's ring generally have to brave a trip to Rome.

Bust of Angel. Mosaic.

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"Vatican Splendors from Saint Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Swiss Guard," which opened this month at Florida International Museum, brings some of the Catholic Church's most exquisite items on a three-city U.S. tour.

Tiara of Pius VI.

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It is not some watered-down collection, as the exhibit's first room demonstrates.
"The Madonna del Sassoferrato," a painting of the Virgin Mary that has graced many holiday cards but never been exhibited outside Rome, is one of the first works to greet visitors. And at the center of the room is a display case with a silver and gold reliquary said to contain the bones of St. Peter and other saints.

But the star of the room, and indeed the collection, is the Mandylion of Edessa. For believers, the gaunt, bearded face staring from the cloth is the likeness of Jesus, and is among a rare class of artifacts deemed "not made by human hands."
Religious lore has it that Jesus pressed a handkerchief to his face, leaving an indelible imprint of his likeness much like the Shroud of Turin. Scientific evidence suggests it is a painting, but regardless, the object remains one of the Vatican's prized possessions.

Mandylion of Edessa.

Other segments of the show offer similarly awe-inspiring pieces. Mosaics dating as far back as the eighth century, a compass supposedly used by Michelangelo, and portraits, statues and papal vestments are among the roughly 200 items on display.
So, too, are dozens of items created by and for the popes, including the iconic staff Pope John Paul II was often filmed with and Benedict XVI's fisherman's ring, one of the first items conferred to new popes.

"This is just a taste of all the wealth of art and its beauty the Vatican owns," said Monsignor Roberto Zagnoli, one of three curators of the Vatican Museums.
He accompanied the exhibit to Florida, the first of three stops in the United States. After it closes here in May, the exhibit moves on to Cleveland, Ohio, and finally St. Paul, Minnesota. The items then return to Rome, where they cannot be absent for more than a year.

St. Paul. Mosaic.

"Even if you go to Rome, you won't see some of these things," said Peter Radetsky, a former professor and writer who helped develop the exhibit. "They're just not displayed."

Some of the items have been to North America before on a previous tour of items from the Vatican Museums. And at least one journeyed across the Atlantic prior to that — a wooden missal stand wrapped in fish scales that was reportedly used by Christopher Columbus' chaplain on his voyages to the Americas.

The exhibit's narrative is meant to celebrate three events in Vatican history from the early 16th century — the construction of St. Peter's Basilica and the creation of the Vatican Museums and Swiss Guard, now the world's smallest army.

Displays trace the church from St. Peter — considered the first pope — to its most recent ones, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

While the more recent popes are familiar to modern Catholics, the exhibits also feature the larger-than-life tenure of Pope Julius II.

As an early 16th-century pope, Julius II led the church's armies into battle. Bit his 11-year rule also sparked some of the Renaissance's most remarkable artwork. It was Julius II's often petulant relationship with Michelangelo that produced the painted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

To try to give visitors a sense of the achievement, and why Michelangelo famously complained the project was destroying his back and eyesight, one area recreates the scaffolding and tools he used to create his masterpiece.

The display requires a bit of imagination. While Michelangelo's iconic image of God reaching for the finger of Adam is reproduced overhead, the scaffolding is at best 10 feet (three meters) tall. Michelangelo endured even harsher conditions and painted on wet plaster, a medium known as fresco that he had to learn to use.

"Michelangelo had to more or less teach himself on the job, fresco painting, 60 feet (18 meters) high in the Sistine Chapel for four years," Radetsky said.
While imagination may be required for some of the exhibits, its creators, including Zagnoli, say faith is not.

"Just to see it is a jolt in the spirit, without any religious connotation at all," Radetsky said. "You get a sense of the great work that human hands can do over 2,000 years and more."

Account courtesy of the International Herald Tribune, at: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/15/america/NA-FEA-A-E-ART-US-Vatican-Art.php.


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