Pope Francis gives an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica March 27, 2020. / Vatican Media.
Rome Newsroom, Mar 27, 2023 / 10:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Wednesday will bless a satellite that will launch his words into space on June 10.
The “Spes Satelles,” Latin for “Satellites of Hope,” will be launched on a rocket taking off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
According to the Vatican, the miniaturized satellite will hold a copy of a book documenting the pope’s urbi et orbi blessing of March 27, 2020, when, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, he blessed the world from St. Peter’s Square with the words “Lord, may you bless the world, give health to our bodies, and comfort our hearts.”
“You ask us not to be afraid,” the pope prayed. “Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm.”
Pope Francis speaks in an empty St. Peter’s Square during a holy hour and extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media/CNA
The book, “Why Are You Afraid? Have You No Faith? The World Facing the Pandemic,” has been converted into a nanobook, a 2-millimeter by 2-millimeter by 0.2-millimeter silicon plate, for transport to space.
Pope Francis will bless the satellite and the nanobook after his weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 29.
The Vatican said March 27 the CubeSat, the name for miniature satellites, will travel aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX’s partially reusable two-stage launch platform. It will be hosted on the ION SCV-011ION platform, a satellite carrier developed and built by the Italian company D-Orbit.
The Italian Space Agency will operate the satellite, which was built by the Polytechnic University of Turin.
The Italian Space Agency will operate the satellite, which was built by the Polytechnic University of Turin, to be launched on a rocket taking off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on June 10, 2023. Credit: Holy See Press Office
“The satellite is equipped with a radio transmitter as well as onboard instruments to be maneuvered from the ground,” a press release stated.
While in orbit, the satellite will broadcast decipherable statements from Pope Francis on the theme of hope and peace in English, Italian, and Spanish.
The president of the Italian Space Agency, Giorgio Saccoccia, said the Holy See asked the agency to identify a way for Pope Francis’ words of hope “to cross the earth’s borders and reach from space the greatest possible number of women and men on our troubled planet.”
“For those of us who are used to seeing space as the privileged place from which to observe the world and communicate with it without borders, it was easy to imagine a quick, humble and effective solution to offer wings to the Holy Father’s message,” he added.
The Italian Space Agency will operate the satellite, which was built by the Polytechnic University of Turin, to be launched on a rocket taking off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on June 10, 2023. Credit: Holy See Press Office
The secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, Father Lucio Adrian Ruiz, said “space has a fascination for everyone, especially for young people. Space has that mystery of the universal, the deep, the magnificent, and it makes us all dream.”
By launching Pope Francis’ words of the March 27, 2020, blessing into space, the Vatican hopes to signify that the pope’s prayer, blessing, and universal call to hope continue to be relevant for men and women of goodwill today, he said.
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In a Sept. 6, 2023, hearing, Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, accused the government of Azerbaijan of committing genocide against Armenian Christians in disputed territory in the country. / Credit: Office of Rep. Chris Smith
Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, walks with other pilgrims to the Shrine of the Divine Child in July 2022. / Credit: Manuel Obando and Diocese Media
Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Aug 8, 2022 / 15:20 pm (CNA).
The regime of President Dani… […]
Pope Francis meets with the Order of Malta’s Fra’ Marco Luzzago on June 25, 2021. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Mar 7, 2022 / 09:35 am (CNA).
The Order of Malta’s future is in Pope Francis’ hands. After a meeting with senior members on Feb. 26, the pope will take time to ponder the proposals for renewal and eventually decide on a path of reform.
Cardinal Silvano Maria Tomasi, the papal delegate to the organization, reported on the meeting in a letter to confreres of the order.
Tomasi stressed that “we explained to the Holy Father that the reform under study keeps and better frames the order as a lay religious order and at the same time consents to the continuation of its charitable, diplomatic and humanitarian action for ‘our lords the sick’ and at the service of the Church.”
The Italian cardinal added that the pope had “decided to keep listening to us, and granted us another hearing. After the meetings, the pope will rule about the projects presented to him.”
Also present at the papal meeting were Fra’ Marco Luzzago, Lieutenant of the Grand Master, members of Tomasi’s working group for the reform, and a delegation representing the order’s members.
In a Feb. 27 press release, the 1,000-year-old institution stressed that “the focus of the meeting was the Order of Malta’s reform.”
It said that “in a letter sent to the Order of Malta’s leaders worldwide, Marwan Sehnaoui, chairman of the steering committee for the constitutional reform process, expressed his gratitude to ‘His Holiness for having dedicated two hours of his valuable time to the Order of Malta.’”
Sehnaoui said: “The Holy Father began and ended the audience by stating that he had taken himself the final decision-making of the critical issues regarding the order’s constitutional reform.”
“Pope Francis listened carefully to the presentations and interventions of both sides. After exchanging views, the Holy Father said there is no urgency in making a final decision. His Holiness also said that he wishes to gather and review more information and that he would probably convene another audience.”
These statements require a close reading. First, by explaining that the order’s diplomatic and humanitarian work will not be affected by the reform, Tomasi implicitly addressed a criticism raised after the circulation of a draft reform text, which described the Order of Malta as “subject to the Holy See.” This triggered concern that the new statutes would dilute the order’s sovereignty.
Cardinal Silvano Maria Tomasi. Martin Micallef/Maltese Association Order of Malta via Flickr.
Although it possesses no real territory, the order has the hallmarks of sovereignty, such as its own official currency, postage stamps, and vehicle registration plates. It has diplomatic relations with more than 100 states and permanent observer status at the United Nations. It also oversees a flourishing humanitarian network that is currently delivering aid to refugees fleeing Ukraine.
Speaking with the National Catholic Register on Jan, 23, Tomasi stressed that in a subsequent draft, the order was no longer described as subject to the Holy See.
“We didn’t keep that expression,” he said, “and it’s not going to be in the text of the constitution that we’re going to circulate.”
He continued: “In a letter to the order, I said that, when we would be finished with the work under the constitution, government, and working group of the special delegate, we would send the text to the ‘fras’ — the religious — to the presidents of the associations, to the sovereign council and the members of the government so that we have everybody’s input and objections — if there were aspects of the constitution or the text that weren’t acceptable or considered objectionable.”
The most important reform is, in the end, that of fras, who are known as first-class knights. Only first-class knights who descend from a family of four quarters of nobility are eligible to be elected as the Grand Master, the order’s religious superior and sovereign. This provision means that fewer than 40 people in the order are able to be considered for the role.
Pope Francis took over the reform process after a fierce debate within the order.
The working group entrusted to draft the new statutes was composed of the canon law expert Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda, Msgr. Brian Ferme, secretary of the Vatican’s Council for the Economy, Maurizio Tagliaferri, Federico Marti, and Gualtiero Ventura.
Albrecht von Boeselager. Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
The group was later enlarged with the addition of a few senior members of the order, including the Grand Chancellor Albrecht von Boeselager. But Boeselager announced in January that he was stepping down from the expanded group. Sehnaoui, president of the order’s Lebanese association, was appointed to take Boeselager’s place, assisted by Péter Szabadhegÿ.
Tomasi refused to recognize the Sehnaoui appointment, and so he could not attend the two-day meeting to discuss the draft text.
It is particularly significant, then, that Sehnaoui was included in the group that met with the pope on Feb. 26. Sehnaoui’s presence might be considered a gesture of detente.
Tomasi sent a letter to the knights after a private meeting with the pope on Jan 29, after the two-day reform meeting, held on Jan. 25-26.
The cardinal said that “the pope has decided that he wants to meet the mixed working group with some members representing the professed, the government of the order, the procurators of the priories and the presidents of the associations, to present to him concrete reform projects.”
So, Tomasi wrote, “the Holy Father, therefore, decided to suspend all other activities until this meeting is taking place, following which he will make a final decision.”
“Therefore, the meeting of the mixed working group of Feb. 22-23 is suspended, and the meetings of the steering committee chaired by President Marwan Sehnaoui are also suspended.”
The Magistral Villa of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Rome. Lalupa via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Tomasi stressed that “any other activity before the meeting with the pope will be considered an act of disobedience to the Holy Father.”
It was a notably harsh statement which indicated that the pope would be taking responsibility for the process.
Knights who took part in the papal meeting told CNA that “they had a positive feeling” and that the pope “listened carefully to their issues.”
Members of the order must now wait to see what the pope decides. It will eventually become clear whether he has chosen to treat the order principally as a religious order or will also consider the vast humanitarian network overseen by this sovereign entity with no territory.
Francis likely offended space when he claimed time was greater than space. Now he wants to use space to spread his word? Vindictiveness rarely forgets a slight.
Will his words be true, good, and beautiful? Or will the ‘good’ news be spun into pastoral incoherence? Will no words be spoken to clarify sin and perennial Church teaching? If past performance is any indication of future work, the dissonating words won’t be worth the satellite sending them.
A starry response to Francis’ assertion that time is greater than space. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. Who laid its cornerstone; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” Job 38:4-7
Oh come now, Meiron, why so intolerant!…Francis “offended space while he claimed time was greater than space [?]” Like light waves and light particles, under the higher-math “Theory of Relativity” space and time are interchangeable!
In the physical universe, it all depends upon one’s random point of view (the selected Inertial Frame of Reference)! So, likewise (?) in the non-physical universe and under the higher math of Sin-nod-ism—the bigoted and backwards (!) “tyranny of relativism” disappears altogether!
That is, absorbing the homosexual agenda, Cardinal Hollerich opines “that the sociological-scientific foundation of [Catholic moral] teaching is no longer correct.” Thusly doth Hollerich signal from on high, that today the biblical “good” and “evil” are interchangeable, that morality and immorality are interchangeable—that light and dark disappear as only imaginary aspects of the big-tent and anti-binary grayness of LGBTQ-ism!
Not even in physics, a particle and a wave—at the same time! Einstein rolls over in his grave…But, not the Alchemist Hollerich!…Instead, this:
“In Japan, I got to know a different way of thinking. The Japanese don’t think in terms of the European logic [only European?] of opposites. We say: It is black, therefore it is not white. The Japanese say: It is white, but maybe it is also black. You can combine opposites in Japan without changing your point of view.” https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/who-is-cardinal-hollerich
So, under the post-logic and anti-binary “point of view” of combinational synodal harmonizing, why not conjure post-morality gray? Why not kowtow to the inclusive political “correct”-ness of the random and aggregated LGBTQ points of view?
Seriously. Bergoglio only knew a smattering of chemistry. Now I am expected to believe he learned of Einstein or relativity, let alone its special effects?
Fearless minds and confidence must rest in our wrists is a time tested mantra. Hope encourages us to move on fearlessly. “Spes Satelles” is a fine initiative.
Has the Holy Father considered the carbon footprint that everything involved with this rocket launch will leave? For that matter, how about all the CO2 emissions that result from his foreign travels or the conferences held at the Vatican regularly? Surely, Jeffrey Sachs isn’t getting to Rome by a sailboat.
Aside from hypocrisy, another underappreciated trait of this pope is his staggering egotism. He doesn’t even blush at the idea of a satellite spreading his (note, not the Gospel’s) words into space. It bears a striking similarity to his tendency to refer to his own previous works as support for the novelties he introduces in his endless stream of letters.
Francis likely offended space when he claimed time was greater than space. Now he wants to use space to spread his word? Vindictiveness rarely forgets a slight.
Will his words be true, good, and beautiful? Or will the ‘good’ news be spun into pastoral incoherence? Will no words be spoken to clarify sin and perennial Church teaching? If past performance is any indication of future work, the dissonating words won’t be worth the satellite sending them.
I will watch how the stars react. I have privileges at multiple observatories. How would an exasperated star appear?
A starry response to Francis’ assertion that time is greater than space. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. Who laid its cornerstone; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” Job 38:4-7
Oh come now, Meiron, why so intolerant!…Francis “offended space while he claimed time was greater than space [?]” Like light waves and light particles, under the higher-math “Theory of Relativity” space and time are interchangeable!
In the physical universe, it all depends upon one’s random point of view (the selected Inertial Frame of Reference)! So, likewise (?) in the non-physical universe and under the higher math of Sin-nod-ism—the bigoted and backwards (!) “tyranny of relativism” disappears altogether!
That is, absorbing the homosexual agenda, Cardinal Hollerich opines “that the sociological-scientific foundation of [Catholic moral] teaching is no longer correct.” Thusly doth Hollerich signal from on high, that today the biblical “good” and “evil” are interchangeable, that morality and immorality are interchangeable—that light and dark disappear as only imaginary aspects of the big-tent and anti-binary grayness of LGBTQ-ism!
Not even in physics, a particle and a wave—at the same time! Einstein rolls over in his grave…But, not the Alchemist Hollerich!…Instead, this:
“In Japan, I got to know a different way of thinking. The Japanese don’t think in terms of the European logic [only European?] of opposites. We say: It is black, therefore it is not white. The Japanese say: It is white, but maybe it is also black. You can combine opposites in Japan without changing your point of view.” https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/who-is-cardinal-hollerich
So, under the post-logic and anti-binary “point of view” of combinational synodal harmonizing, why not conjure post-morality gray? Why not kowtow to the inclusive political “correct”-ness of the random and aggregated LGBTQ points of view?
And maybe the murder victims of Graham Greene’s Harry Lime are better off dead anyway!
When your quantum knowledge discovers that new phenomena, please be sure to publish the results and let us know. Much obliged!
Seriously. Bergoglio only knew a smattering of chemistry. Now I am expected to believe he learned of Einstein or relativity, let alone its special effects?
Fearless minds and confidence must rest in our wrists is a time tested mantra. Hope encourages us to move on fearlessly. “Spes Satelles” is a fine initiative.
Has the Holy Father considered the carbon footprint that everything involved with this rocket launch will leave? For that matter, how about all the CO2 emissions that result from his foreign travels or the conferences held at the Vatican regularly? Surely, Jeffrey Sachs isn’t getting to Rome by a sailboat.
Aside from hypocrisy, another underappreciated trait of this pope is his staggering egotism. He doesn’t even blush at the idea of a satellite spreading his (note, not the Gospel’s) words into space. It bears a striking similarity to his tendency to refer to his own previous works as support for the novelties he introduces in his endless stream of letters.