Latest news with #Angelus
The Standard
3 days ago
- General
- The Standard
Can an American pope apply US-style fundraising and standards to fix troubled Vatican finances?
FILE - A view of the empty St. Peter's Square as Pope Francis is delivering the Angelus noon prayer from his studio, at the Vatican, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Acclaimed Oxford scholar who never forgot his roots in Glasgow dies
Died: January 24, 2025 Martin McLaughlin, who died aged 74, was an esteemed Oxford University scholar who would gain a global reputation as a classicist and a literary historian. In Oxford, where his death has been borne heavily, he was a much-loved academic colleague who would become the Serena Agnelli Professor of Italian at Oxford, a position he would hold for 16 years. His contribution to the study of Italian language and literature made him one of the outstanding English-language scholars of his generation, a fact underlined in 2008 when was made a knight by the Italian government. To all whose lives he touched and were made better for his love and friendship he remained entirely unchanged as he began amassing a formidable suite of academic honours. His brother Aidan remarked: 'If Oxford changed him utterly as a scholar, a lecturer and a writer, it never succeeded at all in changing him as a person, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a brother, an uncle, great uncle and cousin. To us he remained the same Martino.' They recall the boy who took his younger sisters and their friends to play tennis at the convent in Portstewart, and had everyone pause mid-game when the Angelus bell rang so as not to upset the nuns. He was the big brother who took them to big games at Parkhead to see his beloved Celtic and bought them fish suppers on the way home. They remembered the son, brother and uncle who loved family get-togethers and had time for a story or chat with everyone from the oldest to the youngest. And while he could discuss any subject you cared to raise with him, they would all conclude with an assessment of Celtic's chances the following Saturday. At their silver wedding in 1999 Martin revealed that whilst his beloved Cathy could put up with all of his idiosyncrasies, she had declared that if he developed a pot belly, she would divorce him. 'So I've started drinking ten pints a night,' he said. Read more In June 2008, Martin sent an email to his friends and family, headed simply 'Gong'. It read: 'Hi, you guys, just to say that the Italian government has decided, in its infinite wisdom, to give me a gong! I am to be made 'Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana', but you can all just call me 'Eccellenza' for short!' Martin McLaughlin was born in Glasgow on December 4, 1950, the second oldest of eight children born to George and Jo. He followed the family tradition of attending St Aloysius before making the short journey down Sauchiehall Street and Woodlands Road to Glasgow University. It was here where his remarkable intellectual gifts first became evident. His First in Latin and Greek earned him a Snell Bursary which bore him to Balliol College, Oxford in 1973. He flourished there too, earning a First in Classics and Modern Languages, the first time such a combination was possible. He then returned to Scotland to spend 13 enjoyable years as a lecturer in Italian at Edinburgh University, a period in which he also managed to fit in a tidy doctorate by Oxford in 1983. Before long, England's academic Holy of Holies was beckoning him back and he duly made the journey to the south east of England in 1990 to become a lecturer. Professor McLaughlin's love for Italian literature was expressed in a formidable body of work as both translator and writer, specialising in authors who span both ends of Italian literature: Alberti who was one of the earliest writers in the Italian vernacular in the mid-1400s and Italo Calvino, perhaps the most famous 20th century Italian author. His books on these figures made him the leading English-language authority on Calvino. During his time at Oxford, his students and colleagues also began to experience his innate warmth and humanity. As news of his death spread, Professor McLaughlin's Facebook page began to thrum with messages and anecdotes from grateful students and colleagues. He was slightly whimsical about some of the odder Oxford traditions – for example the £200 annual sherry allowance granted to him to enable his tutorials to proceed in what he termed 'a well-oiled manner'. In 2000, on moving from Christchurch (alma mater of Lewis Carroll) to Magdalen, Oscar Wilde's old redoubt, he told anyone who would listen that, having reached the age of 50, the time had arrived for him to leave the college of Alice In Wonderland to move to that of Dorian Gray. Acclaimed Oxford scholar he may have become, but Martin McLaughlin never forgot his roots in Glasgow. Several times a year he would be back amongst the family on visits which usually coincided with an important Celtic fixture. The family's long-time family friend, Evelyn Connolly, wrote this about him recently: 'It was easy to be in his company.' Martin McLaughlin bequeathed a mighty academic legacy, but to his friends and family he left something greater still: a treasury of happy memories of his love and friendship. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Cathy, his daughter Mairi, herself a noted scholar and professor at Berkeley University California, his granddaughter Iona and the now far-flung McLaughlin family. At The Herald, we carry obituaries of notable people from the worlds of business, politics, arts and sport but sometimes we miss people who have led extraordinary lives. That's where you come in. If you know someone who deserves an obituary, please consider telling us about their lives. Contact
Euronews
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Greek Catholic Church leader invites Pope Leo XIV to visit Ukraine
Pope Leo XIV received the head of Ukraine's Greek Catholic Church at the Vatican on Thursday, who thanked the supreme pontiff for his call for a peaceful, negotiated resolution to Russia's war in Ukraine during one of his first audiences as pontiff. His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Galicia, said he invited the pope to visit Ukraine and handed him a list of Ukrainian prisoners currently held by Russia. Under Pope Francis, the Vatican had actively supported prisoner exchanges and advocated for the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russian-occupied regions. The Vatican did not issue a formal statement following the meeting, which marked one of the earliest such engagements for the new pope since his election on 8 May. Since his appointment, Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly voiced his solidarity with Ukraine. During his first Sunday Angelus blessing and again this week while addressing pilgrims from Eastern Rite churches, he renewed his appeal for an end to the conflict. 'I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people,' the pontiff said on Sunday. 'Let everything possible be done to achieve genuine, just and lasting peace as soon as possible. May all the prisoners be freed, and may the children return to their families.' Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, said on Thursday that it remained 'premature' to consider a papal visit to Kyiv, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raising the possibility in his first phone call with the pope earlier this week. While the Vatican traditionally maintains diplomatic neutrality, Pope Leo XIV has pledged to make 'every effort' to foster dialogue to end wars. 'The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace,' he said on Wednesday. Pope Leo XIV is set to be officially appointed during a Mass at the Vatican on Sunday, with Zelenskyy and US Vice President JD Vance expected to attend.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Inside Pope Leo XIV's new home: What life is like in the Apostolic Palace
Image credits: Getty Images After the death of late Pope Francis in April, the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace were sealed, as a part of a ritual that symbolises the papal throne is empty and secures his personal papers. With the election of the new Pope of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV , the seals on these apartments were removed on Sunday, signalling that he is ready to move in. It's been a decade since the apartments in the palace have been occupied. Francis himself lived in a modest Vatican guest house rather than the traditional residence. While Pope Leo could follow in his predecessor's footsteps, he could also prefer residing in the palace in the Vatican City . How is the Apostolic Palace? Image credits: Getty Images The Apostolic Palace, also called the Papal Palace, is considered to be the traditional residence of the Pope and is a building that dates back to the 15th century, when it was created by architect Donato Bramante in the High Renaissance style. However, it became the official residence of the popes in the 17th century. Image credits: Getty Images The palace holds many offices of the pope, museums, the Vatican Library and chapels, including the famous Sistine Chapel . It is located just above the colonnade of St Pete's Square and includes the iconic window from which the Angelus is traditionally delivered. In total, the palace has a whopping 1,000 rooms, including a sitting room, a study bedroom, and a medical clinic. Image credits: Getty Images In newly released photographs of the Apostolic Palace, taken when the apartments were reopened on Sunday, people got to see new areas such as the third floor, also known as the Third Loggia, the pope's future living quarters, the library, and the private chapels in the apartments. Where will Pope Leo reside? Image credits: Getty Images Pope Leo seems to have a similar view on his residency to that of his predecessor Pope Francis, who valued a humble life in a Vatican guest house rather than a grand one at the palace. In a recent interview with the Vatican News, Pope Leo said, "bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom, but rather called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them and to suffer with them. " Thus, there could be a higher probability of him also residing in the Vatican guest house.
CTV News
11-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
What is the traditional Sunday blessing that popes deliver in St. Peter's Square?
FILE -- Pope John Paul II appears at a window of his rooms of the 10th floor of Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital, Sunday, March 13, 2005, where he was hospitalized, for the traditional blessing at the end of the Sunday's Angelus prayer. (AP Photo/Rudi Blaha, File)
