Friday, December 03, 2010

Pope Benedict smiles for Medjugorje!

• When the Pope mentioned Medjugorje in welcoming Croatian pilgrims to Rome on Wednesday, a cheer erupted from a section of the audience and Benedict looked up from his notes, smiled, then raised his right hand to acknowledge the group of applauding and cheering Croats. The photo above shows the Pope’s reaction.  Time and date of smile: 12:25, Wednesday, December 1, 2010.

Hvaljen Isus i Marija
PRAISED BE JESUS AND MARY!

• Benedict ended his welcome to the pilgrims from the Medjugorje parish with the words: “Hvaljen Isus i Marija!”

The Pope’s use of this phrase made his greeting to the people of Medjugorje even more personal as it is a standard salutation used by the Medjugorje visionaries and villagers that means “Praised be Jesus and Mary.”

Last year, on December 30, cardinal Christoph Schönborn began his homily in St James church with the same words: “Hvaljen Isus i Marija.” The cardinal repeated the phrase several times and urged the congregation to repeat it with him, knowing and understanding how much this greeting means to the people of Medjugorje.