News Items about Benedict XVI French Newspaper Says Pope is Planning September Trip to France ROME (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI is planning a September trip to France, traveling to Paris and the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes, a French newspaper reported. The pope's Sept. 12-15 trip will begin in Paris, according to the newspaper Le Figaro. He will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy shortly after his arrival, it said. On Sept. 13, the pope is expected to celebrate Mass in Paris in the morning and have an evening encounter with cultural leaders. He will fly to Lourdes later in the day. In Lourdes, the pope will take part in jubilee year celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions there. The commemorative year ends Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The pope is expected to celebrate an open-air Mass Sept. 14 at the Marian shrine and later meet with French bishops, the newspaper said. The Vatican had no immediate comment on the report, but Vatican trip planners were said to be traveling to France in mid-March to prepare the details of the visit. Tags: Lourdes, Benedict XVI

Church in Portugal expresses joy over beatification process for Sister Lucia Coimbra, Feb 15, 2008 / 11:23 pm (CNA).- The Catholic Church in Portugal expressed satisfaction and gratitude to Pope Benedict XVI for waving the five-year waiting period in order to begin the process of beatification of Sister Lucia, one of the three visionaries of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima. In a statement, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Portugal, Bishop Jose Ortiga, expressed “our great joy at the wonderful decision by the Holy Father,” which is a call to all Christians to seek holiness. Bishop Antonio Marto of Leiria-Fatima, where the famous shrine to Our Lady of Fatima is located, said he received the news with “enormous satisfaction.” Bishop Luciano Guerra, the current rector of the Shrine of Fatima, said the faithful and the priests at the basilica “have welcomed the news with great joy, because it is another sign of the importance of Sister Lucia for the Church and for the world.” Benedict XVI waived the waiting period for the opening of the beatification process, which Canon Law establishes as five years after the death of the candidate. Sister Lucia died three years ago in Coimbra, Portugal, where she lived most of her life. The announcement was made Wednesday by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, in a ceremony at the Cathedral of Coimbra. Tags: Fatima, Sr. Lucia, Benedict XVI

Pope OKs plenary indulgence for Lourdes' 150th anniversary VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To mark the 150th anniversary of Mary's appearance to St. Bernadette Soubirous near Lourdes, France, Pope Benedict XVI authorized a special indulgence to encourage renewed holiness. Catholics can receive a plenary indulgence for taking part in any public or private devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes, said U.S. Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with indulgences and matters of conscience. Read more > Tags: Lourdes, Benedict XVI