POPE Benedict XVI has announced a special jubilee year dedicated to St Paul, saying the Church needs modern Christians who will imitate the apostle’s missionary energy and spirit of sacrifice.
The Pope said the Pauline year will run from June 28, 2008, to June 29, 2009, to mark the approximately 2000th anniversary of the saint’s birth.
He made the announcement while presiding over a vespers service at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on June 28, the eve of the feast of Sts Peter and Paul, patron saints of Rome.
“Dear brothers and sisters, as in the (Church’s) beginning, today, too, Christ needs apostles ready to sacrifice themselves. He needs witnesses and martyrs like St Paul,” the Pope said.
The Pauline year will feature numerous special liturgies and events in Rome, the Pope said, but should also be celebrated in local churches and in the sanctuaries, religious orders and other institutions that have a special link to St Paul.
In a special way, the Pauline year will be ecumenical, reflecting the saint’s commitment to the unity and harmony among all Christians, he said.
The Pope’s announcement was met with applause in the crowded basilica.
Seated near the altar were representatives of other Christian Churches, in particular a delegation from the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Pope made a point of greeting them warmly and reiterating their “common commitment to do everything possible to hasten the time of full communion between the Christian East and West”.
