In Brief
150th Anniversary of the French Seminary in Rome
The French Pontifical Seminary in Rome, founded under the pontificate of Pius IX in 1853, and entrusted to the Missionary Congregation of the Holy Ghost Fathers, has celebrated its 150th anniversary. It has trained 4,700 pupils including 200 French cardinals and bishops, including Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The change in numbers reflects the current vocations crisis: 207 seminarians in 1923, 108 in 1963, 85 in 1995, and today just 54. They are aged between 23 and 46, originating in Europe, Africa and Asia, a third of whom are members of new communities, such as Emmanuel and the Word of Life.
A disc and a comic strip
The Italian daily, Il Messaggero announced in its November 26 edition, that the pope’s message in favor of peace during the American attack on Iraq has been included on a disc entitled Mai piu Guerra (No more war). As well as a prayer for peace recited by John Paul II himself, the disc contains a musical version of an appeal for peace performed by Cecilia Gasdia, and an English version by Gino Vanelli and other pop singers.
A cartoon on the life of John Paul II has been edited in Poland. This comic book by Louis-Bernard Koch with drawings by Dominique Bar and Guy Lehideux, has already been published in France, by Editions du Triomphe in Paris.
