News - May 2024 RSS Feed

This evening, we celebrate the votive mass of Mary Queen of Peace. The Middle Eastern region has long been marked by unspeakable bloody conflicts. The war that has been raging for months in the Holy Land pushes us constantly to pray so that goodness and reconciliation may prevail. We must not get used to war but continually pray and work to be peace makers everywhere.

The bishop's pastoral visit can be an opportunity to verify our Christian life: Are we truly following Jesus with a sincere heart? Do we have in our hearts the joy of being disciples of Jesus? Do we experience in our lives the beauty of being Christians? Is there in our heart the beginning of a profound happiness? Can we say that we experience the youthfulness of the Spirit?

"I thank you all for the wonderful welcome. It is important that you maintain your traditions. But above all, it is more important that you are attentive towards all Catholics who do not participate in the life of the Church. Reach out to them. Be missionaries; through your charisms you are called to help the faithful rediscover the gift of baptism."

This is a very beautiful day to celebrate confirmation because it is the first World Children's Day, desired and organized by Pope Francis. The theme is taken from the Bible: “Behold, I make all things new”. The Gift of the Spirit makes all things new. May the Holy Spirit give you the gift of a profound experience of the youth of the Spirit - Forever young, forever children, forever loved and happy.

The Church must be an image of the Trinity where there is unity but also the difference of the variety of people. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we too can, in the image of the most Holy Trinity, be united and different at the same time, to the praise and glory of God.

Bp Paolo started his pastoral visit to the parish of Fujairah, Our Lady of Perpetual Help on May 24, 2024. "We pray for our Salesian priests, spiritual sons of Don Bosco, who are involved in the parish and in our school. May Mary Help of Christians accompany us with her maternal protection in these days of pastoral visit."

Bp Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia, addresses the children of the vicariate on the occasion of the 1st World Children's Day organized by Pope Francis in Rome on May 25-26, 2024, inviting all children of the world to join in presence or remotely. The theme of the event is "Behold, I make all things new".

Today we celebrate the full birth of the Church, of the new people of God. The Holy Spirit allows all of us to speak the language of the Gospel, the language of love which is universal.

Pentecost is the feast of the Church made up of different peoples. Pentecost is the celebration of unity in diversity. It is the feast of our Church. We are a Church made up of many different peoples. We speak different languages, but we form one Church.

"I want this pastoral visit to have the shape of a great Pentecost vigil. We ask that the Lord renew in us the outpouring of his Spirit, so that we can always be united with the Lord and be witnesses to the joy of the Gospel."

My pastoral visit ends on a very significant liturgical day: the ascension of Lord into heaven. Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus physically bids farewell to his disciples; he ascends to heaven and brings with him our redeemed humanity. With Him we too, in a certain sense, are already in heaven.

During his pastoral visit to the two schools of the Vicariate in Dubai, St Mary's High School and St Mary's School Muhaisnah, Bp Paolo addressed the Sisters, the staff and the children.

"Love knows no barriers and boundaries. We too, as in the acts of the Apostles, come from different peoples, with different cultures, languages and traditions. The world needs to see that unity and peace are possible among such different people; yet, animated by the single Spirit of God that breaks down every wall."

On Saturday 4th May, Bp Paolo conferred the sacrament of Confirmation during his pastoral visit in St Mary's Dubai parish. "The Holy Spirit knows no cultural or national barriers. If we have a willing heart, the Holy Spirit enters within us and totally renews our life."

Bp Paolo was invited to participate in the Seminar titled “The United Arab Emirates as a Model of Diversity and Coexistence” organized at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2024 Muslim Council of Elders Pavilion on Saturday 4 May.

Bp Paolo started his pastoral visit to St Mary's, Dubai, on the feast of the Holy Apostles Philip and James. "The bishop is a sign of the Apostolic Tradition of the Church. His presence here today indicates that the Christian life in the Parish of Dubai is linked to the encounter that James and Philip and the other Apostles had with Jesus." "We are part of the great and beautiful history of the Church which transmits the encounter with Jesus and the joy of the Gospel to all generations."