Vatican City, Jul 26, 2010 / 09:58 am
St. Anne's Church, the pontifical parish in the Vatican, celebrated the feast of its patroness and her husband on Monday. During Mass to mark the occasion, the cardinal vicar general of the Vatican prayed that Christian families would "wake up" and fulfill their purpose by openly loving each other and bearing witness to the faith.
Two cardinals presided over Eucharistic celebrations on the Vatican parish's special day. Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Vicar General of Vatican City, said noon Mass, while Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, presided over a late afternoon celebration.
During his homily at noon, Cardinal Comastri called for all Christian families to live their faith openly as an example in this time in history when, using the words of John Paul II, "an atom bomb has exploded" within the family.
In a world "continually penetrated by messages ... and examples against the family," he said that he felt the duty to reflect on the family and address the role of each of us in protecting it.