Results tagged “popebenedictxvi”

Some happy news from the part of Washington that is so Catholic it used to be called Little Rome. With the exception of papal visits to Washington, the concerns of the American Federal City and the Eternal City do not overlap all that often, but one long-time Washingtonian is about to assume the reigns of a powerful curial office in Rome. Fr. J. Augustine Di Noia, a Dominican priest and influential theologian, has been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as Secretary of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

We're highlighting odd or interesting pieces of pop culture we find popping up around Pope Benedict XVI's visit to D.C. and New York this week.

Just in case you missed yesterday's best bit of video on the internet, check out President Bush offering his assessment of Pope Benedict XVI's speech outside the White House (via the Hill's Blog Briefing Room).

We're highlighting odd or interesting pieces of pop culture we find popping up around Pope Benedict XVI's visit to D.C. and New York this week.

There was a parade this morning at Franklin Square to celebrate Emancipation Day -- not that anyone much noticed, what with Pope Benedict XVI's visit taking up all the attention. But indeed today is an important District-wide holiday, as it was on this day in 1862 that President Abraham Lincoln freed over 3,000 slaves in the District with the declaration of the Compensated Emancipation Act, which came eight months before slaves were freed throughout the nation. Here's what the act said:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all persons held to service or labor within the District of Columbia by reason of African descent are hereby discharged and freed of and from all claim to such service or labor; and from and after the passage of this act neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for crime, whereof the party shall be duly convicted, shall hereafter exist in said District.

Since many of the usual Emancipation Day activities and celebrations, such as a big voting rights march, were canceled this year due to the Pope being in town, here's what you probably really need to know: many D.C. government agencies are closed today, and you won't be getting any parking tickets from the city, so feel free to ignore those street cleaning schedules to your heart's content.

Pope Benedict XVI took to his popemobile after meeting with President Bush at the White House this morning. The pontiff, who is celebrating his 81st birthday today, rode west beginning around noon on Pennsylvania Ave. through Washington Circle before heading north on Rock Creek Parkway before exiting at Massachusetts Ave. to arrive at the Vatican embassy. A large, enthusiastic crowd of about 10,000 gathered to cheer on the Pope as he rode by, rather swiftly we might add. People waved flags, played and sang music and held large signs welcoming Benedict to the United States. And then it was over almost as quickly as it began.

Pope Benedict XVI arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland at about 4:11 p.m. for his first papal visit to the United States. President Bush greeted the pontiff on a red carpet on the tarmac in front of thousands of people who gathered to catch a glimpse of the Catholic leader.

The first in what will hopefully be a series of posts highlighting odd or interesting pieces of pop culture we find popping up around Pope Benedict XVI's visit to D.C. and New York this week.

Via WTOP, the Archdiocese of Washington is trying to get the word out to would-be scalpers of tickets to the papal mass on April 17 that they are breaking the law.

Georgina Stark, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Washington, tells WTOP, "You cannot sell a sacrament. This is a mass, so it is a sacrament. The tickets are not for sale."

Continue reading "Papal Mass Ticket Scalpers Going Straight to Hell"

Metro says they will be ready for the 25,000 plus additional riders they expect when during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Washington this week. In addition to the usual "additional station managers on hand", Metro will run trains at rush hour levels on Wednesday and Thursday between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. The renovated Navy Yard exit nearest to Nationals Park will also be converted to exit only before the papal mass on Thursday, and entrance only afterwards, the same way it is during Nationals games.

The Archdiocese of Washington may not have been amused by WMATA's bobblehead Pope video, but they certainly still want area faithful to use public transit to catch a view of the pontiff when he travels around the city via popemobile later this month. To help people plan, they've released the official popemobile routes for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Washington on April 16 and 17.

The last time Metro dipped its toes into the exciting world of internet video, DCist was the first to share their low-budget, Peeps going to Nationals Park spectacular. Our readers enjoyed that one so much, Metro just tipped us off to their latest effort, titled "Strangers on a Train", which aims to pimp their special Papal Mass Pass. The pass itself is a good idea: it costs a flat $9, and gives those who plan to follow Pope Benedict XVI around town when he arrives to give a special mass at Nationals Park on April 17 unlimited rides all day.

It's fair to say that Washington's Catholic community is currently up to its eyeballs in Pope Fever, what with the pontiff's exclusive April 17 mass at the new Nationals stadium only a little over a month away. Turns out, Pope Benedict XVI will be bringing more than the Popemobile with him to D.C. Bloomberg News reports that today the Vatican has officially created seven brand new sins, which will no doubt be the cornerstone of many of the Pope's big upcoming masses.

>> Pope Benedict XVI will make his first visit to the United States as pontiff in April next year, with his first mass to be held at the new Nationals stadium here in D.C. [AP via WTOP] >> Four people who were stabbed Sunday afternoon during a soccer game near RFK are expected to be OK. [AP via WJLA] >> The Maryland House of Delegates this week will take up Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan...

Shortly after Pope Benedict XVI was elected by the College of Cardinals, the Archbishop of Washington, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, sent his letter of retirement to the Vatican. This is something that bishops are required to do when they turn 75, and the Pope accepted the resignation and soon nominated a successor. The Bishop of Pittsburgh, Donald W. Wuerl, was appointed to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Washington last month. Yesterday,...

Some readers have chimed in wanting news about the new Pope, Benedict XVI. Since we don't have a Vaticanist and the announcment was made from beneath the dome of St. Peter's Basilica and not the U.S. Capitol, we are coming up empty as to a District of Columbia angle. So here we go. We were waiting for a chicken philly at Sun Spot Cafe on G Street NW near the Georgetown University Law Center, "YMCA" playing as the deli's background music, as we stared up at CNN and subtitles popping up about the momentus occasion. The cameras focusing on the chiming bells at St. Peter's coupled with the 1970s hit made for a rocking lunch hour. So from our perspective, the announcment of the new pope was a fun-filled Solid Gold festivity. We wonder if the new Pope likes "YMCA."