VATICAN, Jan. 19. 01 (CWNews.com) -- The ad limina visits to the Holy See
by bishops from around the world will resume this month, after having been
suspended during the Jubilee year.
The bishops of Hungary will meet with Pope John Paul II in the first ad
limina visits of the year from January 24 through 31. The bishops to make
the visits were those of Portugal, in November 1999.
Every bishop is expected to make an ad limina visit every five years. Today
bishops generally come to Rome in groups, organized by national or regional
conferences. In 2001, Pope John Paul is scheduled to receive 23 visits, from
bishops representing 40 episcopal conferences.
There will be 3 groups of bishops traveling to Rome from Africa, 5 from
Europe, 10 from the Americas, and 22 from Asia. The largest single group--
including the 11 episcopal conferences of the countries that once made up
the Soviet Union-- will arrive be at the Vatican from February 4 to 10. The
final visit of the year will bring bishops from Iran and Iraq to Rome on
December 10- 15.
Pope John Paul II will also resume his pastoral visits to parishes in Rome--
another practice which he suspended during the Jubilee year. His first parish
is scheduled for February 4. Since he began his visits, two months after his
election in 1978, John Paul has been to 291 of the 331 parishes in the Rome
diocese.
The Pope's pastoral program for the year 2001 will be interrupted at least
twice. On March 4 through 9, he will participate in the annual Lenten retreat
at the Vatican. Then in October he will clear his schedule in order to attend
the deliberations of the Synod of Bishops.
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