Mgr. John Scognamiglio Clá Dias awarded his doctoral thesis in Canon Law at the Angelicum.

Rome (Monday, 30/11/2009, Pastoral Press)

During the defense of his doctoral dissertation in canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, the founder of the Heralds of the Gospel, Mgr. John Scognamiglio Clá Dias, EP, was received in audience by Pope Benedict XVI, on 26 November 2009.

Mgr. John Scognamiglio Clá Dias was defending his doctoral thesis in Canon Law at the Angelicum. The thesis is titled "The genesis and development of the Movement of the Heralds of the Gospel and its canonical recognition.”

It will be published shortly in Brazil, and will be available in four languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and English.

The Angelicum - Pontifical University in Rome

The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas has its historical roots in the medieval House of Studies of the Dominican Order in Rome. Mons. Juan Solano, then bishop of Cuzco in Peru († 1/14/1580), founded the new Italo-Spanish College of St. Thomas at the Roman convent of the Minerva. The rectors of the new College had to belong either to the Dominican Province of Rome or of Spain. The College of St. Thomas was also open to students who were not Dominicans.

On May 26, 1727, Benedict XIII gave to the Order’s major Houses of Study, and therefore also to the College of St. Thomas, the right of conferring academic degrees in theology to students outside the Order.

Thanks to the generosity of Girolamo Cardinal Casanate († 3/2/1700), the College of St. Thomas was enriched by the foundation of the Casanatense Library, a famous centre of philosophical-theological studies in Rome.

In 1873, the College of St. Thomas had to leave its residence at the Minerva and began a period of migration, during which it had to take refuge in various Roman sites. Nevertheless, in 1882 the Faculty of Philosophy was founded and in 1896 the Faculty of Canon Law.

It was thanks to the efforts of Blessed Giacinto M. Cormier, Master General of the Order, that, on May 2, 1906, the College of St. Thomas received the title Pontificium (Pontifical), from Pope St. Pius X. This made the degrees conferred by the College equal to those of the world’s other Catholic Universities. By the Apostolic Letter of November 8, 1908, signed by the Supreme Pontiff on November 17, the new Pontifical College Angelicum was erected on the site of the College of St. Thomas, with headquarters in Via San Vitale. This were transferred in 1932 to the appropriately expanded buildings of the ancient Dominican monastery of SS. Domenico and Sisto.

In 1950, the Institute of Spirituality was founded and incorporated into the Faculty of Theology, and in 1951 the Institute of Social Sciences was founded within the Faculty of Philosophy. This last was elevated in 1974 to the rank of a Faculty.

On March 7, 1963, John XXIII, in the Motu Proprio Dominicianus Ordo, raised the Angelicum to the rank of Pontifical University.

Incorporated into the Angelicum’s Faculty of Theology is the Institute of St. Nicholas at Bari, specializing in Ecumenical-Patristic and Greco-Byzantine Studies. The Fathers from the Dominican Province of St. Thomas Aquinas in Italy administer the Institute. On July 2, 1964, the Superior Institute of Religious Science for the laity, Mater Ecclesiae, was incorporated into the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Several other Institutes of theological and philosophical studies are affiliated with the University.

P. Ambrosius Eszer, O.P.

Pope to Faithful: Welcome Advent with Hope, Prepare the Way for the Lord

'This Sunday we begin, by the grace of God, a new liturgical year, which opens naturally with Advent, a time of preparation for the Lord's nativity'.

11/30/2009
Zenit News Agency (www.zenit.org)

'The Lord Jesus came in the past, he comes in the present and will come in the future'.'This Sunday we begin, by the grace of God, a new liturgical year, which opens naturally with Advent, a time of preparation for the Lord's nativity'.

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org)
Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address before praying the Angelus at midday with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

This Sunday we begin, by the grace of God, a new liturgical year, which opens naturally with Advent, a time of preparation for the Lord's nativity. In the constitution on the Liturgy, the Second Vatican Council states that the Church "presents in the annual cycle the whole mystery of Christ, from the incarnation and the nativity, to the ascension, the day of pentecost, and the expectation of the blessed hope and return of the Lord."

In this way, "recalling the mysteries of the redemption, it opens to the faithful the riches of the salvific actions and the merits of their Lord, so that they are present in some way in all times, so that the faithful can approach them and be filled with the grace of salvation" ("Sacrosantum Concilium," 102).

The council insists on the fact that Christ is the center of the liturgy. It is similar to the sun, around which rotate the planets. Around the liturgy rotate the Blessed Virgin Mary -- she is the closest -- and the martyrs and the other saints that "in heaven sing to God the perfect praise and intercede for us" (Ibidem, 104).

This is the reality of the liturgical year seen, so to speak, "from God's side." And from the side -- shall we say -- of man, of history and of society? What importance can it have? The answer is suggested properly by the advent journey, which we undertake today.

The contemporary world needs above all hope: It is needed by developing peoples, but also by those economically developed. We increasingly see that we are in the same boat and that we must all be saved together. Above all, seeing so many false securities crumble, we realize that we need a trustworthy hope, and this is found only in Christ, who, as the Letter to the Hebrews says, "is the same yesterday, today and always" (13:8).

The Lord Jesus came in the past, he comes in the present and will come in the future. He embraces all the dimensions of time, because he died and rose, he is "the Living One" and, sharing our human precariousness, remains forever and offers us God's very stability. He is "flesh" like us, and is "rock" like God.

Whoever desires liberty, justice and peace may now lift himself up, and raise his head, because in Christ liberation is close (cf. Luke 21:28) -- as we read in today's Gospel. Hence, we can affirm that Jesus Christ does not only look at Christians, or only at believers, but at all men, because he, who is the center of faith, is also the foundation of hope. He is the hope that every human being constantly needs.

Dear brothers and sisters, the Virgin Mary fully incarnates the humanity that lives in hope based on faith in the living God. She is the Virgin of Advent; she is well-rooted in the present, in the "today" of salvation; she keeps in her heart all the past promises; and they extend to future fulfillment. Let us enter her school, to truly enter this time of grace and to welcome, with joy and responsibility, the coming of God to our personal and social history

Heralds of the Gospel founder receives the Holy Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice

Cardinal Franc Rode travelled to Brazil to award the prize to Monsignor Joao Scognamiglio Cla, founder of the Heralds of the Gospel.

Card. Franc Rode
Prefect, Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life
“The pope is grateful for your noble work, holy audacity, your love for the Church and the exceptional example of your life. You are the race of heroes and saints.”

The Holy Cross Pro Ecclesia is made of gold and has an image of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and a yellow and white band for the colors of the Vatican.

Mons. Joao Scognamiglio Cla
Founder, Heralds of the Gospel
“This award honors all of us—myself, the Heralds and the societies of apostolic life. We have the grace of God to be able to continue our work and your guidance, Eminence, as well as the Holy Father’s.”

The Heralds were also celebrating the approval of the female section and the priestly section of the Heralds of the Gospel.

Father José Fco. Hernández Medina.
President, Heralds of the Gospel (Italy)
“That was another reason why Cardinal Rode wanted to go to Sao Paulo, Brazil this summer to award the Holy Cross and celebrate our pontifical approvals in the proper place.”

This approval comes together with one granted by John Paul II in 2001. Founded in the 1970’s in Brazil, they are present in 50 countries around the world.

It’s spirituality is based on the adoration of the Eucharist, devotion to the Virgin and fidelity to the pope. It’s a spirituality that means to take the Gospel to all corners of the world.