Latest news with #Franciscus
The Star
05-06-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Zen of tea meets aikido
Franciscus (left) conducting the grading session for aikido students in George Town. Aikido exponents from the Mushinkan Academy in George Town had their grading witnessed by the consul-general of Japan in Penang, Shinya Machida. 'Aikido is one of Japan's most unique and important martial arts and I'm pleased to see locals and other expatriates here fully embracing its spirit,' said Machida. After all the rough and tumble, the atmosphere in the dojo hall (where martial arts is practised) turned serene for a traditional Japanese ochado or tea ceremony attended by dojo master Franciscus Nithya Natham who led the grading session. The ceremony was led by tea master Yuki Kawashita of Tamafuku Cafe, a Japanese eatery located in Tanjung Tokong. He was assisted by Etsuko Tanaka from the Urasenke Tea Club, which is part of the Penang Japanese Association. Kawashita meticulously cleaned utensils and prepared tea for Machida and Franciscus in an elaborate ritual. As was customary, the two 'guests' rotated their bowls before taking sips. Shakuhachi (Japanese flute) master Andrew MacGregor provided musical accompaniment. (From left) Machida and Franciscus during the tea ceremony while MacGregor (in the background) plays the Japanese flute. The event was organised by the academy and HanaBana Hobbies, a community- centred hub focusing on Japanese cultural events and programmes. Its public relations representative Kevin Hans Samuel said the aim was to bring everyone together in a celebration of Japanese tradition and the values of discipline, harmony and self-improvement. Many Malaysians have also taken up martial arts like aikido, which is not only for self-defence but can also help with personal growth, body control, and mental resilience. Its philosophy of neutralising conflict by redirecting an attacker's momentum can teach one how to navigate challenges with wit and fortitude. Several aikido exponents gained a better grasp of that after passing the grading session by Franciscus. He ran the rule over their throws, locks and strikes while also offering advice. 'Don't worry about perfection, because perfection comes when one is sincere,' he told the cohort, some of whom are aiming to go to Japan in 2026 to obtain the shodan (black belt) rank.
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
The World Now Has a Word(le)-Loving Pope
In 2016, I was working with a team in the Vatican to put Pope Francis on Instagram. I made the case that simplicity was key and that we should therefore provide captions in just three languages: Italian, English and Spanish. I lost the argument, and @franciscus debuted in nine languages. But English, Spanish and Italian led the list. With the election of Pope Leo — someone who not only speaks those three languages fluently but knows well the cultures behind them — I feel like I've won. They're the three most important languages in the Roman Catholic Church today. Because language reflects culture, Leo's linguistic gifts could help him make a mark on the governance of the church both globally and in the Vatican. Leo was born in the middle of America and attended school on the South Side of Chicago, but his two decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru and a church official in Rome allowed him to embrace both Italian and Hispanic cultures as well. You can view the new pope as either not very American, or the very best that America has to offer — someone who made a sacrifice as a missionary to serve in a country much poorer than his own, embracing the culture and loving his new neighbors. Leo is the first native English speaker to ascend the throne of Peter in nearly 900 years, after Adrian IV in the 12th century. Unlike during the Middle Ages, he does it at a time when Anglophone culture dominates global communications, finance, technology and the arts. English is the new Latin, the language of the Empire of the Internet. Italian to my ears is the most beautiful of the new pope's languages, and knowing it helps so much in understanding — and loving — Italy. But it can also be confusing. Leave it to Italian politicians to give us the concept of 'convergenze parallele,' or 'parallel convergences,' to describe how opposing political parties can accommodate each other's position. Though only a tiny percentage of Catholics speak Italian, it's the language of the Vatican and necessary for the pontiff to communicate with his collaborators. Italian is also essential in understanding how things work (and often don't) in the Roman Curia, or Vatican bureaucracy. With family roots in Italy, Pope Francis spoke Italian well, and it helped him from the start of his pontificate. Francis, an Argentine who became bishop of Rome, won over the faithful both in the Eternal City, and all of Italy, by greeting them with the very simple 'buona sera!' the evening he was elected. Most Sundays he would end his noonday prayer in St. Peter's Square with, 'buon pranzo,' or 'have a good lunch.' Spanish, albeit with an Argentine accent, gave Francis direct access to more than a third of the Catholic world, as it will to Leo. There's nothing like being able to speak as a native to people in their own language, and this showed in the trips Francis took to Latin America, where he was greeted as one of their own. Francis had to confront huge problems in Latin America as well, most notably a sex abuse crisis in Chile, but at least he could do it in his mother tongue. The sex abuse crisis in the church was a perfect example of the cultural gaps among senior Vatican officials. While the crisis emerged in the United States and soon became a global issue, one Colombian cardinal suggested in 2002 that since there were so many English-speaking journalists asking questions about it, abuse must be an Anglo-American problem. An influential Italian cardinal dismissed the Vatican's handling of abuse accusations as 'petty gossip' as late as 2010. Like anyone, and any pope, Leo will have his shortcomings, but being weak on abuse is not likely to be one of them. As an American, he surely understands that it has been the greatest crisis to hit the church in the New World. Pope Leo likes Wordle. People who play it like words, and they probably try to be precise when they're speaking. That will serve a pope well. But language is a lot bigger than word choice. It's also about how you think. While Leo's language skills and the mentality that comes with them will have its advantages, being an American may prompt some resistance in a Roman Curia in which Italians always have the home court advantage. There may not have been an Italian pope in nearly 50 years, but the Vatican is surrounded by Italy, Italians still run it at most levels and many believe it should stay that way. A can-do Anglo mind-set could help Pope Leo confront the problems he'll have to face, starting in Rome. Francis tried hard to clean up Vatican finances, but the outspoken Australian cardinal he brought in to do the job, George Pell, didn't do diplomacy well, and clashed with other powerful cardinals, limiting his impact. Leo's multicultural experiences might help him avoid the same pitfalls. Pope Francis also tried to reform a sprawling Vatican communications department, but he was unwilling to fire people, and it remains a huge drain on the budget. Pope Leo may not want to fire anyone, either. But I suspect he might ask why, in the age of the internet, the Vatican spends millions of dollars every year publishing an afternoon newspaper in Italian — the 164-year-old Osservatore Romano — whose readers could fit comfortably in a slice of St. Peter's Square. Alleged mismanagement of properties, a budget deficit and an imbalance in the pension fund are among the matters Pope Leo will have to deal with in the Vatican. Being comfortable in English and Spanish and Italian won't solve those problems, but it will allow Leo to have some frank conversations with the people who need to fix them, with nothing lost in translation.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Prolific poster Leo XIV inherits papal media accounts
Pope Leo XIV (AP) VATICAN CITY : His election may have been announced with white smoke, but Pope Leo XIV will communicate with the Catholic faithful on X and Instagram, the Vatican said Tuesday. Robert Prevost was a regular user of X, formerly Twitter, before last Thursday becoming the first ever US pope, unafraid to tackle prickly political issues. Now, as pontiff, he will inherit the official @Pontifex accounts on X used by his predecessor Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI before him. Published in nine languages, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Polish, Arabic, and Latin, they have a total of 52 million followers, the Vatican said. On Instagram, the new pope's only official account is called @Pontifex - Pope Leo XIV. "The Holy Father Leo XIV has chosen to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram," the Vatican said in a statement. Through his personal @drprevost account on X over the years, Prevost amplified criticism of US President Donald Trump's immigration policies, pilloried Vice President JD Vance and called for racial justice. If the content published by Pope Francis is any guide, Leo's papal posts are likely to be less controversial, comprising mostly excerpts of prayers and homilies. His first Instagram post Tuesday was taken from his inaugural public address, beginning with the words: "Peace be with you all!" The pontiff on Tuesday celebrated mass in Rome with other members of his religious order, the Augustinians, and then had lunch with them, a regular routine of his when he was a cardinal, according to Vatican News. A small crowd gathered outside to meet him in the private visit to the order, where the spirit of community plays a key role. Pope Benedict XVI, who led the world's Catholics between 2005 and 2013, was the first pontiff to have a then-Twitter account, launching @Pontifex on December 12, 2012. The official Instagram account, @Franciscus, was added on March 19, 2016. During the 12 years of the Francis papacy, the Vatican published around 50,000 posts across the @Pontifex and @Franciscus accounts. In 2020, when interaction peaked due the coronavirus pandemic, the Argentine's messages were viewed 27 billion times, the Vatican said. Content posted by Francis's accounts has now been archived.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Designers do a double take at the lettering on Pope Francis' tombstone
The arrangements for the funeral of Pope Francis were meticulous, and the ceremony drew a global audience. But it is the arrangement of the letters on his tombstone that are now attracting outsize attention. The simple slab has only 10 letters, but the spacing between them can make it read like "F R A NCISC VS." The lettering is meant to be read as Franciscus, the derivative of the pope's name in Latin. (V stood for both u and v in Latin.) Pope Francis' marble tomb fulfills his desire for an unadorned final resting place. In that sense, the tombstone lettering in Times Roman, a workmanlike font widely used in the English, could be considered appropriate. But for those who obsess about kerning, the space between letters, the view from above the tomb is not exactly an aesthetically pleasing one. "Woe be unto the person who decided to do it the way that they did it, just because it's a bad decision that will last for a long time, unless they change it," said Charles Nix of Monotype, one of world's largest typeface and technology companies. The double take for some when they look at the letters is caused by the lack of kerning between pairs of letters. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Confirmed - This is the deadliest snake in the world Beach Raider Undo So what happened at the Vatican? "It may have been laid out as individual letters, and not actually typed," Nix said, adding for centuries, people have tried to figure out a mathematical way to engrave letters, and it always fails. A representative of Vatican could not immediately be reached for comment about the lettering. A lack of kerning is common on grave markers, Nix said, especially those from the 20th century onward because they are produced very mathematically. An editor at Fast Company magazine was among the first to notice the discordance. Other more casual observers pointed to the "A" in Franciscus standing apart from other letters. "Why does it look like pressing on the letter 'A' will open a secret chamber where the ark of the covenant is stored?" asked Elle Cordova, a digital creator. "Pope's name was just cranked out by someone operating a stonecutting machine, probably via sandblasting from a template prepared on a computer," said Paul Shaw, a type and design historian. Evan Sult, an art director and designer, wrote: "We all recognise there are far more fundamentally significant aspects of lived life than how text is presented, the life and legacy of the Pope being perhaps one of the ultimate examples. Which makes it all the more incredible when the moment arrives where the typography plays its key role in the symphony of shared experience ... and utterly blows the note."
Daily Mail
27-04-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
First photos of Pope Francis' tomb show it is adorned with a single white rose and simple inscription - as thousands of mourners flock to the burial site in Rome after pontiff was laid to rest
The Vatican has released the first images of the Pope's tomb at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Rome after he was laid to rest on Saturday. The burial site, which today opened tot he public, has already hosted a huge number of mourners, including cardinals and nuns, many of whom queued for hours to enter the church. Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, was entombed at Santa Maria Maggiore church in a private ceremony after his public funeral in the Vatican, which drew more than 250,000 mourners from around the world on Saturday. The 266th Pope's tomb at the church he visited frequently during his time as cardinal and pontiff is inscribed simply with his papal name, Franciscus, and adorned with a single white rose. Above it is a crucifix illuminated by a single spotlight, making for a powerful display. On Sunday, April 27, thousands of mourners queued outside the church - one of four major basilicas in the Italian capital - to pay their respects to the late Pope. While some brought flowers, others were eager to get a photograph of the Pope's final resting place on their smartphones. Numerous cardinals were seen arriving for a celebration of the Second Vespers - the evening prayers - and nuns were pictured praying in front of the late Pope's tomb. Pope Francis was buried yesterday with a heartwarming obituary describing the first pontiff hailing from Latin America as a 'simple and much-loved shepherd'. The obituary placed in his coffin described how Francis was the 266th Pope and that he would 'remain in the heart of the Church and of humanity'. The funeral service was attended by the world's leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Prince William and Sir Keir Starmer. Francis had been lying in state in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc at the St Peter's Basilica since Wednesday morning for three days in public view, before the coffin was sealed ahead of his funeral yesterday. It added that while in Buenos Aries as Archbishop he was a 'simple and much-loved shepherd' who 'traveled far and wide across the city on the underground and the bus, cooking his own meals because he felt one of the people'. It closed by saying: 'Francis has left everyone a wonderful testimony of humanity, life of a saint and universal fatherhood.' The zinc inner lid that covered his body carried his name, a cross and his coat of arms and the of his papacy, 2013-2025. Unlike previous Popes his was just a single coffin whereas previous ones had three caskets. World leaders, dignitaries and tens of thousands of mourners gathered in St Peter's Square on Saturday to bid farewell to Pope Francis, one of the most radical Catholic leaders of modern times. From first light, thousands of people made their way along Via della Conciliazione - the grand thoroughfare that leads to the Vatican - singing hymns, praying and swapping stories about Pope Francis. Upon the beginning of the service, archbishops and bishops began to assemble in the Constantine Wing, a corridor adjacent to St Peter's Basilica. They wore chasuble (the outer garment worn by clergy during services), alb, belts and a simple white mitre. Priests and deacons assembled at 8.30am in the area set aside for them in St Peter's Square. They wore a chasuble, alb, belt and a red stole. At 9am, the patriarchs and cardinals met in Saint Sebastian's Chapel in the Basilica. They wore the white Damascene mitre. They all then walked in the funeral procession alongside Francis's coffin, where the late Pope was dressed in a red chasuble, damask and golden papal mitre. The funeral began at 10am local time and the coffin was set in the square in front of St Peter's Basilica. The service was presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Deacon of the College of Cardinals. The Prince of Wales, who attended the service on behalf of the King, was listed beside the Prince of Norway in the 'order of precedence' for international attendees. William and Haakon were listed in their own category as crown princes, and were followed in the order of precedence by representatives from the Andorran government. The British Government delegation included Sir Keir Starmer, who was accompanied by his wife Victoria, as well as Foreign Secretary David Lammy, UK ambassador to the Vatican Chris Trott, and Ailsa Terry, the Prime Minister's private secretary for foreign affairs. The UK Government delegation was listed between groups from Qatar and Serbia led by those countries' heads of government. Ireland's delegation came ahead of both William and the British Government delegation as it is led by head of state President Michael D Higgins. It fell between groups from Indonesia and Iceland, also led by those countries' heads of state. Francis's birth country Argentina took precedence in the seating, followed by Italy. The reigning sovereigns were then seated in alphabetical order in the French language, followed by heads of state. The French language is used as traditionally French was considered the language of diplomacy. Other figures in attendance included US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as former US president Joe Biden. The funeral followed the Funeral Rites of the Roman Pontiff and the guidelines set out in Universi Dominici Gregis, a document issued by Pope John Paul II in 1996. The ceremony began with the entrance antiphon, a selection of psalm verses or scripture passages that were traditionally sung or recited. This was followed by the Penitential Act which allows the faithful to confess their sins to God. The opening prayer came after the Penitential Act. The first reading was given in English by Kielce Gussie, a journalist from Vatican News. The second reading was delivered in Spanish by Edgar Pineda. Before the end of the mass, Cardinal Re sprinkled the coffin with holy water and incense. At the end of the service, valedictory rite and final commendation, where the Pope is formally entrusted to God, took place. Francis's coffin was then carried to the left of the altar at St Peter's. Francis's coffin wastaken from St Peter's Square to Santa Maria Maggiore where he was buried. The route crossed the river Tiber and passed Piazza Venezia followed by the Colosseum. Francis left instructions asking to be buried in a simple underground tomb in Rome's papal basilica of Saint Mary Major. This makes Francis the first pontiff in more than a century not to be buried at St Peter's Basilica. The last pope who asked to be buried outside of the Vatican was Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903.
