Blessed Mother Teresa has been declared Saint Teresa of Calcutta

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Mother Teresa has been declared Saint Teresa of Calcutta on September 4, 2016, the eve of her death anniversary by Pope Francis at Vatican City. 

Mother Teresa has been declared a saint by Pope Francis on Sunday at a canonization ceremony held in Vatican City. The canonization on September 4 comes on the eve of her 19th death anniversary. 

For much of her life, Mother Teresa was known as the "living saint," she will now be known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

After winning the Nobel peace prize in 1979 for her work with the poor in Calcutta, India, Mother Teresa built 600 orphanages and shelters around the world. Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997. On October 19, 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

A symbol of service and compassion, Mother Teresa showed the world the extraordinary power of love. Her life is “an epitome of grace, compassion and love”. 

Mother Teresa dedicated her entire life to serving the poorest of the poor as well as the destitute and forsaken. She saw herself as ‘small pencil in the hands of the Lord’ and went about her work quietly, offering smiles and warm human gestures

Mother Teresa inspire many to give their ‘hearts to love and their hands to serve.’ Her saintly life will forever inspire humanity to commit to the cause of those who have no voice, no community, no home and no love.

"Let us imitate Mother Teresa who made works of mercy the guide of her life and the path towards holiness" 

- Pope Francis

At the Vatican, a portrait of Mother Teresa is displayed on the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica. Mother Teresa is shown in her signature blue-trimmed white sari. The portrait was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus and painted by American artist Chas Fagan, 

Carrier Cooling Solutions help preserve Vatican art pieces

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The upcoming papal visit to the Philippines has generated renewed interest in the Vatican City —including its precious works of art. 

The walled city within the enclave of Rome receives up to 20,000 visitors a day. These huge crowds bring in a mix of dust, body sweat, and carbon dioxide, which end up on the surface of the paintings and can harm them over time.

Earlier this year, the Vatican partnered with Carrier Corporation to install top-end HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) units in the Sistine Chapel in an effort to properly preserve Michelangelo’s frescoes.

According to Concepcion Building & Industrial Solutions, proper ventilation and heating plays a critical role in preserving works of art.

“In light of the oncoming papal visit, our brand is proud to have played a role in helping protect the Vatican’s art pieces,” said Rajan Komarasu, Group Director of Concepcion Building & Industrial Solutions.

Jointly developed by museum experts and the Carrier Air Conditioning Company, the Vatican’s new air-conditioning system regulates humidity and temperature to help preserve some of the most famous art pieces in history.

High-tech cooling for the Sistine Chapel

Carrier installed and designed the Sistine Chapel’s first air-conditioning units in 1993. At the time, the HVAC system was engineered to accommodate a maximum load of 700 visitors.

Over the last two decades, however, the foot traffic in the renowned chapel has significantly increased. In fact, visits are estimated to have grown by over 300 percent from the 1980s.

To address these changes, Carrier has installed a new system using two AquaForce® 30XWV water-cooled chillers–an enhanced HVAC system that enables optimum temperature control which prevents climate fluctuations in the process. It also comes with air-filtration technologies that prevent the proliferation of airborne contaminants.

“Foot traffic is a major consideration for buildings in general when installing a HVAC system,” said Komarasu. “Cooling solutions need to be able to manage temperature and energy consumption in wide variances of traffic.”

In the Philippines, Carrier commercial air-conditioning is part of Concepcion Building & Industrial Solutions, which provides local companies and establishments with an end-to-end integrated business solutions portfolio, ranging from HVAC to escalators and elevators.

The outfit, which was established earlier this year, anchors its product values on energy efficiency, reliability, and operational stability.

Pope Francis will visit the Philippines on Jan. 15 to 19

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Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle announces that Pope Francis will visit the Philippines on January 15 to 19, 2015.

Pope Francis

During a media briefing in Manila on Tuesday held in Intramuros, Manila,  Tagle said the Catholic hierarchy was encouraging the Filipino faithful to prepare for the Holy Father's visit by starting to pratice acts of "mercy and compassion." 

"We have received a letter from the Vatican City and the following message is being announced: 'Accepting the invitation of the civil authority and the bishops, his Holiness Pope Francis will make an Apostolic visit to Sri Lanka from January 12 to 15 and to the Philippines from January 15 to 19, 2015',” Tagle said.

According to the CBCP news, Pope Fancis' visit carries a message of pastoral love, mercy and compassion from a Pope with the scent of a Good Shepherd (cf. John 10). Even though, this will be the fourth papal visit to our nation, for Pope Francis he will be the third Pope to visit our country. As the Successor to the Chair of Peter, the Holy Father is coming to strengthen his brothers and sisters (cf. Luke 22:32).

 Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, with Papal nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto announces Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines set on January 15 to 19, 2015 during a media briefing in Intramuros Manila last Tuesday.

“The program of the visit will be made public by the Holy See later in the year. Thanks be to God.” 

According to Tagle, the Pope's visit would coincide with with the 20th anniversary of the World Youth Day celebration held in the Philippines in 1995. The late Pope John Paul II, who was declared a saint this year by Pope Francis, led the event two decades ago in Manila.

The central theme of the Papal visit was “mercy and compassion." 

“That has been the recurring theme not only of the teaching, of the homilies, but also of the actions of His Holy Father, so the bishops thought of using this as the theme,” Tagle said.

While no specific events have been finalized, Tagle said Pope would visit areas affected by super typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas as well as some places in Manila.

Asked what Filipinos can do to prepare for the visit, Tagle said, “We could prepare best by undergoing spiritual renewal, tasting the mercy of God, returning to God through the sacrament of reconciliation.”

He also urged Filipinos to engage in “specific actions of mercy,” as he reminded Catholics of the unique style of Pope Francis, which was already obvious on the first day of his papacy.

“He wants to journey with the people where they are,” he said.

Tagle noted that when Pope Francis blessed the mosaic of St. Pedro Calungsod at St. Peter’s Basilica back in November, he took time to include Filipinos in his prayers.

He said the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines encouraged the Filipino people to start observing acts of “mercy and compassion” as early as now in preparation for the Pope's visit.

“Spiritual preparation is the most important through spritual renewal, returning to the word of God, frequenting the eucharist, adoration, returning to God through the sacrament of reconciliation and confession, these are some of the ways by which we can prepare spiritually.” 

“Another way is for us to engage in specific actions of mercy. Sanayin natin ang ating sarili sa pagiging tao ng habag at pakikiramay...feeding the hungry, visiting those in prison, giving counsel to the suffering,” Tagle added.

Tagle said Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas as well as Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara will lead the Catholic Church's preparations for the Pope's visit.

President Benigno Aquino III has already designated Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. as the government's lead point person in the preparations for the visit.

“The government joins the Filipino people in welcoming the Vatican's announcement that His Holiness Pope Francis will make an Apostolic visit to the Philippines. Filipinos will most certainly accord to Pope Francis the warmest hospitality and manifest the fervor of their faith as they welcome the first Pontiff from South America,” Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said during the press conference.

“President Aquino is calling on all concerned government offices and the citizenry to work closely with the Papal Visit committee in ensuring the success of the Apostolic visit of Pope Francis,” Coloma added.

The theme of Pope Francis' visit is " Mercy and Compassion."

 

#PapalVisitPH

CBCPNews @cbcpnews