Two new fully-equipped mobile health vehicles for the Jubilee

With the official signing of the deed of gift for two new ambulances, the Governorate’s Directorate of Health and Hygiene is continuing its preparations for the upcoming Jubilee. The two emergency vehicles were donated by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and by the Futuro Salute ETS per nuovi modelli di welfare Foundation. The official ceremony took place on Friday morning, 22 November, at the Palace of the Governorate. The deed of gift was signed by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate, and by the Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Fra’ John Dunlap, and the President of the Foundation, Mr. Roberto Favaretto.

On the morning of Thursday, 21 November, a 29-metre tall red fir tree from the Municipality of Ledro in Trento Region, was delivered to Saint Peter’s Square by special transport organized by the Santoni firm.

It will be raised on Friday, 22 November, and will be decorated with ornaments and lights by the Directorate for Infrastructures and Services of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

At the conclusion of the Christmas Season, wood from the tree will be used to make an art piece that will be displayed at “Ledro Land Art”,  which showcases installations made with natural materials, in the heart of Pur’s pine forest in Val di Ledro.

The witness of the Benedictine community residing in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery

On 21 November, the Church celebrates the Presentation of Mary to the Temple, which commemorates the Apocryphal Gospels’ account of the consecration of Our Lady to service in the Temple of Jerusalem. According to tradition, she was accompanied by her parents Joachim and Anne, and remained there until she was12 years old. The date of 21 November coincides with the day of the consecration of the New Church of the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem, initiated by Byzantine Emperor Justinian 1, and completed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Peter.

Solidarity with the people of Valencia and all of Spain devastated by the DANA storm system

Art, culture and the Jubilee can be opportunities for solidarity and support to people affected by natural disasters, like the DANA storm system that struck Valencia. The exhibition titled, “Bernini’s Souls”, which was inaugurated on Tuesday afternoon, 19 November, at the Vatican Museums, by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and by H.E. Ms. Maria María Isabel Celaá Diéguez, Ambassador of Spain to the Holy See, is an expression of the close relationship between artistic masterpieces and charity. In his address, Cardinal Vérgez Alzaga expressed his sympathy to those affected by the “disastrous DANA storm system of 29 October, which devasted the Region of Valencia and other regions in Spain, last week, including Malaga and Granada”, and ensured his prayers for the victims.

With little more than a month to go to the opening of Jubilee 2025, the Directorate of Health and Hygiene is preparing to receive the influx of pilgrims, by maximizing its capacity to intervene and assist the many faithful who will pass through the Holy Door. As part of these preparations, two new ambulances have been donated to the Directorate, by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and by the Futuro Salute ETS Per Nuovi Modelli di Welfare Foundation.