Whooo-hooo! I got me one! Through a wonderful business associate in Milano, I was able to score a few Papa Ratzi 2007 calendars, Un anno con il Papa. Famiglia Cristiana (Catholic Family) magazine published the calendar, which features 14 glossy photos of Pope Benedict taken at Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's country residence near Rome. Each photo has a quote from the Pope's first encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God is Love). The calendar costs 5 euros, and 1 euro of each sale goes to a charity in Rwanda for orphaned street children.
"Giancarlo Giuliani, who has been shooting popes for Famiglia Cristiana for 40 years, took the photographs.... 'He is more shy than Pope John Paul,' Giuliani said. 'But he was incredibly kind and willing.' The photographer said he snapped more than 200 shots of the pope in the villa's chapel, library, office and gardens."
Naturally, there are a great many saints days noted on the calendar, which should help me to post on saints more often. Yesterday was the Feast Day of St. Giovanni (John Bosco), and today is the Feast Day of St. Brigid, the patron saint of Ireland. The quote for January is:
"Abbiamo creduto all'amore di Dio... cosi il cristiano pue esprimere la scelta fondamentale della su vita."
Translation, anyone?
The 104th Catholic Carnival is up today. There's an excellent post about "peering into Pope Benedict's mind."
My Italian is very rusty, but in essence, it means “we believed in the love of God…so the Christian may proclaim the/this fundamental choice in their life.”
Posted by: Anony Mouse | February 01, 2007 at 02:55 PM
I was able to order one by sending an email to vpc @ stpauls.it, requesting the Pope Benedict XVI 2007 calendar. They were very prompt. I was charged 9 euros, however... It is beautiful and worth the price.
Posted by: Lynne | February 03, 2007 at 09:40 AM