Celebrating Pope Benedict XVI's 81st Birthday - Roundup

Mark Swaim of the SonRise Morning Show recommends Eight Tips for Celebrating the Pope's Birthday:

3. Pope Benedict (who has an iPod, by the way) loves classical music, especially Mozart and Beethoven. Give them a listen today, and see why the Holy Father loves their music so much.

4. The pope has encouraged all Catholics to learn a couple of prayers in Latin so that when we come together as the world Church, we can pray in the same language. Try memorizing the "Glory Be" in Latin today: Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et in semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

5. Read Deus Caritas Est or Spe Salvi - two outstanding encyclicals that show not only Pope Benedict's great insight into the theological virtues of hope and love, but also show how clearly he is able to express himself. Download them here and here. ...

(Via Rich Leonardi).

Pope Benedict XVI blows a candle on a cake prepared at the White House to celebrate his birthday, in Washington April 16, 2008.

• White House Flowers, Hymns, Cake for Birthday Pope, by Paul Bedard. U.S. News April 15, 2008.
• Choir greets pope by singing Happy Birthday Associated Press April 16, 2008 - About 130 children from Annunciation Catholic School in northwest Washington sang Happy Birthday to Pope Benedict XVI outside the papal embassy.
• Pope’s brother sends birthday greetings from Germany Catholic News Agency:

  On Wednesday, April 16, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger sent birthday greetings from his hometown to his brother Pope Benedict XVI, who is currently visiting the United States.

  The 81 year-old Pontiff’s brother wished him “health and strength” and that he would “continue in your work for many years to come,” according to an interview pubished by the German daily Bild.

Happy 81st Birthday, Pope Benedict XVI!

On April 16, 1927 (Holy Saturday), Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn, and is baptized the same day.

Reflecting on this experience in his memoirs (Milestones, p. 8), he says:

To be the first person baptized with the new water was seen as a significant act of Providence. I have always been filled with thanksgiving for having had my life immersed in this way in the Easter Mystery . . . the more I reflect on it, the more this seems fitting for the nature of our human life: we are still waiting for Easter; we are not yet standing in the full light but walking toward it full of trust.

Catholic News Service: "Mum's the word" about Pope's Birthday Lunch

"Mum's the word about menu for pope's 81st birthday celebration", say Angelo Stagnaro of the Catholic News Service (April 16, 2008):

The tightest of security surrounded the meals being prepared for Pope Benedict XVI during his April 15-20 U.S. visit. Even the menus were being kept secret.

"We were told by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, nuncio to the United States, to not reveal the menus, the budgets or even the ingredients of dishes we're preparing," said Franco Nuschese, the owner of Cafe Milano, an Italian restaurant in the Georgetown section of Washington.

Nuschese, executive chef Fabio Salvatore and 23 other professionals were responsible for Pope Benedict's 81st birthday lunch April 16 at the Vatican Embassy, or nunciature, in Washington.

"When Franco first told me, I thought he was joking. But then I quickly realized he was being serious," said Salvatore, a graduate of the Istituto Professionale Albergiero in Pescara, one of Italy's finest culinary institutes.

We do get a few vague details, however -- about the chosen cuisine and the settings for the table:

"I can say, however, the menu has a strong Emilia-Romagna influence," said Salvatore, referring to a region in northern Italy.

"We will be preparing a special pasta dish," said Nuschese. "It's based on an old family recipe created by my grandmother.

"The dish is not easy to make," he added. "It requires fresh vegetables which are currently in season. The dish would have been otherwise impossible to create had His Holiness come at any other time of the year."

He said 90 percent of the ingredients for the meal, "other than fresh vegetables, meats and fish," had been imported from Italy.

Students welcome Pope Benedict XVI singing "Happy Birthday"

Pope Benedict XVI opened the doors of the Vatican Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue this morning to a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung in German and English by 110 elementary students from nearby Annunciation Catholic School. (Via Washington Post's PopeWatch).