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The Festival

“The pilgrimage is an experience that moves us, but the exterior movement is not enough if it’s not accompanied by one on the interior. The theme of the interior journey is important because it distinguishes these itineraries of faith from existing offerings that do not give the possibility of an interior experience that allows us to find the truth in ourselves concerning God and our world.” Father Cesare Atuire,

EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering welcomed ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, Eurogroup chair Jean-Claude Juncker, Economics Commissioner Joaquín Almunia and former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing for a formal session marking ten years of the euro.

It is due to Pope Francis that the Vatican Archives are no longer ‘secret’ but ‘apostolic.’ On 28 October 2019, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter motu proprio dated 22 October changing the name Vatican Secret Archive to Vatican Apostolic Archive (Latin: Archivum Apostolicum Vaticanum).

On March 2, 2020, Pope Francis made the documents of the controvertial archives of Pius XII, preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Archives (previously called Vatican Secret Archives),  availabe for academic research, and the study and research projects that arise from the possibility of working on materials hitherto unpublished are infinite since then. One of these projects, and probably the most intresting one, puts at the service of a common historical research the scientific expertise of four different universities: the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Universidad de Navarra and the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.

American kids: Move out when they're 18 with the full support of their parents.
Italian kids: Move out when they're 28, having saved enough money for a house, and are two weeks away from getting married....unless there's room in the basement for the newlyweds.

American kids: When their Mom visits them, she brings a Bundt cake, and you sip coffee and chat.
Italian kids: When their Mom visits them, she brings 3 days worth of food, begins to tidy up, dust, do the laundry, and rearrange the furniture.

American kids: Their dads always call before they come over to visit them, and it's usually only on special occasions.
Italian kids: Are not at all fazed when their dads show up, unannounced, on a Saturday morning at 8:00 , and starts pruning the fruit trees. If there are no fruit trees, he'll plant some.

American kids: Always pay retail, and look in the Yellow Pages when they need to have something done.
Italian kids: Call their dad or uncle, and ask for another dad's or uncle's phone number to get it done...cash deal.   Know what I mean??

American kids: Will come over for cake and coffee, and get only cake and coffee.  No more.
Italian kids: Will come over for cake and coffee, and get antipasto, wine, a pasta dish, a choice of two meats, salad, bread, a cannoli, fruit, espresso, and a few after dinner drinks.

American kids: Will greet you with "Hello" or "Hi".
Italian kids: Will give you a big hug, a kiss on your cheek, and a pat on your back.

American kids: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.
Italian kids: Call your parents Mom and Dad.

American kids: Have never seen you cry.
Italian kids: Cry with you.

American kids: Borrow your stuff for a few days and then return it.
Italian kids: Keep your stuff so long, they forget it's yours.

American kids: Will eat at your dinner table and leave.
Italian kids: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing, and just being together.

American kids: Know few things about you.
Italian kids: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

American kids: Eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on soft mushy white bread.
Italian kids: Eat Genoa Salami and Provolone sandwiches, Rabe sandwiches and Meatball and pepper sanchwiches on crusty Italian bread.

American kids: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing.
Italian kids: Will kick the whole crowds' ass who left you behind.

American kids: Are Friends for a while.
Italian kids: Are Friends for life.

American kids: Like Rod Stewart, and Steve Tyrell.
Italian kids: Worship Tony Bennett, and Sinatra

American kids: Will sign my guest book.
Italian kids: Will ingore this.