December 30, 2009. The pope visited the hometown of Saint Padre Pio in southern Italy during the last half of June. He prayed at his tomb and visited the sick at a local hospital.

Benedict XVI inaugurated the Year for Priests in the month of June. Before the relics of the Cure of Ars, he said it would be a year-long opportunity to remember that the Church and society need priests.

Benedict XVI
Our mission is indispensable for the Church and the world. It demands complete fidelity to Christ, and to always be united with Him.

Eighteen young seminarians from all across the United States spent six weeks of their summer studying in Rome during the month of June.

Ryan O’Neal
Seminarian, Loveland, Colorado
“I’m not just a Catholic, I’m a Roman Catholic. And understanding the importance of that has given me confidence going back.”

The program called “The Rome Experience,” brought American students from different walks of life together in the Eternal City to study and live.

The pope also closed the Year of Saint Paul at the end of June. He took the opportunity to explain to the world that, using a probe, scientists have been able to analyze remains found inside the sarcophagus.

Benedict XVI
"Tiny fragments of bone were put through 14 carbon tests by experts who were unaware of their origins. And they found that they belong to a person who lived between the 1st  and 2nd centuries."

The pope also explained that inside the sarcophagus, which has never been opened before, archaeologists found the remains of tissue.

RS