Vatican News Updates, Monday September 3rd

The Vatican Information Service is back from its August vacation and so we once again have news updates from Vatican.Va. But of course, CWNews provides a bit more information for those of us who aren't on a first-name basis with the folks mentioned in the VIS releases:

Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for September:

The Holy Father's general intention is: "That the ecumenical assembly of Sibiu in Romania may contribute to the growth of unity among all Christians, for whom the Lord prayed at the Last Supper."

The Pope's missionary intention is: "That, following Christ joyfully, all missionaries may know how to overcome the difficulties they meet in everyday life."

A new head has been appointed for the Pontifical Council of Culture:

Pope Benedict XVI has named Msgr. Gianfranco Ravasi, the prefect of the Ambrosian Library in Milan, to become the new president of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Msgr. Ravasi replaces Cardinal Paul Poupard, who is retiring at the age of 77. The French-born cardinal had served an extraordinary term of nearly 20 years as the head of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

According to the noted Vatican-watcher Sando Magister, Msgr. Ravasi was the personal choice of Pope Benedict, who swept aside objections to the appointment of the prominent priest from Milan. For several years Msgr. Ravasi has been regarded as a likely candidate for an important ecclesiastical post. He has also been enthusiastically championed by Italian progressives, despite his sometimes strained relations with Milan's former archbishop, Italy's most influential progressive prelate, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini.

Finally, for the record, Vatican security official an apparent suicide. (CNA coverage here).