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November 15, 2015

Francis gives new life to ‘Catacombs Pact’

Basilica of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus, an underground altar where the Catacombs Pact was signed at a Mass on Nov. 16, 1965

ROME - On the evening of Nov. 16, 1965, quietly alerted to the event by word-of-mouth, some 40 Roman Catholic bishops made their way to celebrate Mass in an ancient, underground basilica in the Catacombs of Domitilla on the outskirts of the Eternal City.

Published in Vatican
November 13, 2015

Back to the catacombs: New emphasis placed on bishops' simplicity pact

Retired Italian Bishop Luigi Bettazzi of Ivrea, Italy, is pictured during a press conference at Vatican Radio Nov. 12. Bishop Bettazzi, 92, is the last surviving bishop of the 42 members of the Second Vatican Council who signed a pact in 1965 in the Catacombs of Domatilla promising to live simply and close to the poor.

VATICAN CITY - Italian Bishop Luigi Bettazzi is the last surviving bishop of the 42 members of the Second Vatican Council who celebrated a Mass Nov. 16, 1965, in the Catacombs of Domitilla and signed a pact promising to live simply and close to the poor.

Published in Vatican