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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is to celebrate daily Mass on Wednesday, 14 September for the French priest of Rouen, Fr. Jacques Hamel, who was murdered at the altar while celebrating Mass.A statement released by the Holy See Press Office said the Mass is a sign of the Pope’s nearness to the relatives and friends of Fr. Hamel and to the community of Rouen, France.Archbishop Dominque Lebrun of Rouen, along with 80 other pilgrims from the diocese, will participate in the suffrage Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta at 7 a.m. Rome time.Fr. Hamel was slain by two Muslim migrants while celebrating Mass in the Church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray on 26 July 2016.The Mass will be broadcast live by the Vatican Television Station (CTV).Click here to watch live.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is to celebrate daily Mass on Wednesday, 14 September for the French priest of Rouen, Fr. Jacques Hamel, who was murdered at the altar while celebrating Mass.
A statement released by the Holy See Press Office said the Mass is a sign of the Pope’s nearness to the relatives and friends of Fr. Hamel and to the community of Rouen, France.
Archbishop Dominque Lebrun of Rouen, along with 80 other pilgrims from the diocese, will participate in the suffrage Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta at 7 a.m. Rome time.
Fr. Hamel was slain by two Muslim migrants while celebrating Mass in the Church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray on 26 July 2016.
The Mass will be broadcast live by the Vatican Television Station (CTV).
Click here to watch live.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will take part in the final meeting of the World Day of Prayer for Peace when he travels to Assisi on Tuesday, 20 September.The World Day of Prayer for Peace concludes a 3-day event organized by the Sant’Egidio Community entitled this year “Thirst of Peace. Religions and Cultures in Dialogue”. It will see the participation of over 450 religious leaders of different faiths gathered to pray for peace and strengthen dialogue in the spirit of Assisi.The first “World Day of Prayer for Peace of Assisi" was held by Pope Saint John Paul II in October 1986 the first time such an event had occurred. Major religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop of Canterbury, joined with the Pope to call for peace, unity, and interreligious understanding. Saint John Paul II closed that meeting with the call "Let's keep spreading the message of Peace and living the spirit of Assisi" and since then the communit...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will take part in the final meeting of the World Day of Prayer for Peace when he travels to Assisi on Tuesday, 20 September.
The World Day of Prayer for Peace concludes a 3-day event organized by the Sant’Egidio Community entitled this year “Thirst of Peace. Religions and Cultures in Dialogue”. It will see the participation of over 450 religious leaders of different faiths gathered to pray for peace and strengthen dialogue in the spirit of Assisi.
The first “World Day of Prayer for Peace of Assisi" was held by Pope Saint John Paul II in October 1986 the first time such an event had occurred. Major religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop of Canterbury, joined with the Pope to call for peace, unity, and interreligious understanding.
Saint John Paul II closed that meeting with the call "Let's keep spreading the message of Peace and living the spirit of Assisi" and since then the community of Sant'Egidio has sought to fulfill that message by convening an annual meeting of religious leaders to discuss critical global issues of peace, unity, and interreligious dialogue.
Upon his arrival in Assisi, Pope Francis will be greeted by a group of faith leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The day will include afternoon prayer in St Francis' basilica and the Vatican has announced that the religious leaders will also meet "victims of war".
The Pope will meet religious leaders and others individually including two Jewish and Muslim leaders and the event will conclude with a signing of an appeal for peace that will then be handed to children representing different parts of the globe.
As the Bishop of Assisi, Domenico Sorrentino explains to Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni, the event takes place in a historic moment for peace-building as we witness so many situations of war, terrorism and widespread violence:
Listen:
Bishop Sorrentino says the meeting is a great occasion to bring people together: “believers in all the religions together in this moment in which the world is facing big crises every day”.
And quoting Pope Francis he says a third world war is being fought piecemeal and he says this meeting is an occasion for grace.
“Because we are together not only to reflect, but also to pray, each one according to his own tradition. And we want to re-affirm the importance of faith, the importance of prayer, the importance of the grace of God if we really want to build a new world according to the values of God and of humanity based on peace” he says.
Bishop Sorrentino says that the city of Assisi bears a great responsibility as it is the city of Saint Francis, a city that is beloved across the world.
“We know that we must continue in his footsteps and in the footsteps of the Gospel” he says.
And he points out that it is the ‘way of Saint Francis’ to welcome all people, giving the testimony of Christianity which not only is solid in the faith but has the capacity to open its arms to everybody.
The Bishop says that Pope Francis’ obvious affection for the city of Assisi is a great joy for its inhabitants.
“Pope Francis who chose the name of Francis feels himself to be at home in Assisi” he says.
And Bishop Sorrentino recalls Saint Pope John II’s ‘prophetic’ intuition of 30 years ago and points out that just as Pope Benedict did, “Pope Francis comes to be in the footsteps of this prophecy”.
Tuesday 13 September 2016 marks the first anniversary of the beatification of South Africa’s first martyr, Blessed Tshimangadzo Samuel Benedict Daswa.The cause for Blessed Daswa’s beatification began back in 2008, and Pope Francis authorised the decree to make him a Blessed in January 2015.During the beatification ceremony in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, South Africa a year ago, Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints read out the decree from Pope Francis describing Daswa as “a layman, a family man and an educator who gave heroic witness of the Gospel.”At the time Cardinal Amato also told Vatican Radio’s Roberto Piermarini that by beatifying Daswa, the Catholic Church was inviting the faithful “to nourish only feelings of love, of brotherhood, harmony, solidarity beyond any ethnic, social and religious divisions,” the Cardinal said.Also commenting on the beatification of Blessed Daswa, the Archbishop ...
Tuesday 13 September 2016 marks the first anniversary of the beatification of South Africa’s first martyr, Blessed Tshimangadzo Samuel Benedict Daswa.
The cause for Blessed Daswa’s beatification began back in 2008, and Pope Francis authorised the decree to make him a Blessed in January 2015.
During the beatification ceremony in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, South Africa a year ago, Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints read out the decree from Pope Francis describing Daswa as “a layman, a family man and an educator who gave heroic witness of the Gospel.”
At the time Cardinal Amato also told Vatican Radio’s Roberto Piermarini that by beatifying Daswa, the Catholic Church was inviting the faithful “to nourish only feelings of love, of brotherhood, harmony, solidarity beyond any ethnic, social and religious divisions,” the Cardinal said.
Also commenting on the beatification of Blessed Daswa, the Archbishop of Pretoria in South Africa, William Slattery at the time said, Daswa’s beatification was a sign that he died for his faith in Jesus, and that was why the Church celebrated him for who he was.
Archbishop Slattery said through the beatification, “The Pope is saying: People of the world, here is an ancestor, a spiritual ancestor…an example for the whole world …and also our companion on the road towards God because we are all a family; living and dead, we are all moving towards God,” said the Archbishop of Pretoria. He added, “Saints and Blesseds are God’s gift to us, an example of God’s grace at work in his people,”
Born on the 16 June 1946 in Mbahe, Blessed Daswa, the father of eight children, was known during his life as a good family man, active in the Church and a leader of his community in rural South Africa.
Benedict Daswa’s feast day falls on the 1 February each year.
(Festus Tarawalie, Vatican Radio)
Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va
IMAGE: CNS photo/Ian Langsdon, EPABy Mariana KarapinkaPARIS (CNS) -- On Sundays, the Saint-Germain-des-Presquarter of Paris -- known for its artistic cafes, expensive boutiques andnumerous bookstores -- is filled with people in embroidered shirts who speakUkrainian. Since 1943, the Ukrainian Catholic communityhas prayed at the Cathedral of St. Volodymyr the Great on the BoulevardSaint-Germain. Through the years, the parish has become the center of Ukrainiancultural and social life in Paris."We don't have a feeling that we are inParis as we are walking down the Boulevard Saint-Germain on Sunday or otherfeasts; it's like in our city of Ivano-Frankivsk," said Zoriana Dolishniak. She, her husband,Andriy, and two children came to Paris from Western Ukraine six years ago. InUkraine, Andriy Dolishniak had his own little business, but it did not go well,and they decided to start over in France. He works as an electrician in aconstruction firm; Zoriana Dolishniak cleans private houses. Their...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Ian Langsdon, EPA
By Mariana Karapinka
PARIS (CNS) -- On Sundays, the Saint-Germain-des-Pres quarter of Paris -- known for its artistic cafes, expensive boutiques and numerous bookstores -- is filled with people in embroidered shirts who speak Ukrainian.
Since 1943, the Ukrainian Catholic community has prayed at the Cathedral of St. Volodymyr the Great on the Boulevard Saint-Germain. Through the years, the parish has become the center of Ukrainian cultural and social life in Paris.
"We don't have a feeling that we are in Paris as we are walking down the Boulevard Saint-Germain on Sunday or other feasts; it's like in our city of Ivano-Frankivsk," said Zoriana Dolishniak. She, her husband, Andriy, and two children came to Paris from Western Ukraine six years ago. In Ukraine, Andriy Dolishniak had his own little business, but it did not go well, and they decided to start over in France. He works as an electrician in a construction firm; Zoriana Dolishniak cleans private houses. Their children go to school -- ordinary French school and Saturday Ukrainian school.
The Dolishniaks do not have legal status in France; they are waiting for documents. Their story is typical for the Paris Ukrainian parish, where new immigrants are the majority.
"Eighty percent of our faithful are undocumented," said Bishop Borys Gudziak, who serves the Ukrainian Catholics in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and Luxembourg. He said the Paris parish has been totally transformed by an influx of immigrants who are fleeing social and economic dislocation and, more recently, war.
"We have before us the example of the apostles and the first generation of Christians," the bishop said. "What chance did St. Peter have in Rome where he didn't know the language, he was an undocumented immigrant with no citizen rights, while living in the city of marble, senators, warriors and chariots? What chance do the Greek (Byzantine) Catholics have in Paris with the population of 10 million? We ask ourselves with a smile and in confidence in God's guidance."
Father Mykhailo Romaniuk knows well about the parish transformation. Eighteen years ago as a young priest, he was appointed to Paris, where most of the congregation was an aging post-war diaspora. His appointment coincided with the start of mass immigration of Ukrainians to Western Europe, and he was one of the first to welcome them in Paris.
"When the inflow started, doors of the cathedral never closed. People needed support and information. Sometimes people who arrived had no place to sleep, and they slept in a tiny parish hall," recalled Father Romaniuk. He said they were difficult years, yet the openness of the church for the people in need helped build up the community. "We now have many people because we were there for them."
On Sundays, about 600 attend liturgies, but the parish can see up to 3,500 on Easter, the priest said. It has more than 80 baptisms annually.
Bishop Gudziak said the parish raises the spirit of people. "They come to church to be together with God and with each other. In the city they work hard, often in demeaning circumstances, they live very modestly in tenement dwellings. But in church the glory of the Lord and the fellowship of the community is theirs."
One reason people are attracted to the parish is the school, established in the 1950s. Today it has more than 200 students.
"The Ukrainian school at the parish is a great advantage," said Andriy Dolishniak, who is convinced that it is very important for the children to grow learning Christian values. School offers lessons on Ukrainian language, literature, history and catechism. Dolishniak said that while accompanying his daughter Solomiya to her catechism classes, he was able to deepen his own faith.
The working immigrants are modern-days nomads; some of them stay for a couple of years, some move to other cities and countries. Father Romaniuk said he considers his parish a missionary parish.
"It's hard to implement long-term programs, but we would like to give as much as we can to the parishioners," he said.
One of the programs the parish implements is the global Ukrainian Catholic Church strategy, "The Vibrant Parish -- a place to encounter the living Christ."
"For our eparchy, Paris is a model parish which develops programs and conducts experiments that then radiate throughout the other 29 communities that we have so far," said Bishop Gudziak.
One of the tasks is to foster lay involvement and initiative in administration, in ministry and in outreach. Lawyer Stephane Dunikowski is actively engaged in parish and eparchy life, which she said makes her feel needed. She said she tries "to help with my efforts, my energy, my time and also financially."
Bishop Gudziak said parishioners organized collections for sick children in Ukraine whose parents do not have money for treatment. He said parishioners have been generous toward those who are suffering in Ukraine because of war and the Russian invasion.
Some French Catholics have discovered Byzantine spirituality in the parish, even though they do not always understand national tradition and even the language; cathedral liturgies are celebrated in Ukrainian.
"I feel at home in this community," said a woman who asked only to be identified as Natalie, who visits the cathedral almost every day. "I don't understand a word during the service, but I get a lot."
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