Christian world

Caritas: Pope to Launch ‘Share the Journey’ Campaign

On September 27, Pope Francis will launch Caritas Internationalis’ campaign “Share the Journey,” geared to promoting encounter with migrants and refugees, announced L’Osservatore Romano in its edition of Wednesday, July 26, 2017. In a letter sent in past days by the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila and President of Caritas Internationalis, Luis Antonio Tagle, to Catholic charitable organizations to present the campaign, he affirms that “we will find the path of peace through the culture of encounter.”

In Aleppo, the Dead Await Final Resting Place

This month, Pope Francis opened up a new path to sainthood for “those Christians who, following in the footsteps and teaching of Jesus, have offered their life voluntarily and freely for others and have persevered in this to death.” As reported by Aid to the Church in Need, in Aleppo, Syria, more than 2,400 Christians who died in the country’s civil war are awaiting proper burial—there may be saints among them. One day, some of their stories will be told.

France: Monument in Memory of Father Hamel Murdered by Terrorists

A year after the murder of French priest Jacques Hamel, the Archbishop of Rouen, Monsignor Dominique Lebrun, will preside over a Mass in the church of Saint Stephen in Sainte-Etienne-du-Rouvray, on the outskirts of the city of Rouen, some 80 kilometers northwest of Paris.

The Eucharistic Celebration will be held at 9:00 am, the hour in which Father Hamel was celebrating Mass when he was brutally murdered by two terrorists. Then, at 10:50 am the community of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray will unveil a commemorative monument for peace and fraternity. There will be Vespers at 6:00 pm in the Basilica of Notre Dame de Bon, followed by time to pray before Father Hamel’s tomb.

Pope’s Trip to Peru: Two Places in Lima to Receive Between 2-5 M People

Young People Who Wish Can Register to Be Part of the “Pope’s Guard,” which Will Assist during the Events

Two suitable places in Lima have already been identified, for Pope Francis’ visit to Peru from January 18-21, 2018, which will receive between 2-5 million people, said the director of the Organizing Commission of the Archbishopric of Lima, Father Luis Gaspar Uribe, to Radio “Programs of Peru,” adding that “Rome already knows which ones they are and we are awaiting the approval.”

Losing Faith: Germany’s Christian Population Declining at Record Rate

The number of Christians in Germany decreased dramatically in 2016, largely driven by demographic changes, the German press reports.The number of Catholics and Protestants in Germany sank to a new low in 2016, with the latter hemorrhaging almost 1.6 percent of members in comparison with the previous year, according to recently released figures.

Italy drought: Vatican turns off fountains to save water

The drought that is affecting the city of Rome and the surrounding areas of the capital has led the Holy See to take measures to save water.

The Governorate of Vatican City State has decided to turn off all the fountains, both the external ones located in St. Peter's Square, and the interior fountains including those in the Vatican Gardens.