The Slovene Church is celebrating Lent this year by focusing attention on those who have left the Church, explains the spokesman of the bishops of Slovenia, Msgr. Andrei Saje: “The intention is to restore contacts with those who have lost touch with the Church and understand their reasons. The time of Lent may be revealed as a privileged period to understand what we need to do to bring them back to the fold”. Apart from this, some local churches are proposing the renunciation of alcohol, while other events such as “Open Doors Day” have been announced; seminaries and the houses of various religious orders will thus be open to everyone on Saturday 11 March. The aim is to enable the young to gain a better understanding of the priesthood and the consecrated life. The “Week of the Family” will follow from 19 to 25 March. Each Thursday, Lenten conferences open to all the faithful will be held in Ljubljana. A pilgrimage to Rome is planned on 24 March, coinciding with the Consistory during which Monsignor Franc Rodé, Slovene prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, will be created a cardinal by Benedict XVI.
