Spain, Belarus, Portugal

Spain: National diocesan Caritas meeting Episcopal delegates from the 70 diocesan Caritas members of Caritas Spain Confederation gathered in Madrid for their ninth National Meeting. “Parish Caritas and evangelization. The Christian community evangelizes in the exercise of charity” is the theme chosen for this year’s event. The panels, coordinated the Episcopal Delegate of Caritas Spain, Vicente Altaba, were jointly opened by Monsignor Alfonso Milian, bishop of Barbastro-Monzón, a member of the Episcopal Commission for Social Pastoral Care of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, and by the president of Caritas Spain, Rafael del Rio, which, referring to the encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” by Benedict XVI and to the apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” by Pope Francis, pointed out that the two Pontiffs equally proposed that “those who work in ecclesial environments – of which charity is a key sector – need specific training and be permeated by the Gospel so that our commitment may also have human content”. “Lay people – said Rafael del Río – must attentively follow the spiritual recommendations of our priests and our bishops. In the same way, priests and bishops must organize charity, promote the participation of lay people, train them and support them constantly so that their zeal may not fail”. From this perspective, the president of Caritas Spain recalled that “in contrast to what happens in society, where everything is measured on the basis of achievements and where failure is a disappointment, we must work without thinking that our work has a point of arrival, because our commitment is permanent and has no end”. Belarus: Faith and young people, meeting in Grodno Strengthening the faith and living a communal spirit in God: this is the aim of the twenty-first Diocesan Youth Meeting to be held in the parish of the Divine Mercy in Grodno (Belarus) May 16 to 18. The origin of this tradition dates back to 1993, when the Bishop, Alexander Kashkevich, decided to follow the example and message of John Paul II, and began to devote special attention to the pastoral care of the youth in his diocese, especially in the field of education and spiritual formation. “The event is organized at diocesan level but it has crossed its borders a long time ago”, the organizers explained, adding that this year youths are expected to arrive from every corner of the country. Registrations are already open. The main theme will be “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The program includes a conference, Masses, adoration, prayer, catechesis and also reflections on spirituality and examples of the saints of north-eastern Europe including St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Jadwiga (Hedwig) of Poland, Saint Casimir and Blessed Genrich Glebovic. Portugal: the Latin Patriarch on a pilgrimage to Fatima The Sanctuary of Fatima announced that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem will chair the next international pilgrimage of 13 May, which will focua on the theme: “Mother of universal love”. In an interview to the press, Msgr. Fouad Twal made known the main contents of the prayers to Mary in the “place where she continues to radiate her light, her Motherly love, and her teachings to the world”. “I will come to present to the Holy Virgin the please of her sons and daughters worldwide, of all the Christians of the Middle East, and in particular of the people of her homeland: the Holy Land. I ask you all to pray for the land of Jesus and Mary”. The bishop of Jerusalem also referred to the first visit of Pope Francis to the Holy Land, May 24 to 26, saying that the Holy Father will arrive “as a pilgrim of peace and unity in a land ablaze, with visible and invisible walls that are hard to overcome”. Msgr. Fouad Twal called for concrete actions to celebrate the pilgrimage of the Pope such as “full freedom of access to the holy sites for all believers”, and the opportunity for all families separated by the Wall to meet. The prelate concluded by asking everyone to “pray for the present and the future of Christian minorities in the Middle East, as they are a great wealth of the universal Church”.