News

COMECE gathers young people to exchange on the future of Europe

14/09/2021

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of the European Union (COMECE) releases on Thursday 9 September the final report of its Catholic Youth Convention on the Future of Europe, held online last June with the participation of over 100 young Catholics from all EU Member States. The report contains concrete policy proposals and suggestions to address today’s  most urgent issues in Europe. Cardinal Hollerich: “Full trust in young people”… Read more »

Pope’s pilgrimage to Hungary and Slovakia “will be a spiritual journey”

10/09/2021

The director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, presents Pope Francis’ 34th Apostolic Journey, taking place from 12-15 September. He notes that his visit to Budapest will be “a pilgrimage in honour of the Blessed Sacrament”. In Slovakia, he says, the Pope will embrace a people wounded by totalitarianism, “but with an eye to the future”.

Pope Francis’ 34th journey abroad, which also marks 54 countries visited around the world, aims to be “a pilgrimage to the heart of Europe, during which the Pope will address issues that affect the entire continent”… Read more »

First Communion given to 1,200 children as part of Eucharistic Congress

09/09/2021

At Budapest’s majestic Heroes Square, some 1,200 Children received their First Communion. They are among the youngest pilgrims participating in the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Hungary.

It’s seen as a hopeful sign for a nation where the Church is still recovering from decades of Communist rule, during which Christian education for children was discouraged or forbidden.

Organizers described the Mass and other events during the Congress as “a celebration of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.”

That approach is also welcomed by non-Catholic participants such as Blanka Fabiny, a 27-year-old Lutheran kindergarten teacher… Read more »

52nd International Eucharistic Congress begins in Budapest

07/09/2021

“May the Lord God grant us to the capacity to feel in these days that Christ is with us in the Eucharist. He does not leave the Church, people and humanity alone”.

Cardinal Péter Erdő, Primate of Hungary, pronounced these heartfelt words at the beginning of the Mass in Budapest that opened the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress, which had to be postponed from last year due to the pandemic… Read more »

The Jubilee CCEE Assembly in Rome from 23 to 26 September 2021

07/09/2021

This year, the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) celebrates its 50th anniversary: it was established in March 1971 and subsequently approved by St Paul VI. To celebrate this jubilee event, the annual CCEE Plenary Assembly will take place in Rome from 23 to 26 September 2021 with the participation of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences from across Europe.

Founded as a body of communion between the European Bishops’ Conferences, with the aim of promoting and safeguarding the good of the Church, for 50 years CCEE has been committed, according to its statutes, to “exercising collegiality in hierarchical communion cum et sub romano pontefice; a closer communication and co-operation between bishops and the bishops’ conferences of Europe in order to promote and inspire the work of new evangelisation; to contribute to the ecumenical dialogue for Christian unity; to offer an ecclesial witness in European society”… Read more »

Fundraising campaign for Afghanistan and Haiti victims

Caritas Malta calls for humanitarian response

06/09/2021

Fuq talba tal‑Isqfijiet ta’ Malta u Għawdex, Caritas Malta f’kollaborazzjoni ma’ Caritas Internationalis qed tappella għad‑donazzjonijiet ta’ flus b’risq il‑poplu tal‑Afganistan u dak tal-Ħaiti, li qed ibatu minħabba ċirkustanzi li għaddej minnhom pajjiżhom. F’dawn iż‑żewġ pajjiżi għadd kbir ta’ persuni qed jgħaddu minn ħafna tbatija u biża’ wara li tilfu djarhom u spiċċaw mingħajr ikel u affarijiet bażiċi sanitarji fost diffikultajiet oħra.

Fl‑Afganistan, eluf ta’ persuni qed jippruvaw jaħarbu minn pajjiżhom wara li t‑Talibani reġgħu ħadu kontroll tal‑pajjiż… Read more »

“Kull Pass Jgħodd” – 265km in aid of Fondazzjoni Sebħ

25 volunteers will walk the Camino de Santiago in aid of Fondazzjoni Sebħ

04/09/2021

Għadd ta’ voluntiera mill-grupp Caminiamo l-ġimgħa d-dieħla se jagħmlu l-Pellegrinaġġ ta’ San Ġakbu magħruf bħala l-Camino de Santiago fi Spanja. Id-donazzjonijiet miġbura se jmorru b’risq l-entità tal-Knisja Fondazzjoni Sebħ, biex tkun tista’ tiftaħ ċentru terapewtiku f’Santa Venera li se jgħin lit-tfal, l-adolexxenti u n-nisa li joqgħodu f’waħda mir-residenzi tal-fondazzjoni.

Il-motto tal-pellegrinaġġ ta’ din is-sena hu ‘Kull Pass Jgħodd’ b’riferiment għall-mixja nnifisha kif ukoll għal kull pass żgħir ’il quddiem li jsir waqt it-terapija… Read more »

Inauguration of restoration work on two Francesco Zahra paintings

A project by the Foundation for Cultural Heritage co-financed by EU funds

03/09/2021

Ġie inawgurat ix‑xogħol ta’ restawr u konservazzjoni fuq żewġ pitturi tal‑artist Malti Francesco Zahra, li jinsabu fil‑kor tal‑Bażilika Minuri ta’ Marija Bambina, l‑Isla. Dan il‑proġett sar mill‑Fondazzjoni għall‑Patrimonju Kulturali tal‑Arċidjoċesi ta’ Malta, b’kofinanzjament ta’ 80% minn fondi tal‑Unjoni Ewropea. L‑inawgurazzjoni saret mill‑Isqof Awżiljarju Joseph Galea‑Curmi u mis‑Segretarju Parlamentari għall‑Fondi Ewropej Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi. Preżenti wkoll is‑Segretarju Amministrattiv tal‑Arċidjoċesi ta’ Malta Michael Pace Ross, u l‑Arċipriet Kan… Read more »

European Church leaders urge EU to protect the vulnerable in Afghanistan

03/09/2021

In a joint statement released by CEC and COMECE, the two bodies representing European Churches and European Bishops call for solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and for support from European Union Member Nations.

As EU institutions are holding meetings on Afghanistan this week, European Churches turn to all political leaders, offering reflections and policy recommendations, urging them to prove that “EU values are not an empty rhetoric but are practical guiding principles that lead to actions based on ethical standards, beyond mere political or economic considerations.”

In their joint statement, Churches appeal to the international community to protect persons who are targets of oppression and whose lives are at risk, such as women, children, civil society actors, human rights defenders, journalists, artists and members of ethnic and sexual minorities, as well as Christians and other religious communities… Read more »