"40 hours" of prayer and information for Church in Need
The event in its third edition this year takes place in many cities across Italy.
Rome (AsiaNews) The "40 hours devotion for the Church in Need", held in 11 cities and other places across Italy, is a "marathon of prayer and information". Now in its third edition, the "40 hours devotion" aims to "call on the Lord to help and to support many of our brothers, who suffer for testifying to their loyalty to the Gospel and for belonging to the Church of Christ," said Cardinal Camillo Ruini, chairman of the Italian Bishops' Conference.
Organised by the Work of Pontifical Right, Aiuto alla Chiesa che Soffre (ACS) [Aid to the Church in Need], the "marathon" takes place on 5,6 and 7 April. Wednesday will be dedicated to the Church in need in Latin America and Asia, and Thursday to Africa and Europe, thanks to the presence of priests, sisters and lay people from these continents.
In 2005, there were several meaningful projects implemented by the ACS in various continents. One of the most noteworthy was the distribution of around 250,000 copies of "God talks to His children" a compilation of biblical texts in Asia. This book was published in the local languages of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Then there was the dispatch of 350,000 statuettes of the Baby Jesus to Cuba, where they were given to families at Christmas time, and the inauguration in August of a centre for higher theological studies in Leopoli in Ukraine. In Africa, help for the formation of seminarians proved very important, especially in Nigeria and in Sudan.
Meetings are set to be held in Roma (basilica of Sts Ambrose and Charles at the Corso); Milan (church of St Rafael); Syracuse (St Mary of the Immaculate Conception); Caltanissetta (Queen of Peace); Reggio Emilia (St Peter); Messina (St Mary of the Miracles); Palermo (St Oliva); Florence (chapel of the sisters of Maria Riparatrice); Reggio Calabria (church of St George at the Corso); Ragusa (St Peter); Mestre (St John the Evangelist) and many other smaller places, with the noteworthy participation of Sicily's parish communities.
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