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The Catholic Church celebrates the World Day for Consecrated Life every year on February 2nd, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas, or the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The day of prayer was established by Pope John Paul II in 1997. Pope Francis said the mission of consecrated men and women ...

“COP28 must accelerate practical action on mitigation, adaptation loss and damage and climate finance and build a fully inclusive COP28 that leaves no one behind”. (COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, EU Climate Commissioner and Chief COP28 Negotiator Wopke Hoekstra, Brussels – Nov 13th 2023). COP28 UAE will take place at Expo City Dubai from November 30-December 12, 2023. The ...

Pope Francis has been very forthright in his language and content in his recently published an Apostolic Exhortation ‘Laudate Deum’ (‘Praise God’) building on his 2015 Laudato Si’ encyclical. Laudato Si’ (‘Praise be to you’) was written to engage the scientific, political, and religious communities – addressed really to “every living person on this planet”, to summon us all to ...

On the 4th October, the close of the Season of Creation and the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi,  Pope Francis has published an Apostolic Exhortation ‘Laudate Deum’ (‘Praise God’) building on his 2015 Laudato Si’ encyclical. We are not doing enough, he says, we’re close to breaking point. He criticises climate change deniers, saying that the human origin ...

“The path to Christian unity and the path of synodal conversion of the Church are linked. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that on Saturday 30 September, an ecumenical prayer vigil will be held on St. Peter’s Square, with which we will entrust the work of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. For ...

Pope Francis’s encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, published in 2020, set the universal context as to how our response should be to migrants and refugees. It expresses the need to “acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lives.”  In today’s context, this concept is increasingly under threat from nationalist or ...

The International Day of Peace (IDP) is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. Never has our world needed peace more.  This year’s theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals. It is a call ...

The Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) since 1914 as an opportunity to express concern for different vulnerable people on the move; to pray for them as they face many challenges; and to increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers.  Every year the WDMR is the last Sunday of September; in 2023 it will ...

An Ecumenical Prayer Vigil will take place on Saturday, 30 September – immediately preceding the General Assembly of the Synod.  This service will emphasise the centrality of prayer in the synodal process and highlight the relationship between synodality and ecumenism. Presenting the event at a press conference at the Holy See Press Office, Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Undersecretary of the General Secretariat ...

Heritage was not a word up until now, that I had thought too much about, particularly in relation to Presentation Life.  In these days of National Heritage Week 2023 however, I have come to realise that ‘our heritage’ as Presentation People is somehow something more personal, inspirational and people-centred than ‘legacy’ can ever be.  It is foundational, the scaffolding on ...