At least two dead as explosion devastates Catholic parish building in Madrid

January 20, 2021 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

CNA Staff, Jan 20, 2021 / 09:30 am (CNA).- At least two people are believed to have died after an explosion on Wednesday devastated a building belonging to a Catholic parish in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

The explosion took place near the Puerta de Toledo in central Madrid after 3 p.m. local time on Jan. 20.

The archdiocese of Madrid said that the explosion may have been caused by a gas leak in the building owned by the Parish of the Virgen de la Paloma and San Pedro el Real.

It said that priests lived on two floors of the building, which also contained space used by the parish and Caritas.

“Two of the priests are OK and one has been transferred to the hospital. An attempt is being made to locate a layman who was with them at the time of the explosion,” the archdiocese said.

The archdiocese added that Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, the archbishop of Madrid, had traveled to the scene of the explosion to offer support to members of the parish.

“I pray for the Christian community in these difficult times and I pray for the victims,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

 

Pedimos que recéis por que no haya víctimas. Son los salones y la vivienda de los sacerdotes de la parroquia. Los sacerdotes están atendidos por samur y fuera de peligro. Hay una persona laica que estaba allí que no se la localiza. https://t.co/sXpAnrlZyC

— Virgen de la Paloma ⛪️ (@ParroquiaPaloma) January 20, 2021

 

ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, reported that Madrid’s mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, had confirmed that at least two people had died as a result of the explosion.

The mayor added that the building was still burning, but firefighters had not yet extinguished the flames due to the risk of further explosions.

ACI Prensa said that local residents, including members of a nursing home, had sought refuge in neighborhood cafes.

The explosion damaged nearby buildings, shattering glass and showering the street with debris.

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In Rome, Catholic Charismatic Renewal to celebrate 50 years

May 30, 2017 CNA Daily News 0

Rome, Italy, May 30, 2017 / 02:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Some 30,000 followers of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal will be in Rome this week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the movement with meetings and Mass, culminating in a prayer vigil led by Pope Francis in the Circus Maximus.

The May 31 – June 4 jubilee is being organized by the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services and the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships.

The celebrations are capped on each end by events with Pope Francis, starting with the Wednesday General Audience and ending with Mass in St. Peter’s Square for Pentecost.

On the vigil of Pentecost the Pope will address participants during an ecumenical prayer vigil.

Organizers told journalists Tuesday that they expect participants to hail from some 220 countries around the world. Of these, around 300 are evangelical or Pentecostal leaders.

There will also be 600 priests and 50 bishops present.

The program includes meetings, symposia and workshops in locations across Rome, including testimony by some of the witness of the early years of the charismatic renewal.

Other smaller events throughout will include Eucharistic adoration, concerts, conferences, and street evangelization. Mass on Friday will be said by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

Salvatore Martinez, president of Italy’s Catholic charismatic association, told journalists May 30 that the Golden Jubilee is a sign of communion, unity, and charity.

“The Pope urges us to be protagonists of history, and to make these charisms a dynamism of love for men of our time,” he said. “Spiritual ecumenism will be the culminating moment, the heart of this spiritual celebration.”

This spiritual ecumenism will not included discussion of doctrine, according of Michelle Moran, president of ICCRS.

Gilberto Gomes Barbosa, head of the Catholic Fraternity, said the work must be about “spiritual communion,” not indoctrination.

Pope Francis met with members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal at Roman gatherings in 2014 and 2015.

Speaking June 1, 2014, the Pope voiced hope that both evangelical and Catholic charismatic groups, would share the same office as a sign of ecumenism.

His attendance for two consecutive years at the Catholic charismatic movement’s Renewal with the Spirit convocation and his planned participation during this year’s Golden Jubilee celebration show his attention to charismatic movements as a means to foster an ecumenical path and dialogue.

 

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