Cardinal Péter Erdő at a press conference for the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, June 14, 2021. / IEC 2021 Budapest
Budapest, Hungary, Jun 15, 2021 / 04:30 am (CNA).
Cardinal Péter Erdő unveiled Monday the official hymn of this year’s International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest.
The Primate of Hungary presented the hymn at a press conference on June 14.
Organizers described the song as a “refreshed version” of a hymn from 1938, the last time that the Hungarian capital hosted the International Eucharistic Congress.
Erdő, the archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, also introduced a new video featuring the conversion stories of three young people in Budapest.
/ IEC 2021 Budapest.
The 52nd International Eucharistic Congress will take place on Sept. 5-12.
The congress was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but was postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis is scheduled to be the principal celebrant of the closing Mass in Heroes’ Square at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 12.
At the press conference, Erdő also welcomed 12 congress ambassadors, including artists, musicians, singers, and poets, who will offer their witness to the transformative power of the Eucharist.
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Students at The Catholic University of America posing with Delilah the Camel at the school’s annual “Greccio” live nativity event on Dec. 12, 2021. / Patrick Ryan/The Catholic University of America
Washington D.C., Dec 12, 2021 / 22:29 pm (CNA).
You knew this wasn’t your average live nativity scene when you saw the camel.
Delilah, to be more precise.
On Sunday night, Dec. 12, she was the B.M.O.C. (Biggest Mammal on Campus) at The Catholic University of America — and the scene-stealing star of this year’s “Greccio,” a popular Advent event that pays homage to St. Francis of Assisi’s first-ever re-enactment of Christ’s birth, in Greccio, Italy, in 1223.
“Big” does not adequately convey Delilah’s dimensions. She measures 7 feet tall, from her well-cushioned feet to her impressive-looking hump, and tips the scales at approximately 900 pounds (not counting the 12 pounds of dormant grass she munched off the quad during her breaks.)
Delilah brought more than sheer size to the role of 1st century dromedary, however. With extraordinary patience, she let people stroke her surprisingly soft coat to their hearts’ content, and she posed like a pro for hundreds of selfies, looking directly into the camera with what looked an awful lot like a smile.
“Steady … cheese!” her handler, Jennifer Caton of Bar C Ranch, prompted her. Delilah got an animal cracker each time she complied, which was almost always. (This wasn’t her first rodeo — er, nativity scene.)
Students at The Catholic University of America re-enact the nativity scene during the school’s “Greccio” event on Dec. 12, 2021. Patrick Ryan/The Catholic University of America
Catholics in St. Francis’ day had become consumed with worldly cares. Reenacting the nativity at a cave out in the countryside, he hoped, would re-focus their attention on God’s profound humility and love.
The Conventual Franciscan friars in charge of the university’s campus ministry had a similar goal in mind when they initiated the first Greccio event on campus seven years ago. Coming at the end of the semester, it serves to remind students that there is more to celebrate this time of year beside the end of finals.
Held outside the St. Vincent de Paul Chapel, Sunday’s observance featured carols and scripture readings; costumed shepherds, wise men, and the Holy Family; hot chocolate and humongous home-baked cookies … and one very cool camel, among assorted other animals.
There were lots of little kids in attendance — the free event is a huge hit with young families from the surrounding Brookland neighborhood — but nobody seemed more overjoyed to see Delilah than The Catholic University of America students, who welcomed the interruption from their exam week studies.
“I didn’t know there was going to be a camel here,” said Emily Thomas, 19, a freshman from Baltimore who was taking a break from writing a 10-page paper on the Beatitudes.
“She’s like the coolest animal I’ve ever seen,” said a smitten Ben Rees, 19, a sophomore from Smithfield, Rhode Island, who had already knocked out two papers on Sunday but still had one to go.
“I love this,” said Susan Gibbs, the university’s interim executive director of communications, as she watched the festive scene unfold.
This was her first Greccio, and she seemed as delighted to be there as the students. “I mean, how often do you get to meet a camel?” she said.
Vatican City, Jan 20, 2022 / 10:57 am (CNA).
Archbishop Georg Gänswein said on Thursday that Pope emeritus Benedict XVI is praying for abuse victims in the wake of a report on the handling of abuse … […]
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