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The Brotherhood of the Holy Supper processes through Seville, Spain, on Holy Monday, March 25, 2024. / Credit: Joaquín Carmona
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Archbishop Alfredo José Espinoza Mateus of Quito presided over a solemn Mass in the Basilica of the National Vow in the Ecuadorian capital to renew the country’s consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. / Credit: International Eucharistic Congress 2024
ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 27, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
The Archdiocese of Quito and the communications office of the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress Quito 2024 reported that on March 25, Monday of Holy Week, Ecuador renewed its historic consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, first carried out 150 years ago.
Archbishop Alfredo José Espinoza Mateus of Quito offered the solemn Mass in the Basilica of the National Vow in the Ecuadorian capital, where the original painting showing the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is kept.
The ceremony, concelebrated by various bishops and priests, was also attended by civil and ecclesial authorities.
According an article posted on the archdiocesan website, Espinoza explained that the renewal is “a gift that makes us raise our hearts grateful to the Lord of life.”
“Today let us renew our trust in the Lord. We know that the final victory does not belong to those who kill, nor will our lives be safe by allying ourselves with the powerful of this world. Given what we are experiencing today, let us not despair,” Espinoza said.
In his homily, the archbishop condemned the violence, corruption, and drug trafficking that has plagued the country. Given the current situation, the archbishop emphasized, it is necessary “to renew our consecration, to say once and for all: Everything is yours; save Ecuador!”
“The history of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus began in the 16th century, and it did not take long to reach Ecuador,” explained the communications office of the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress Quito 2024 (IEC 2024).
This eventually led to the historic consecration of Ecuador on March 25, 1874, carried out by order of the country’s president at the time, Gabriel García Moreno, with the support of the Vatican along with that of the then-archbishop of Quito, José Ignacio Checa y Barba.
Ecuador thus became the first country consecrated to the Sacred Heart. In 1884, it also became the first country where a national Eucharistic congress was held, according to the IEC 2024 article.
The International Eucharistic Congress that will be held Sept. 8–15 in Quito has as its theme “Fraternity to Heal the World.”
It is possible, although it has yet to be confirmed, that Pope Francis will attend the closing Mass.
Registration for the International Eucharistic Congress, both for the symposium to be held from Sept. 4–7 and for the congress itself from Sept. 8–15, opened on Jan. 31 on the event’s website.
The Archdiocese of Quito published the prayer promulgated by the Ecuadorian Bishops’ Conference that was used for renewing the country’s consecration to the Sacred Heart:
Lord Jesus,
with a grateful spirit,
we come to renew our consecration to your Sacred Heart.
We are yours, and we want to walk with you.
Give us a meek and humble heart to be obedient to the will of the Father;
worshippers in spirit and in truth,
and joyful missionaries of your kingdom.
Heart of Jesus that unites us in the holy home of Nazareth,
With the same sentiment as Mary and Joseph, protect our Ecuadorian families,
Grant them a wise heart
to hear your words of life,
a heart grateful for daily bread,
a generous heart with those most in need,
and a merciful heart toward our brothers.
Heart of Jesus,
beacon of light and truth,
make us strong in love and hope,
to grow in respect for life, to be wise custodians of the common home and to live an authentic fraternity.
May it heal the wounds of the world
and drive away every shadow of division from our country.
Heart of Jesus
pierced with love on the cross,
from whose wounded side
the water of life and the blood of love sprang forth,
grant us wisdom and strength,
to break down every wall of selfishness and exclusion,
all forms of violence and injustice,
and all acts of corruption and impunity.
Heart of Jesus,
May your peace reign among us again. Teach us to listen, like Mary,
to the cry of the poor,
to commit ourselves to them.
God of loves, Holy Eucharist,
look at the people of your heart.
Save Ecuador!
Amen.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Catholic faithful offer prayers during an Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Mary’s Basilica in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad in India on Feb. 14, 2024. / Credit: NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty Images
Bangalore, India, Mar 27, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
A watchdog group that monitors violence committed against Christians in India has released a study documenting 161 such crimes in the first 75 days of 2024.
These numbers may underestimate the number of crimes and acts of persecution committed against Christians in India, according to A.C. Michael, a Catholic and coordinator of the United Christian Forum (UCF), which released the report.
“These figures are based only on the complaints registered on our toll-free helpline number (1-800-208-4545) to report incidents of anti-Christian violence. The actual numbers will be certainly much more,” Michael told CNA on March 27.
“We feel frustrated that despite documenting and making public the shocking data regularly, there has been no response from the government nor any effort has been made to curb the steadily rising number of violent incidents,” he said.
Categorizing the 161 incidents, Michael listed 71 cases of detainment/arrest by the police, 18 incidents of social ostracization, 72 cases of physical violence, 15 cases of forced “reconversion,” one incident of a church being sealed, and another in which a church was torched, with mob violence being part of most of these incidents.
Violence and persecution against minority Christians, who account for only 2.3% of India’s 1.41 billion people (nearly 80% of whom are Hindu), have been on a steady rise since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rose to power under the stewardship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after winning the 2014 national election. In May 2019, the BJP was reelected with an increased majority.
UCF had recorded only 147 incidents of violence against Christians in 2014, Michael said. The number of incidents went up to 177 in 2015, 208 in 2016, 240 in 2017, 292 in 2018, 328 in 2019, 279 in 2020, 505 in 2021, 599 in 2022, and 731 in 2023.
The UCF statement also highlighted the victimization of Christians in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh state in central India, which reported “incidents with dignity of burial rights denied to Christian families.”
“Chhattisgarh, a state notoriously known for social ostracization of Christians, is the No. 1 leading state in assaults against Christians with 47 incidents of reported violence,” the UCF pointed out.
“Christians are being denied access to water from the community borewells of the village. Sadly, even dead Christians are not spared, as many were denied burial as per Christian rituals. Local [Hindu fundamentalist] villagers have been threatening to cremate the bodies as a final act of reconversion,” UCF decried.
Such blatant attacks on the Christians, Michael said, are rooted in BJP leaders’ anti-Christian rhetoric. He noted that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai accused “Christian missionaries of carrying out religious conversion under the guise of providing education and health care facilities while warning to stop the practice.”
But, Michael pointed out, Christians in Chhattisgarh account for just 2% of the state’s 25 million people.
The UCF statement also highlighted the persecution of Christians in BJP-ruled northern Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of 231 million and “ranks second [among] states where Indian citizens are being persecuted for practicing Christianity.”
“There is clear evidence of state-sponsored harassment of Christians in this state as the police file false allegations of conversion against the pastors even for praying in birthday parties and other social gatherings. UCF helpline has recorded over 30 incidents of arrests and detentions of pastors under the UP Freedom of Religion Act,” the Christian Forum noted.
CNA has reported in detail how Father Babu Francis, social service director of Allahabad Diocese in Uttar Pradesh state, was jailed for over 80 days after being arrested on charges of false conversion in early October.
Similarly, CNA also reported about how Father Dominic Pinto, director of the Pastoral Centre of Lucknow Diocese, was arrested in February on a false conversion charge. Pinto was released on bail on March 13.
Of the 161 incidents recorded in the first 75 days of 2024, UCF pointed out: “There are 122 Christians who have either been detained or arrested on the false allegation of conversions.”
The UCF data was released on the eve of the March 22 National Day of Prayer that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) called for in the wake of increasing atrocities against Christians and religious polarization in the country.
Thousands of churches across the country held special prayers on the day with special holy hours, rosaries, and Stations of Cross in response to the CBCI appeal for “peace and harmony.”
Meanwhile, the 2023 year report of the Religious Liberty Commission of Evangelical Fellowship of India expressed anguish over “the alarmingly steep rise in the number of violent incidents against the Christian community.”
“The Indian political apparatus, its law enforcement agencies, and its justice system, specially at the level of villages and small towns, have been found wanting and slow in its responses despite urgent pleas for help from victims, church leaders, and civil society,” the report lamented.
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