AMERICA/ECUADOR - Sunday, September 14, there will be a “Procession for Peace, Life, and the Family,” featuring three outdoor Masses taking place simultaneously in three locations in Guayaquil

Guayaquil (Agenzia Fides) – This Sunday, September 14, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, will be a special day of prayer in Ecuador, as they prepare for the upcoming referendum scheduled to take place on September 28, an event that will be of utmost importance for the country’s future, as the citizens will decide on a new draft of the Constitution.
The Ecuadorian Council of Lay Catholics (CELCA) has organized a large Procession for Peace, Life, and the Family in Ecuador on this day. The event will conclude with three outdoor Masses taking place simultaneously in three locations in Guayaquil. Archbishop Antonio Arregui, President of the Bishops’ Conference, will preside the Mass to take place in the city’s downtown quarter, while Bishops Marcos Perez and Hugo Lino will celebrate Masses in the northern and southern parts of the city. In order to encourage participation among the faithful in attending these Masses, all other parishes will cancel their regular mass schedule this Sunday.
The image of “Cristo del Consuelo,” an icon of great devotion in Guayaquil, will be taken in procession at 9am on Sunday. At the close of the procession, the Archbishop of Guayaquil will celebrate Mass in front of the icon. In addition, there will be a crowning of an image of Our Lady as Queen of Ecuador, in a moment of prayer for the country.
CELCA has also stated that the same initiative will be taking place in other cities of Ecuador during the month of September. There will also be a daily recitation of the Rosary, Angelus at midday, and fasting every Friday of this month, in preparation for the referendum regarding whether or not the people accept the new Constitution.
Bishop Marcos Perez affirmed that the events of September 14 “have a strictly religious purpose, which is to offer a prayer for peace, life, and the family.” It is not political, as some media sources have implied. Bishop Perez said that in response to this upcoming referendum on the new Constitution, what the Church is hoping for is “unity and peace, the well-being of all Ecuadorian families,” and thus, “we turn to the best thing we have as Christians and believers: prayer.” He also mentioned that the priests will be giving a message focused on the defense of fundamental values of life, family, and freedom for each person.
Nicolas Dousdebes, Assistant Secretary General of the Bishops’ Conference, explained that the Masses taking place in Guayuaquil and in other Ecuadorian cities were initiatives of a groups of Catholic laymen who wish to pray for peace and illumination for Ecuadorians in the referendum. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 12/9/2008)