Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - “An anniversary celebrated with the Church in Rome and with the universal Church to reaffirm our ‘yes’ to the Church and to re-launch the work of evangelisation in every corner of the world ”. This was how Mario Marazziti, spokesman of the S. Egidio community summarised for Fides celebrations yesterday evening in Rome at the Basilica of St John Lateran for the 37th anniversary of the birth of the S. Egidio Community. Among various personalities present Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity who presided the celebration of the Eucharist.
“Archbishop Rylko” Marazziti said, “underlined the importance of the memory of the extraordinary story started here in Rome some years ago by a small group of students. Yesterday evening - said Marazziti - was a testimony God’s work which led to the birth our community: in front of many bishops and personalities where was a mixed audience of poor people and representatives of institutions. All together to say that the Church is One and that our Community is part of the Church”.
The Community now has about 50,000 members, all volunteers, in 70 different countries.
The past year for the Community is to be remembered, marked at the end by commitment to help victims of the tsunami in Asia, and the Balzan Peace Prize awarded to the Community with special mention of its anti-AIDS programme DREAM in Africa started some years ago and the most effective on the whole of the sub-Saharan continent.
The year of Africa, for S. Egidio, co-promoter of a national meeting for Africa held in Rome involving 100,000 people. The year when we signed in Rome an important commitment to prevent more conflict in Liberia, a Pact of fidelity to the 2003 Peace Agreement, the solution of preliminary problems to negotiations in the civil war in Togo, thanks to recognition obtained from the government of the opposition leader and the restitution, not only symbolic, at the Community’s headquarter of his passport.
Before Mass the Community prayed for the health of the Pope: “we are sons and daughters of the Pope” Marazziti said, “and we are grateful for his testimony of strength despite his physical frailness”. (P.L.R.) (Agenzia Fides 4/02/2005 - Righe 26; Parole 369)
