EUROPE/GERMANY - Stars Singers “messengers of charity and peace”: “even children can do something to change the world and to help other less fortunate children”

Berlin (Fides Service) - “You are messengers of charity and peace” Angela Merkel, the new Chancellor of Germany told a group of Holy Childhood children, known here as Stern Singers, who visited her at the Federal Chancellery on Tuesday 20 December. The delegation consisted of 4 children from each of Germany’s 27 dioceses representing about 500,000 boys and girls who every year a few days before the feast of the Epiphany on January 6 go from door to door singing carols to collect funds for children in need in mission territories. “Children can do it - ¡Los niños lo pueden lograr!” is the motto of Stern Singers’ 48th campaign in aid this year of symbol country Peru (see Fides 07/10/05).
Dressed as Three Kings and carrying the Star, about half a million Stern Singers in the 12,500 parishes all over Germany will go from home to home collecting funds for poor children in mission countries and carrying a special Christmas blessing to families chalked over front doors with the letters C+M+B (Christus mansionem benedicat - may Christ bless this home). The annual collection last year taken just after the 26 December tsunami tragedy in south east Asia reached a record sum of 47,6 million Euro.
In 1984 the Federal Chancellery was added to the list of addresses for “Stern Singers” to visit and leave their blessing. “We are honoured by this recognition at such high political level and we thank the German chancellor Angela Merkel for receiving us and giving us her support” said Holy Childhood Society secretary in Germany Mgr. Winfried Pilz in his brief address. While ten year old Max Lambertz told the Chancellor the reason for the Stern Singers’ commitment: “We want to be Stern Singers because we know even children can do something to change the world and to help other less fortunate children”. (MS) (Agenzia Fides, 22/12/2005 - 25 righe, 362 parole)