Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, will visit Ethiopia where in Addis Ababa, as Special Envoy of the Holy Father Benedict XVI, he will conclude the celebrations commemorating the new Christian Millennium, on the occasion of the National Eucharistic Congress. During his trip, Cardinal Dias will also visit the Vicariate Apostolic of Meki and the Diocese of Djibouti.
The Cardinal is scheduled to arrive in Addis Ababa on May 1. He will then meet with His Excellency Ato Girma Woldegiorgis, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and His Holiness Abba Paulos, Patriarch of Ethiopia. The first meeting with faithful will take place in the Catholic Cathedral of Addis Ababa.
On Friday, May 2, Cardinal Dias will celebrate the Mass in the Cathedral of Addis Ababa with the consecrated members of the Congregations and Institutes of Apostolic Life in Ethiopia. In the afternoon, he will meet with the seminarians, professors, and formers of St. Francis’ Philosophical and Theological Institute. Later, he will visit the interim campus of the Ethiopian Catholic University of St. Thomas Aquinas (ECUSTA) and the Activity Center of the Missionaries of Charity, in Asco, that cares for HIV-infected orphans.
On Saturday, May 3, he will visit the Vicariate Apostolic of Meki. There, he will celebrate Mass in the Cathedral and meet with the Apostolic Vicar, the priests, the religious, and laity. Cardinal Dias will also visit some of the other institutions run by the Church.
On Sunday, May 4, at 9am, he will celebrate the Closing Mass for the National Eucharistic Congress, at the Salesian Parish of Mary, Help of Christians in Mekanissa, Addis Ababa. The liturgy, which will be held in the Eastern Rite and in the Amharic language, will be presided by Archbishop Berhaneyesus D. Souraphiel of Addis Ababa, President of the Ethiopian Bishops’ Conference. The Holy Father’s Special Envoy, Cardinal Dias, will give the homily. In the afternoon, Cardinal Dias will meet with the Bishops in order to discuss the situations, challenges, and difficulties of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia.
On Monday, May 5, he will meet with members of the Church of Djibouti. Following a visit to the President of the Republic, His Excellency Ismail Omar Guelleh, he will preside a Mass in the Cathedral of Djibouti, which has recently been restored. Afterwards, he will attend a reception in honor of Pope Benedict XVI’s 3rd anniversary of election. On Tuesday, May 6, Cardinal Dias will travel from Djibouti to Addis Ababa. In the evening, he will leave Addis Ababa to return to Rome. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 29/4/2008; righe 35, parole 431)
