Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Beijing (Agenzia Fides) – For the peace of the world created by God but destroyed by man-made wars and natural disasters, and the Lord's blessing on all those who suffer: these prayers were addressed to the Lord by the continental Catholic community during the prayer vigil celebrated on the evening of 24 March, on the eve of the Solemnity of the Annunciation, in various places. According to information received by Fides, a lengthy period of Adoration was held in the Cathedral of the Diocese of Ji Nan, Shan Dong province, with many faithful present. Led by the sisters of the diocesan congregation, in the spirit of Christian charity, those who took part in the vigil, prayed intensely for the victims of the earthquake in China (in the province of Yun Nan) and in Japan, and also for the peoples forced to live in unstable and unsafe circumstances, such as in Yemen, and in Libya, etc. They prayed to the Lord to “welcome all the victims of war and natural disasters into his fatherly embrace”, and that “the living may have the courage to live their lives according to God's plan and not the whims of man.”
Seminarians from the Minor Seminary of Zhao Zhuang, in the city of Xing Tai, He Bei province, gathered around the Eucharist and the Word of God on the eve of the Annunciation, praying especially for world peace. Reviewing the most tragic events of recent times, they prayed for the people of the province of Yun Nan and of Japan, for the people of the Middle East and North African Countries. According to the testimony of one of them, “the world of today is not as good as we dreamed, but because of this we have a duty to pray, to help the world to return to a state of peace, just as Jesus taught us.” (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 25/03/2011)
