Częstochowa on its way to a new pilgrimage record
Poland’s most popular Marian shrine, the Jasna Gora Monastery, is set to break yet another visitor record this year. According to its press service, between May and July alone, 112 groups of 14 thousand pilgrims had already flocked to the site to venerate the icon of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa.
On the occasion of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the traditional pilgrimages, which are part of the country’s popular piety, gathered more than 80 thousand devotees at the feet of the Virgin Mary, including 228 groups of faithful who travelled routes of up to 638 kilometres on foot, horseback, bicycle or rollerblades, eager to present their petitions to the Mother of God.
Catholic Church in Sweden grows
In terms of growth, the Catholic Church in Sweden is outstripping other European countries. While in most of the continent the number of faithful has fallen considerably, in the last ten years more than 20 thousand people have been admitted to the Church in this Scandinavian nation, which today numbers more than 130 thousand Catholics.
The expansion, which contrasts with the situation in countries like Germany, has been favoured in part by the influence of immigration, but also due to conversions. What is striking about the latter is that most of them are young people coming from decidedly unreligious backgrounds.
Akita seer dies
On August 15, Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa, a nun who received several messages from Our Lady in 1973, died at the age of ninety-three in Yuzawadai, near the city of Akita, Japan. Agnes, who belonged to the Institute of the Handmaids of the Eucharist, heard the words of the Blessed Virgin through a wooden image that was venerated in her convent.
Surrounding her message with various supernatural signs, Mary Most Holy appealed for conversion, warning humanity of the terrible chastisements that would come if it did not abandon the ways of sin. Through the seer, the Mother of God asked for prayer, penance and sacrifice in order to appease the Heavenly Father’s wrath, and warned of an unprecedented state of moral decadence that would affect even the Holy Church. The Redemptoris Mater Marian Shrine was erected on the site of the apparitions, which today attracts thousands of pilgrims every year.
Nigerian bishops speak out against liturgical abuses
The Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has published a letter to all priests in the country, seeking to eradicate certain deviations in the celebration of the divine mysteries.
The letter, which is brief and to the point, describes the abuses committed by some priests in the exercise of their duties as “shameful for the Church” and “an affront to the sanctity of the Liturgy,” and lists a series of errors that must be corrected immediately: irregularities in following the prayers and rubrics of the Mass, irreverence with the Blessed Sacrament, singing of inappropriate and profane music during the Liturgy, indecent dances and incorporation of local customs incompatible with the Catholic Faith, invention of rites not prescribed by the Church, lack of preparation for the service of the altar, the abandonment of sacred vestments and the use of the pulpit to obtain personal benefits, among others.
The bishops state that “fidelity to the laws of the Church is not optional, but obligatory,” and strongly condemn any kind of contempt, explaining that priests who offend are “guilty of a grave betrayal of their sacred duty.”
Garrigou-Lagrange: more relevant than ever
On the occasion of the republication in Italian of Providence and Trust in God by Fr. Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, OP, the Catholic press had the opportunity to analyse the impact of the writings of this great theologian. In fact, few authors possess the editorial vitality of the Dominican friar today, with several of his books in circulation and available in various languages and formats.
The French religious, an authority in the academic world at the beginning of the 20th century, marked his time as one of the most prominent authors of the Thomist renaissance, in the context of Leo XIII’s encyclical Æterni Patris.
His influence as a professor in the Angelicum in Rome and through his many writings has survived the ideological changes of the century and today has great repercussion among Catholics the world over, who look to his works for the orthodoxy and clarity that can provide them with answers to so many of the questions of modern life.
Almost half of the world’s immigrants are Christians
Analyses collected by the Pew Research Center up to the year 2020 show that almost half of the world’s immigrants are Christians. The research, which is part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project and seeks to understand religious changes worldwide and their impact on societies, has revealed some interesting data: of the total number of immigrants today – which is 280 million people, or 3.6% of the world’s population – 47% profess some Christian religion, 29% are Muslims, 5% Hindus, 4% Buddhists and 1% Jewish, while people with no belief represent 13%.
The study also shows that these patterns have remained relatively stable since 1990 and, along with financial, work or study needs, religion and immigration are much more closely linked than they might seem: thousands of people have been forced to emigrate to escape religious persecution.
Pilgrimage brings together thousands of devotees in Brazil
The traditional pilgrimage of Bom Jesus da Lapa, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, attracted more than 600 thousand faithful over the ten days of celebrations. The festivities, which began on July 28 and ended on the feast of the Transfiguration on August 6, transformed the place into the “faith capital in Bahia,” due to the influx of pilgrims and the impressive displays of devotion and love with which the people surrounded their Patron. This year the theme chosen for the event was: Bom Jesus, Model of prayer, praise of God and friendship.
What are the most religious areas in the world?
A global analysis carried out by the Pew Research Centre over the last fifteen years – from 2008 to 2023 – revealed marked differences in the religiosity of various countries around the world.
The results of the study show that sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America are the most religious areas in the world, with countries like Senegal, Mali and Tanzania, where more than 90 per cent of the population consider religion to be a primary element in their lives, and countries like Guatemala and Paraguay, where more than 80 per cent of adults pray daily.
In European and Asian nations, the percentage is much lower, with only 10 per cent of the population considering religion to be important. However, some regions show contrasting trends, such as Indonesia, where, according to the study, religion is fundamental for all adults; and the United States, where 42 per cent and 45 per cent respectively, of those interviewed, are religious and pray daily.
