World Day of the Sick
O n February 11th, World Day of the Sick, Masses in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes were celebrated in the houses of the Heralds of the Gospel in Brazil and around the world. After the Eucharist, a procession with the Blessed Sacrament was carried out, with a blessing asking for health. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick was also administered to those in need. The photos below show scenes of some of these ceremonies, held at the Basilica of St. Joseph and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Mexico City; at the Church of St. Teresa and St. Joseph in Madrid; at the Mother of Good Counsel Church in Ypacaraí, Paraguay; and in the houses of the Heralds in Lima, Peru, and in the Brazilian cities of Salvador and Ponta Grossa.
Spiritual retreats – Taking advantage of the Mardi Gras holiday, several spiritual retreats were held for cooperators and friends of the Heralds of the Gospel. In addition to lectures given by Herald priests and periods of meditation, participants had the chance to enjoy blessed encounters with Jesus in the Eucharist. The photos offer scenes of the retreats preached in the Brazilian cities of Maringá, Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro and Campos dos Goytacazes, as well as in Bogotá and Medellin, Colombia.
Peru – On January 6, the Heralds of this Andean nation received the visit of Archbishop Paolo Rocco Gualtieri, Apostolic Nuncio to Peru, accompanied by Most Rev. Rastislav Zummer, Counsellor of the Apostolic Nunciature. On this occasion, the Cooperators’ choir performed a musical performance in honour of the prelate.
Caieiras (Brazil) –With his words of wisdom, Emeritus Bishop of Lorena Benedito Beni dos Santos enriched the opening of the academic year of the St. Thomas Aquinas Theological Institute and the Aristotelian-Thomistic Philosophical Institute of the Heralds of the Gospel, on January 28. His Excellency spoke on the priesthood, the Eucharist and clerical celibacy.
Sacrament of Confirmation – Young people and adults prepared by the Heralds of the Gospel received the Sacrament of Confirmation in February. Above, ceremonies held at St Helen’s Parish, in San Salvador, El Salvador, by Archbishop Luigi Roberto Cona, the country’s Apostolic Nuncio; at Our Lady of Graces Parish, in Mairiporã (Brazil), by Most Rev. Sérgio Aparecido Colombo, Bishop of Bragança Paulista; and at the house of the Heralds in the city of Salvador (Brazil), by Most Rev. Valter Magno de Carvalho, Auxiliary Bishop of this capital of Bahia.
Mexico – On February 19, faithful of the Lebanese community received the Pilgrim Statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the Lebanese Club, for a Mass celebrated by Most Rev. Georges Miled Saad Abi Younes, OLM, Bishop of the Maronite Rite Eparchy in Mexico, and concelebrated by Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico. This month, the Virgin of Fatima also visited the Parish of Our Lady of Hope, in the capital.
Honduras – Families in the city of Intibucá had the great joy of receiving the Pilgrim Statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in January, during a Marian Mission carried out in the region. Upon arriving in each home, the statue of the Blessed Virgin was crowned, followed by a moment of prayer.
Guatemala – Since February 11, six new oratories of the Immaculate Heart of Mary have been circulating among the families of the Parish of the Holy Kings and the Christ of Esquipulas, in the municipality of Cuyotenango. The oratories were distributed during a Holy Mass, before which the Pilgrim Statue was carried through the streets of the city in procession.
Brazil – In order to help the thousands of families left homeless due to the heavy rains that hit the north coast of São Paulo in February, the Heralds of the Gospel organized the collection of drinking water, food and clothing, which was distributed to the needy in the city of São Sebasitão, through the local parish.