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UNITED KINGDOM: Praise for those praying for the Pope
By John Pontifex
Pope Benedict XVI. Photo copyright Stefano Spaziani
The UK director of Aid to the Church in Need has thanked and praised the charity’s friends and benefactors after a special appeal to help prepare for the Pope’s visit generated a huge response.
Supporters pledged to pray more than 32,000 decades of the Rosary after the charity launched a ‘Prayer-Action’ campaign in the run-up to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the UK next week.
The initiative, which was launched in May, also prompted nearly 11,500 Mass offerings for the Pope’s intentions.
Benefactors were also encouraged to support Aid to the Church in Need’s work in the Middle East, a region which the Pope has designated a priority project focus for the charity.
Aid to the Church in Need UK received more than 6,300 donations for its Middle East work.
This includes support for seminarians, catechists, religious Sisters and others in religious training and formation, Mass stipends for poor and persecuted priests, distribution of Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles and other Catholic literature, media work and construction of churches and other religious buildings.
Aid to the Church in Need’s UK director Neville Kyrke-Smith stressed the enthusiastic response to the Prayer-Action appeal,
He said: “There has been much negativity in the secular media about the visit of Pope Benedict. So it is a fantastic sign of faith that the friends of Aid to the Church in Need have renewed their commitment to pray for the Holy Father and the suffering Church.
“The spirit of Cardinal Newman is very much alive. The generosity of so many Catholics speaks ‘heart to heart’ to all those who suffer today.
“This positive Papal campaign encourages us all in faith, hope and charity for Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.
He added: “The commitment of prayer equates to over six months of continuous prayer. Our hope is that prayer will continue, in support of the proclamation of the Gospel in today’s challenging world.”
The names of supporters who took part in the Prayer-Action have been entered into a Commemorative Book marking Benedict XVI’s UK visit.
Aid to the Church in Need’s fundraising and marketing manager Patricia Hatton spearheaded the initiative.
She said: “This scheme has given a voice to all those benefactors who, in the face of media indifference and worse, believe strongly in the message of Christ. They are convinced that prayer has the power to strengthen the life of the Church.”
Meanwhile, many messages of support have come in to the charity’s office in Sutton, Surrey.
One message reads: “I am concerned that every opportunity should be taken to show the world, particularly the secular ascendancy here, that British Catholics are devoted to the Pope.”
Another states: “My wife and I have been supporting Aid to the Church in Need since the charity’s very early days.
“Aid to the Church in Need is a Catholic charity we can give to with total confidence – for the work really does support the suffering Church, is totally loyal to the Holy Father and is fully approved by him.”