Category Archives: Europe Day 2023

Christians as sentinels keeping watch over Europe

27 May 2023

Europe Day 2023 in Milan, Siena and Bari

IN MILAN DEEP REFLECTIONS AND COURAGEOUS RESOLUTIONS

It was a welcoming house in Via Rovigo in Milan that saw around sixty people from Together for Europe gather for a moment of reflection, discussion and dialogue on the theme of Europe and peace. As Dolores Librale and Alfonso Fornasari affirmed, it was a true celebration of “song, relationships and prayer” to make deep reflections and courageous resolutions. There were four ‘books to leaf through’: the legacy of the Founding Fathers of the European Union, the historical experience of Eastern Europe, the universal vision of Christianity and the testimony of a European politician.

Prof. Edoardo Zin (former vice-president of the Institut Saint Benoit, patron of Europe; postulator of the cause for the beatification of Robert Schuman) did not hesitate to emphasise that “… peace will never come from the pursuit of one’s own strategic interests, but from policies capable of looking at the Whole, at the development of all, attentive to people, to the poor and to tomorrow, not only to the power, gains and opportunities of the present. For all this, Christians are called to be the sentinels keeping watch over Europe”.

Fr Traian Valdman, Archpriest, Eparchial Vicar Emeritus of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy, offered a perspective on Eastern Europe: “… I come from a world that was not free, but where Christians continued to greet each other, from Easter to Ascension, with the acclamation “Christ is risen”, in defiance of all the ideology of the regime in power”.

Prof. Emilio Florio, President of the Protestant Cultural Centre of Milan and professor of philosophy and history, took us to the “earthly garden created to host the human race”: “We are Christians precisely because we lean out beyond the boundaries to welcome, to speak to everyone…(…) The first Christians were ‘Catholics’, that is, they were universalists, they saw in the other the brother. Not just ‘those from here’. Instead, by interpreting the concept of a garden narrowly, we have built walls everywhere in Europe. (…) We are trees towering on one side towards Heaven and on the other side towards our brothers and sisters in the Universe World to which we have been called”.

David Sassoli (President of the European Parliament until his untimely death) – almost as an illustration of these phrases – through a short video prepared in 2020 was able to testify that together it is possible to achieve whatever one dreams about Europe.

IN BARI FROM SIX DIFFERENT CHURCHES

And here is the email Rita and Giulio Seller wrote to us from Bari:
“We have just concluded our Together for Europe meeting, and we are overjoyed at the success of the event. We were from six different Churches and about ten Catholic movements; in all 130 people seated and some standing. The meeting took place in a hall attached to a Christian bookstore. The bishop came and gave a greeting together with the two keynote speakers: the Lutheran Pastor of Naples-Bari, Kirsten Thie, and Giuseppe Gabrielli of the St Egidio community. The evening was enlivened by songs from the ‘Anna Sinigaglia’ ecumenical choir. It was a great opportunity to create unity between us all, and in the end we were all grateful for the success of the event”.

ECUMENICAL PRAYER FOR EUROPE IN SIENA

The attached photos say it all about the event in Siena.

Edited by Ilona Tóth

Giornata dell’Europa 2023_Invito SIENA Insieme per l’Europa

Giornata dell’Europa 2023_SIENA Preghiera ecumenica – Foto Franca Piccini

Giornata dell’Europa 2023_SIENA Preghiera per l’Europa – Foto Franca Piccini

Giornata dell’Europa 2023_SIENA Preghiera ecumenica per l’Europa – Foto Franca Piccini

Giornata dell’Europa 2023_Milano 6 maggio La preghiera ecumenica – Foto M.Michelacci

Giornata dell’Europa 2023_Milano 6 maggio Prof Edoardo Zin e Padre Traian Valdman – Foto M.Michelacci

Giornata dell’Europa 2023_Milano 6 maggio Prof Emilio Florio – Foto M.Michelacci

Giornata dell’Europa 2023_Milano 6 maggio Proiezione discorso David Sassoli del 2020 – Foto M.Michelacci

Giornata dell’Europa 2023_BARI Insieme per l’Europa 9 maggio 2023 – Foto privato

Europe Day 2023

26 May 2023

Flash news from several European Countries

France

Building on last year’s success, Together for Europe wished to repeat a popular mobilisation in Strasbourg: a procession of around 150 people marched peacefully through the city under the slogan: ‘Together for Europe – Objective Peace’. It started at the European Parliament and ended at a Protestant church in the city centre.

We proclaimed loudly that, as Christians, our priority yearning is peace, and that creative solutions must be found. The Together for Europe groups from Lyon and Landau (Germany) also participated.

Led in song by a group of young people from Taizé, the procession ended in Temple Neuf with an hour full of prayer, praise and conversion to peace; this was an ecumenical prayer promoted by the Council of Christian Churches in Strasbourg for reconciliation and the unity of Europe. There were about 400 people present, including representatives of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.

Belgium

Astenet (Eupen) is known as the country of the three borders (Belgium, Holland, Germany). On 27 April, a delegation of Together for Europe – consisting of people from the Charismatic Renewal, Community of St Egidio and Focolare – went there to the shrine of St Catherine of Siena, patron saint of Europe, to mark her feast day.

After a fraternal meeting with the local Catharines, we participated in the Eucharist. At the end, we presented our ecumenical network and our initiatives for Europe Day. We experienced a fraternal, prayerful and joy-filled meeting. This opens new horizons for our network in Belgium.

Germany

For a number of years now, the city of Munich has been inviting people around 9 May to a ‘Europe Day’ to raise awareness of various issues concerning our Continent.

Together with some thirty organisations and associations that care about our Continent, for the second year running ‘Together for Europe’ was also present with a well-attended gazebo and a few ‘gondola’ rides in the big wheel, which offers a panoramic view of the city. One ride (10 people) lasted 25 minutes and offered the opportunity to talk about our network, initiatives and the ideals that move us.

As Christians from various Churches, we felt challenged to witness our commitment to a more fraternal Europe and, above all, to peace. We have already made an appointment for next year!

Portugal

A prayer for peace in Europe was also held in Porto on 9 May; it was promoted by Together for Europe and the city’s Ecumenical Commission, in the Igreja de Cedofeita. Representatives of six Churches, the bishops of the Catholic and Lusitanian Churches, and various Movements were present. The prayer was centred on the phrases of the Lord’s Prayer; while the European countries for which they were praying were mentioned, the flags of these countries were carried to the altar.

The Novena, a nine-day prayer for peace in Europe, written this year especially for Europe Day, has also been translated into Portuguese (cf: Article on our website: The Lord’s Prayer – a prayer for Europe, 30.3.2023).

Many places in Europe prayed the Novena intensively; in Vallendar, at the Schönstatt International Centre, the entire community of that movement did so.

by Diego Goller

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EpE Strasbourg_Regroupement CoE compact. Foto Michel Batt

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EpE Strasbourg_Prière pour la paix dans l’église protestante du Temple Neuf. Foto Brigitte Florian

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EpE Strasbourg_Prière pour la paix avec 400 personnes. Foto Jean-François Bour

Flyers Journée de l’Europe 9 mai 2023 Strasbourg

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EpE Strasbourg_Prière pour la paix avec 400 personnes. Foto Jean-François Bour

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EpE Strasbourg_Marche pour l’Europe. Foto Jean-François Bour

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EpE Strasbourg_Nous croyons en la paix. Foto Brigitte Florian

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EpE Strasbourg_La marche se veut une Europe de la paix. Foto Brigitte Florian

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EpE Strasbourg_Marche pour l’Europe. Foto Brigitte Florian

9 de Maio no Porto/Portugal, Igreja de Cedofeita – Foto: Lurdes Teixeira

9 de Maio no Porto/Portugal – a equipa preparatória

Europatag 2023 MfE München – im Dialog. Foto: Marlies Rüschhoff

Europatag 2023 MfE München – Das Team. Foto: Sarah Boyle

Europatag 2023 MfE München – Das Zelt. Foto Maria Wienken

Europatag 2023 MfE München – Constanze Wolf. Foto Maria Wienken

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EPE Belgique – Fête de l’Europe et de Sainte Catherine de Sienne

Journée de l’Europe 2023 EpE Belgique – Philippe Sartenaer (Focolari), François Delooz_Sant’Egidio, Gildo et Fabienne Gorza (Renouveau charismatique)

Rome is faithful

26 May 2023

The vigil for Europe continues – 9 May in the Eternal City

It was on 24 March 2017 when, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, in the Roman Basilica of the Holy Apostles, packed with people, in the presence of significant ecclesiastical and civil representatives, all standing together at the beginning of the Prayer Vigil promoted by Together for Europe, we heard the quotation from the Preamble of the Treaty that adopted a Constitution for Europe. It was indeed an unforgettable moment, a strong reminder: ‘Europe, you must find yourself again, as a continent, as a civilisation, in Christianity’.

Dialogue and the conquest of peace

And Rome is faithful. Every year, around 9 May, Europe Day, Rome gathers Christians from various Churches, to pray, witness and keep on giving hope for the future of the Continent. This year Together for Europe focused on ‘Dialogue: a culture of encounter to conquer peace’. Those who took part were deeply convinced of the seriousness of the commitment: the Romanian and Greek Orthodox Churches, the Catholic Church, the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, the Anglican Church, the Methodists, the Pentecostal Churches, the Salvation Army, various Movements and Communities, wanted to ‘sign’ with their presence the common, persevering and restless desire of all: PEACE.

Peace is the result of constant craftsmanship

“It is no coincidence that in 2013 the European Union received the Nobel Peace Prize. Let us always remember this mandate that comes from history, but which must be transformed into political initiatives in favour of peace“. This was what Ambassador Pasquale Ferrara, current Director General for Political and Security Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, emphasised in his speech.
This was followed by some testimonies of reconciliation, reminding us how peace will always be the result of faithful and constant craftsmanship. At the same time, one has to look up at the entire globe to realise that “Peace as a policy,” Ferrara continued, “is not an abstractly ethical option; much more concretely, it is a practical necessity, if we do not want to reduce the world to ashes, be it through atomic war or climate change.”

Prayer and networks in the Christian world

The concluding ecumenical prayer saw a small people united in its rich diversity, turned towards the One who that very day in the Catholic liturgy repeated: “I leave you peace, my peace I give you”. (Jn 14:27)
The MEP David Sassoli participated in the event held on 24 March 2017. In an interview he emphasized: “First and foremost, Christians must make themselves heard a little more, and there must be networks in the Christian world that pass on the baton to others”.

We hope that our network can be a small, but vigorous, response to his words.

Edited by Ilona Toth

The event was sponsored by the European Commission Representation in Italy and was part of the initiatives of Insieme-per.eu (European Parliament Community).

See the speech by Pasquale Ferrara (in Italian): – 1 part>> – 2 part>>
See also the article in SIR of 10 May (in Italian)>>
To see the whole event (in Italian) on youtube>>.

1 Il pubblico con rappresentanti del mondo ecclesiale poltico e sociale.

2 Ambasciatore Pasquale Ferrara, relatore, con giornalista M. Chiara Biagioni, moderatrice

3 La sala in pieno ascolto

4 Maria Chiara Biagioni con Joseph Konah, che ha dato la sua testimonianza

5 La preghiera ecumenica

6 Tra i presenti M. Manocchio, presbitero Vladimir Laoba, Archimandrita Katsinas e on. Costa

7 Il coro dei Movimenti e Comunità

8 Scambio della pace

9 Benedizione Finale

Photo: Ala Laiba

Building bridges of hope

25 May 2023

Europe Day in Vienna, 6 May 2023. More than 100 people from six Central European countries gathered for the event promoted by ‘Together for Europe – Austria’ in the Schönstatt Centre in Vienna-Kahlenberg.

Under the title ‘Building Bridges of Hope’, ten speakers shared their experiences as ‘bridge builders’. On this day, the dream became reality, a day of encouragement in an often-discouraging daily routine.

In Innsbruck, Gottfried Rießlegger is involved in an ecumenical exchange between a Catholic and a Protestant parish, which have their own churches, and an Orthodox parish without a church. Two churches, 150 metres apart, separated by a fence. One day the desire to be together was stronger than fears and reservations – two big scissors, one on the left, one on the right – and already there was a big hole in the fence, the beginning of a blessed enrichment. The Orthodox community has a kit in a large chest; and every Sunday, after the Catholic liturgy, the iconostasis is set up in front of the altar.

From Slovenia, Marjeta Bobnar reported on the fruits of the ‘Summer job’ project. This project builds relationships with people in need through aid of a physical nature and, of course, between young people from different parts of Slovenia.

In Hungary, Tibor Héjj is ‘building bridges’ with minibuses. People with disabilities are transported day by day to the workplaces of various companies, where they work and live with people without disabilities.
Also, from Hungary we had the choir ‘Vox mirabilis’, which made bridge building a tangible experience.

In the Czech Republic, Dagmar and Petr Peňáz are bridge builders with heart and soul. They build bridges for people with special needs. They build bridges between Christians, for example through ecumenical pilgrimages in Moravia, and bridges between the nations of the former Monarchy.

MEP Lukas Mandl recounted the tensions he experiences in his parliamentary work, in which he could not agree on everything. However, as a Christian, he always tried to uphold human dignity and respect the freedom of others. Working together requires concrete work in committees, but also spiritual inspiration.
Eva ed Erich Berger gave him a 44-page collection: small stories of bridge-builders, stories from the daily lives of Christians, which can give courage and hope.

On this 6 May 2023, God showed his people that he is capable of building bridges for everyone. An injection of courage.

The building of bridges must continue, in a concrete and lasting way: on 7 May and every day thereafter.

Edited by Diego Goller

1 Miteinander für Europa 230506_Begegnungstag

10 Dagmar Penazovi – Tschechien, Bruecken bauen in Europa

6 Maria Spesova – Slowakei LK MfE Eindruecke Europatag

9 Bruecken bauen in der Wirtscaft ‘Fuer andere’ Tibor Hejj Ungarn

8 Musikalische Gestaltung Sophia und Rupert

7 Moderation Beate Mayerhofer-Schoepf, Imo Trojan – Austria

2 Moderation Beate Mayerhofer-Schoepf – Austria, Boris Petrovic – Bosnien Herzegovina, Brueckenbauen um Dialog mit Muslimen

4 Lukas Mandl MEP und Fam.Berger – Austria Ueberreichung Broschuere Hoffnungsberichte Bruecken bauen

5 Mag. Lucas Mandl MEP Brueckenbauen aus Sicht eines Politikers

3 Chor Vox Mirabilis Ungarn Eroeffnung

Photo: Christoph Fürböck

Timisoara calling!

07 May 2023

Warm invitation! For Europe’s Day

May 10th, 19:00 CET, by Zoom:

one hour of meeting and prayer – and it’s all in English.

Communities and Movements in Timisoara have invited Together for Europe to the November meeting of its friends. Moreover, Timisoara is the European cultural capital of Europe in 2023.

And: Timisoara has a long history of unity and reconciliation with all the accompanying happiness, but also with the corresponding challenges.

Young people from Timisoara, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Portugal pray with us: one hour – one encounter. Be part of it!

Called to unity – living in diversity

Time: May 10, 2023 07:00 PM Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
//fau.zoom.us/j/61128116535?pwd=V2d2VmdHNndhdFM0eXFYNUo1bHRwQT09
Meeting-ID: 611 2811 6535
Kenncode: 001766

Download the Flyer>>

Sr. Nicole Grochowina

The Lord’s Prayer – a prayer for Europe

30 March 2023

Preparing for 9th May, Europe Day with the “Our Father”

The itinerary is 9 days of prayer (a novena) to implore the Holy Spirit on our Continent.
Why a Novena? In the last four years we embarked on a six-week prayer journey to prepare for Europe Day on May 9^th. However, for 2023, we had the idea of praying for nine days.

The oldest novena in Christianity is the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost, when the apostles, together with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, received the Holy Spirit.

This year we would like to invite you to pray the novena together throughout Europe, for our Continent and for all the intentions of our network!

The novena was prepared together by Sr. Lioba Ruprecht (Schoenstatt) and Thomas Roemer (YMCA Munich).

Every day we will pray in particular for some European nations.

Beatriz Lauenroth

Download here the novena in English>>
Download here the novena in Ukrainian>>
Download here the novena in czech>>

(Deutsch) Brücken der Hoffnung bauen

02 February 2023

Sorry, this entry is only available in German.