Pope Francis will celebrate Mass for the Myanmar faithful resident in Rome on May 16, the Solemnity of the Ascension at the altar of the Vatican Cathedral.
Plans for the service were announced May 3, 2021, by the Prefecture of the Papal Household. The announcement comes in the wake of the Holy Father’s appeal for peace in Myanmar in remarks the previous day after praying the Regina Caeli with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square.
“In this context, there is an initiative that is very close to my heart: that of the Burmese Church, which invites us to pray for peace with a Hail Mary for Myanmar in our daily Rosary,” the Holy Father said after recalling the prayer campaign to end the coronavirus pandemic. “Each of us turns to our Mother when we are in need or in difficulty; this month, we ask our Mother of Heaven to speak to the hearts of all leaders in Myanmar so that they may find the courage to walk the path of encounter, reconciliation, and peace.”
Pope Francis has made repeated appeals for a solution to the situation in Myanmar, which has been beset with violence amind a government crackdown on religious freedom in recent months. Religious and political leaders around the world have joined in the call for peace in the Asian nation.
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar called for peace in the troubled nation during his Divine Mercy Sunday Message.
“Today, more than ever, our community stands in need of mercy. Millions are starving,” Cardinal Bo said. “Before they could come out of that disaster, the coup came. Most of our people are starving. We need to share our resources. However poor we are, we could share something. That is the sign of divine mercy.”
Cardinal Bo has encouraged priests, religious and faithful to pray the Rosary daily throughout the month of May, in profound Marian devotion, and to take part in an hour of daily Eucharistic Adoration for peace in Myanmar. In the message sent to the faithful, the Cardinal emphasized that it is possible to participate at home, in parishes, or in religious communities, in every corner of the world. Numerous communities of consecrated life in Myanmar have responded to the call, such as the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition, the Sisters of Charity, numerous diocesan congregations such as the Sisters of Saint Francis Xavier, but also male religious communities, parish groups, and lay associations across the country, according to Fides News Agency.
As Fides reported, numerous Catholic communities abroad have accepted the appeal of the Burmese Church and joined in communion of prayer. In Italy, among the cloistered monasteries that ensured the prayer, the Franciscan Poor Clares of the Monastery in Via Vitellia in Rome, the Benedictine nuns of Santa Maria in Rosano (FI), the Carmelites of the Monastery “Janua Coeli”, at the Sanctuary of the Addolorata in Cerreto di Sorano (GR).
In addition, a special prayer meeting with the Burmese community – so that the violence in the Asian country may stop and the path of dialogue may begin – is scheduled for Saturday, May 29, at 12.30 in the cathedral of Milan, with the participation of Archbishop Monsignor Mario Enrico Delpini.
