Romania: 25th anniversary of John Paul II’s visit. Don Serban (Bucharest), “reawakening interest in the topics of his speeches”

“Ut unum sint”, this is the title of the photographic exhibition set up in St Joseph Cathedral in Bucharest to celebrate the 25th anniversary of John Paul II’s historic visit to Romania, the first time a Pontiff visited a mainly Orthodox country. Open to the public from today to 15th May, the exhibition displays some of the highlights of the visit the Polish Pope made in Bucharest from 7th to 9th May 1999. Video are shown on screens in the same Cathedral, in non-liturgical times, with the speeches given by John Paul II back then. “If we stopped at a few commemorative photos or some sentimental echo, if we did not remind ourselves of the meaning of the visit, this would be a mere commemoration. And I believe this is the most important and most desirable thing: reawakening interest in the topics addressed by John Paul II back then. All the speeches he held in Bucharest deserve to be debated, to emphasise how relevant they still are. Otherwise, everything will remain a sort of a relic”, Don Tarciziu Serban, spokesman of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest, stated to SIR. Mass will be officiated by mgr. Aurel Perca, Archbishop of Bucharest, in the Cathedral on Saturday 11th May, and delegates from the Government and different religious confessions have been invited to attend. A concert is due to be held in the National Bucharest Opera on Sunday evening along with the presentation of a new postage stamp designed by the national Romfilatelia.
Gianni Borsa