By Ryan Dagur
An Indonesian nun has died in a fire that badly damaged a convent on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores.
Sister Maria Zakaria Tukinem, 53, of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) was found dead in her room following the March 4 fire that ripped through a building at the Bethlehem Convent in Totomala, a village in Nagekeo district.
Sister Hildegardis Dadi said three nuns, including herself, were at the convent when the fire broke out at around 2am. I was sleeping in a room next to the kitchen, which is in a separate building from where Sister Maria was, she said.
MUMBAI: Cardinal Oswald Gracias on March 4 took the first dose of Covid vaccine after inaugurating a designated vaccination center at Holy Family Hospital in Bandra, a Mumbai suburb.
The hospital, which is managed by the Ursulines of Mary Immaculate congregation, launched the second phase of vaccination drive for senior citizens and comorbid population, Medical Superintendent Sister Beena Devassia Madhavath told Matters India.
The cardinal, who is the head of the Catholic Church in India and archbishop of Bombay, opened the center in the morning with a prayer. “This is a historic and revolutionary step in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.
Herald Malaysia - daily news source with Malaysian and Global coverage of the Catholic Churches. Catholic News,World Christian News, Malaysia Church News
By Cindy Wooden
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing security concerns, Pope Francis is determined to visit Iraq to pay homage to Christian and other minorities persecuted for their faith and to strengthen the commitment of the overwhelming majority of Iraqi Muslims to creating a future of peace and harmony.
As a pilgrim March 5-8, he will visit churches that were destroyed by militants of the Islamic State group, and as a global religious leader, he will hold an interreligious meeting near the ancient city of Ur, birthplace of Abraham.
“Pope Francis is truly a father because he really wants all human beings to be united not only Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants but he is broadening his embrace to include the Islamic world,” said Shahrzad Houshmand Zadeh, a Shiite Muslim theologian who has taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Herald Malaysia - daily news source with Malaysian and Global coverage of the Catholic Churches. Catholic News,World Christian News, Malaysia Church News