Asian Pacific Catholics For Mary Pilgrimage May 11 At National Shrine Of The Immaculate Conception

WASHINGTON—Asianand Pacific Catholics will hold the annual Marian Pilgrimage Saturday, May 11.This one-day pilgrimage is a celebration of faith and heritage held at theBasilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington andis open to everyone.

The event willbegin at 1 p.m. with a procession with many of the Marian images veneratedthroughout Asia and the Pacific. This is followed by a call to prayer and theCrowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Rosary will follow at 2 p.m. with eachmystery lead by a different Asian community. The climax of the celebration is amultilingual Mass, at 2:30 p.m., celebrated by His Excellency, Bishop Barry C.Knestout, Archdiocese of Washington.

Participatingcommunities include Bengali, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Lebanese,Indonesian, Indian (Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara rites), Japanese,Korean, Laotian, Montagnard, Pakistani, Samoan, Sri Lankan, Tongan, Thai andVietnamese Catholics.

As in previousyears the pilgrimage is sponsored by the Asian Pacific Catholic Network(APC-Network) of the mid-Atlantic Region, in collaboration with the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Secretariat on Cultural Diversity. TheAPC-Network is committed to sharing the Catholic faith expressed in the culturesand languages of Asian and Pacific immigrants.

TheSecretariat on Cultural Diversity also works towards the pastoral goal ofpromoting understanding of cultural diversity in the Church. One aspect of thisis training pastoral leaders on Building Intercultural Competencies forMinisters (BICM) which supports the richness and diversity of Asian Pacific andother ethnic groups present in the Catholic Church in the United States.

The Asian andPacific Catholics of Metropolitan Washington area invite all Catholics andother religious groups to participate in the Asian Pacific for Mary Pilgrimage.For further information, media and others may contact Fred Semendy (703)764-1450, or Sister Anna Nguyen at (202) 541-3384.

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Keywords:Cultural Diversity in the Church, USCCB, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference ofCatholic Bishops, Catholic Church, Asian and Pacific Catholics, MarianPilgrimage, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Crowningof the Blessed Virgin Mary, Bishop Barry C. Knestout, Bengali, Burmese,Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Lebanese, Indonesian, Indian (Latin, Syro-Malabarand Syro-Malankara rites), Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Montagnard, Pakistani, Samoan,Sri Lankan, Tongan, Thai, Vietnamese

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