A special collection in all parishes in Scotland, England and Wales for the Papal Visit will be held on 23 May 2010.
On 23 May 2010 there will be prayers and a special collection in all parishes in Scotland, England and Wales for the Papal Visit.
Prayer cards for the Visit are being distributed to all parishioners attending Mass on Pentecost Sunday.
Collections will be held to assist in meeting the costs of the Visit payable by the Church, which are currently estimated to be at least £7m. Over £3m has already been raised towards this total.
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said
“I would urge everyone in the Catholic community to pray for this Visit and to support the collection for it as generously as they can. The Holy Father’s Visit is a wonderful opportunity for the gentle light of faith to be contemplated afresh by everyone. He will confirm the strong faith of our own community. But my prayer, too, is that the Visit will serve to kindle a new spiritual vitality, a questioning of the heart for many in our society who may have no religious affiliation but who are in some way seeking a deeper meaning and purpose to their lives.“
The costs associated with the state aspects of the Visit will be paid by the government. The costs payable by the church consist mainly in the organising costs of three major public pastoral gatherings – in Scotland, London and the West Midlands.
