ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST
Saints celebrated on the 1st of August
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
BL. PIERRE-LUCIEN CLAVERIE, BISHOP AND MARTYR
Blessed Pierre-Lucien Claverie (May 8, 1938 - August 1, 1996) was a French Roman Catholic prelate who was a professed member from the Order of Preachers and served as the Bishop of Oran, Algeria, from 1981 until his murder.
Bl. Pierre-Lucien was French but being born in French Algeria meant that he viewed himself as a true Algerian; he was committed to ecumenism and dialogue with Muslims. He was fluent in classical Arabic and taught this subject to natives. Bl. Pierre-Lucien also created libraries and rehabilitation centres for the handicapped as well as educational centres for women.
HE REFUSED TO LEAVE THE FLOCK
From 1992 onwards - after the Algerian Civil War broke out - the small Catholic Church which served foreign workers (for the most part) was threatened. There were those in Europe who advised Church officials to leave the nation so as to remain safe. Bl. Pierre-Lucien refused to leave the flock.
He did not hesitate to publicly criticise the two main opposing forces - the Islamic Salvation Front and the Algerian Government.
THE BISHOP WAS ASSASSINATED
On August 1, 1996. a few weeks after the assassination of the Trappist monks of Tibhirine, the Bishop was assassinated, along with his driver Mohamed Bouchikhi (1975-1996), when a bomb exploded at the entrance to the bishopric as the two were entering the building just before midnight. He was returning from a trip to Algiers where he had met with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Herve de Charette to talk about French residents of Algeria and how best to keep them safe.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH PETITIONED TO HAVE THE PERPETRATORS' SENTENCES COMMUTED
Seven people were convicted of the killings and sentenced to death on March 23, 1998 for their involvement in the attack. The Catholic Church of Algeria petitioned to have their death sentences commuted and this was successful.
(Information from Wikipedia -
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Claverie)
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