Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Home   News   Article A visit to a Bavarian town has strengthened a close connection held between German and Scottish twin-towns. A group of 22 visitors from Lossiemouth travelled to Hersbruck in summer, all staying with host families. While it was the first journey for many, some were returning to old friends. Five 13-year-old members of the Boys Brigade were amongst the visiting group, getting the rare opportunity to travel to a different country without their families. Despite some apprehension the boys “were great and had a wonderful time together”, according to Evelyn Münster, one of the hosts. The Boys Brigade group were even part of a group who won a football match 7-1, receiving a trophy from Hersbruck’s mayor Robert Ilg as a reward. The oldest member of the group was 92 - and those with a bit more experience made the most of their time in Bavaria too. Alan Parish (92), was the first to volunteer to climb the top of the fire engine’s turntable ladder and “enjoyed the marvellous view”. The guests were also given a guided tour of the former Hersbruck concentration camp site and of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds on the way to Nuremberg. Christl Schäfer-Geiger, responsible for the town twinning project, said: “It is important for Hersbruck to stand by the dark side of its history.” Scottish visitors also had the chance to visit a brewery in Kaiserbräu, enjoy the Old Town Festival and a three-day trip to Munich where they visited the Allianz Arena, home of FC Bayern Munich and the scene of Scotland’s 5-1 loss to German in the European Championships. Moray councillor James Allan, who is the organiser of town-twinning, said Hersbruck is his “second home” and he is always pleased by “how open and friendly” a welcome visitors receive. Hersbruck Mayor, Robert Ilg, added a thanks to all hosts: “In addition to everything that makes up this town twinning, the best thing about this friendship is that people open their homes and make their beds available. “The partnership between Hersbruck and Lossiemouth remains a living example of international friendship in action - supported by people who are prepared to build bridges across borders.” when occupying German troops razed buildings to the ground and murdered 643 civilians At a ceremony marking 80 years since the massacre Steinmeier expressed his "grief" and called for freedom in Europe to be protected, "so that people can live in peace." The event came a day after the EU parliamentary polls in which far-right parties in several countries "Let us never forget what nationalism and hatred have done to Europe," Steinmeier said after referring to the results of the election "And let us never forget the value of freedom — our freedom for which such great sacrifices have been made." German soldiers from an SS division called Das Reich rounded up all the men The women and children were locked in a church that was also set alight The massacre came just four days after the Allied forces staged the D-Day landings at Normandy The SS claimed the killings were in retaliation for activities by the local French Resistance against occupying Nazi German troops I would like to express my shock and my grief at the inconceivable cruel and inhumane crimes committed by Germans here," Steinmeier said "I would like to admit my shame that murderers went unpunished afterwards that the most serious crimes for unatoned for." He also praised the "special work of reconciliation" that is ongoing including a planned friendship pact between Oradour-sur-Glane and the German city of Hersbruck.  "Real reconciliation takes place in everyday encounters between people who remember this suffering — as descendents of the perpetrators and as descendants of the victims," Steinmeier said and today the ruins are maintained as a permanent memorial and museum But a new village was constructed nearby after the war Steinmeier's visit marks the first time a German president has visited the site on the massacre's anniversary former German President Joachim Gauck became the first top German politician to visit Oradour-sur-Glane as part of a state visit This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page He created an underground network in Bologna to provide identity cards to Jews the Catholic Church has called him Blessed Odoardo Focherini What does it take for a husband and a father to earn the title of blessed The most obvious holy man who is also a father is the foster-father of our Lord Celebrating Christmas always reminds us that Saint Joseph was more than a prop to fill out a nativity scene more than just a carpenter or a breadwinner but he certainly spoke through his actions Joseph trusted in God during an inexplicable pregnancy he was a rock of strength for his family in difficult times Many of the greatest events described in the Old Testament also involved fathers but most of those stories include problematic parenting decisions The Patriarch Jacob’s sons might not have tried to kill their brother Joseph if Jacob hadn’t made it so clear that Joseph was his favorite King David might not have almost lost his crown if he hadn’t overindulged his scheming son While Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son at God’s command shows his obedience to God it probably didn’t feel warm and paternal to Isaac at the time the holy example of monastic life has inspired some fathers to leave the world and their children to enter religious life Saint Peter Orseolo (928-987) was the ruler of Venice when God called him to leave his family and become a Benedictine monk though there is debate about whether Peter did so to atone for being complicit in the assassination of his predecessor it is more common for devout fathers to decide to become priests or monks after their wives have died and their children are grown as did Saint Francis de Borgia (1510-1572) But some men have developed a reputation for holiness in ordinary family life Blessed Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi (1880-1951) was a lawyer Luigi eventually held several important positions in the banking industry They did more than volunteer to lead troop meetings for boys and girls They founded the entire scouting organization in Italy And they created an organization to help the sick travel to Lourdes on pilgrimages they even hid Jews in their home to protect them from arrest But it was the way Luigi and Maria lived out their faith as a family—through family prayer and serving the poor as a family—which inspired their children One of their sons became a priest; one son became a monk; one daughter became a nun; and their last child Blessed Frederic Ozanam (1813-1853) was one of the founders of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul an organization that has now spread all over the globe to care for the poor Saint Leopold III (1073-1136) was the military ruler of Austria but he was also the devoted father of eighteen children Blessed Charles I of Austria (1887-1922) became the emperor of Austria and king of Hungary following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand He was also a good and loving father to his eight children and tried and Catholic persecution threaten their families and their countries While some of those men earn awards from their countries for their brave service as soldiers and Wales have been beatified and canonized as martyrs reminding us the faith and courage of these ordinary family men Blessed Odoardo Focherini (1907-1944) was born in Carpi they became the happy parents of a large and growing family he became the managing director of a Catholic newspaper He also served as the president of Catholic Action Italy’s Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and his fascist party led Italy into joining World War II on the Nazi side in 1940 Mussolini also implemented anti-Semitic laws in Italy He insinuated that he did so primarily to placate Hitler but he made some anti-Semitic remarks of his own a cardinal from Genoa told the editor of Odoardo’s newspaper that a train of injured people had arrived in the city The editor trusted Odoardo and asked him to do what he could to protect those Jews from arrest most of the world did not know what a hell on earth the Nazis had created in their concentration camps It wasn’t until the end of the war that Allied forces discovered the crematoria and the rooms full of gold teeth and other valuables that the Nazis had looted from their millions of dead victims But everyone knew how much Hitler and the Nazis hated the Jewish people people were certain that those who were deported to Nazi concentration camps were facing a dangerous and probably deadly outcome After talking it over in private with his wife Those who worked with him later stated that despite the constant danger of being arrested Odoardo was always calm and encouraged them to continue this selfless work His illegal efforts to save Jews continued until March 11 That’s the day that he went to a concentration camp near the city of Carpi and convinced them to release Enrico Donati on the pretense that he was needed for an urgent surgery When Odoardo later arrived at the hospital Odoardo was imprisoned and then sent to various concentration camps in Italy and Germany He died of an infected leg wound on December 27 Jesus told a parable that is often called the parable of the prodigal son but some people prefer to call it the parable of the forgiving father The father in that parable loves his children is constantly looking for ways to help them when they are in need and is prodigal—lavishly extravagant—in bestowing forgiveness and mercy upon them Those are the hallmarks of our Heavenly Father And that is the image of profound fatherly charity and concern that men like Blessed Odoardo Focherini and the other saintly fathers have left behind for all God’s children If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free Click here for more information on donating to CWR. 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Scharfenberger will succeed Bishop Howard Hubbard, who reached […] You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/ Sign up to receive a weekly email with news (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[3]='MMERGE3';ftypes[3]='text';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';fnames[4]='MMERGE4';ftypes[4]='text';fnames[5]='MMERGE5';ftypes[5]='text';fnames[6]='MMERGE6';ftypes[6]='number';fnames[7]='MMERGE7';ftypes[7]='radio';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); was greeted at the Romanian Settlement in Munich by Assistant Bishop Sofian of Brașov and many Christians dressed in folk costumes The joy was marked by a short artistic moment performed by the “Ciuleandra” Ensemble from Munich and “Datina” Ensemble from Traunreut Assistant Bishop Sofian officiated the Sacrament of the Holy Unction in the settlement’s church The liturgical program continued Saturday with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy where clergy of the sister Orthodox Churches in Germany concelebrated The service was attended by Claudiu Târziu chairman of the Senate’s Committee for Romanians Everywhere “Aware of both the persecution against the faith and of living away from home the Venerable George came today to visit us Romanians living in the diaspora at a distance to bring us comfort the Assistant Bishop to the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Germany the relics were taken to the parish of Saint Hierarch Nicholas and Saint George of Cernica in Hersbruck The pilgrimage continued on Sunday when the relics of Saint George of Cernica were taken to the Metropolitan Centre in Nuremberg Saint George was born in 1730 and became a monk on Mount Athos when he was a young man He was a disciple of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15) who was then the igumen of Vatopedi Monastery Since the skete at Cernica had been deserted for almost thirty years Metropolitan Gregory II of Wallachia asked Elder George to revive monastic life there according to the Athonite Typikon Saint George’s efforts at Cernica were so successful that Metropolitan Philaret II also entrusted him with leading the Caldarusani Monastery Life at both monasteries followed the Athonite-Paisian hesychastic tradition Saint George was glorified by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2005 His holy relics are in the Cernica Monastery the Patriarchate of Jerusalem solemnly celebrated the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women... 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(function() { window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { listeners: [] cb) { window.mc4wp.listeners.push( { event : evt callback: cb } ); } } }})(); © 2023 OrthodoxTimes.com - All rights reserved Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website These cookies do not store any personal information Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website It was a friendship borne out of a Moray community’s generosity towards a group of German visitors The 50th anniversary of the connection between Hersbruck and Lossiemouth will be marked next year The twinning started in 1972 after Lossiemouth residents gave tourists a place to stay after their bus broke down The twinning project was spearheaded by the Moray town’s last provost Dick Freeman families from Lossiemouth and Hersbruck in Bavaria have visited each other quite regularly Lossiemouth Hersbruck Twin Town Association chairman James Allan said: “It started after the Lossie people had taken them in after the bus broke down “The partnership was spearheaded by the provost at the time Dick Freeman.” He added: “Families have stayed in each other’s homes over the years “The people I stayed with have also stayed with me over about 35 years “I have grown up with their family and they treat me like one of their family “One woman from Lossie even married a man from Hersbruck and has a shop out there now.” Trips are set to take place next year to mark the milestone A group from Lossiemouth will visit Hersbruck in July while a group from Hersbruck will visit Lossiemouth in August This comes after trips were axed this year and last year due to the coronavirus pandemic Hersbruck mayor Robert Ilg said: “I hope that we can celebrate the 50th anniversary together and that the pandemic does not spoil our plans “My hope is that we can keep the friendship as it is now for a long time to come in addition to the existing family contacts younger families from Lossiemouth and Hersbruck will join forces again and cultivate a lasting friendship “We are all looking forward to seeing our friends again and 50 years is no mean feat “And I am very pleased that we are striving for the next decade in good fellowship.” Papst Franziskus hat den in Deutschland geborenen Jesuiten Antuan Ilgit zum Weihbischof des Apostolischen Vikariats Anatolien ernannt wurde Ilgit 1972 im mittelfränkischen Hersbruck geboren seine Eltern zogen einige Jahre später zurück in die Türkei Dort studierte er Wirtschaftswissenschaften 1997 konvertierte er vom Islam zum Christentum Nach einer Zeit bei den Kapuzinern trat Ilgit 2005 den Jesuiten bei 2010 wurde er zum Priester geweiht.Seit 2022 war Ilgit Generalvikar und Kanzler des Apostolischen Vikariats von Anatolien sowie Koordinator für die Jugend- und Berufungspastoral der türkischen Bischofskonferenz Laut vatikanischen Angaben spricht Ilgit Türkisch Er besitzt die türkische und italienische Staatsbürgerschaft Das Apostolische Vikariat Anatolien umfasst etwa die östliche Hälfte der Türkei