Also in today's headlines: Ukrainian Church will celebrate Christmas on December 25
Every day, Aleteia offers a selection of articles written by the international press about the Church and the major issues that concern Catholics around the world. The opinions and views expressed in these articles are not those of the editors.
Tuesday 8 November 2022
1. Saint's relic returns to cathedral 500 years on
2. The Ukrainian Church will celebrate Christmas on December 25 to distance itself from Moscow
3. Central Asian Church’s coming of age
Saint's relic returns to cathedral 500 years on
The Times reports that Lichfield Cathedral in the United Kingdom is preparing to welcome back a particularly important relic 500 years after it was moved. The British daily recounts the story, which begins with the life of St. Chad (634-672), a monk from the kingdom of Northumbria in early medieval England. His life is known thanks to the famous chronicles of Bede the Venerable. Saint Chad was abbot of several monasteries and then also became a bishop. He then died in Lichfield and was immediately recognized as a saint by the population. His body was preserved in a wooden shrine and then later moved to a richly decorated metal one. At the time of the English Reformation, King Henry VIII sent his men to seize the goods of the Church, but before they reached the cathedral of Lichfield, a canon recovered the relics of Saint Chad to protect them. The relics were hidden for centuries and then finally divided, some parts were sent to France and the others to the Catholic cathedral of Saint Chad in Birmingham. The latter offered Lichfield Cathedral part of the relic, which was delivered on November 7 in a new silver reliquary. The bishop hopes that this presence will attract many pilgrims to his cathedral.
The Ukrainian Church will celebrate Christmas on December 25 to distance itself from Moscow
The Ukrainian Orthodox had initially maintained the custom of having the feast of the birth of Christ on January 7.
Central Asian Church’s coming of age
The Church in Central Asia is slowly losing its Polish and German imprint as more and more locals take on leadership roles, says Bishop José Luís Mumbiela Sierra, president of the newly formed Central Asian Catholic Bishops' Conference.
