Fraternal Visits
In the first half of this year again many bishops have visited us in sign of their communion and friendship and to share with us the anxieties and hopes of their pastoral ministry in their local Churches. Gabriele Mana, bishop of Biella, has honored us with his presence several times in this period.
In particular, he chose to celebrate together with us the conclusion of the week of prayer for Christian unity. He also requested that a member of our community participate in the diocesan pastoral council; brother Lino has been assigned to this service, as a spokesman for all of us in the local Church. Arrigo Miglio, bishop of the neighboring diocese of Ivrea, has likewise been a frequent guest of ours during brief stays of retreat, sharing with us our community prayers. Among the other bishops who have visited us we can mention: Roger Etchegeray, who chose to spend the last days of the year with us; Agostino Gardin, secretary of the Congregation for Religious; Piero Marini, master of papal ceremonies; Felice Di Molfetta, bishop of Cerignola – Ascoli Satriano and president of the liturgical commission of the Italian Bishops’ Conference; Sebastiano Dho, bishop of Alba; Luciano Manari, bishop of Piacenza; Adrian Van Luyn, bishop of Rotterdam, who, as every year, spent a period of retreat in Bose in January; Marc Stenger, bishop of Troyes; François Loizeau, bishop of Digne; Rabban Al Qas, Chaldean bishop of Erbil and Amadieh (Iraq – Kurdistan); and Filoxenos Saliba Özmen, Syro-Orthodox archbishop of Diyarbekir and Mardin (Turkey).