CNA Staff, Nov 25, 2020 / 04:40 pm (CNA).- Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona died Wednesday after suffering a heart attack at the age of 60. Maradona is regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, and was recognized by FIFA as one of two Players of the Century. After Maradona’s death, one Argentine bishop has encouraged prayer for the athlete’s soul.
“We will pray for him, for his eternal rest, that the Lord offers him his embrace, a look of love and his mercy,” Bishop Eduardo Garcia of San Justo told El1 Digital.
Maradona’s story is “an example of overcoming,” the bishop said, noting the humble circumstances of the athlete’s early life. “For many children who are in dire straits, his story lets them dream of a better future. He worked and reached important places without forgetting his roots.”
Maradona was captain of the Argentine soccer team that won the 1986 World Cup, and was a highly successful professional soccer player in Europe.
Despite his talent, substance abuse problems kept him from reaching some milestones, and kept him from playing in much of the 1994 World Cup tournament, because of a suspension from soccer.
He battled drug addiction for decades, and suffered the effects of alcohol abuse as well. In 2007, Maradona said that he had stopped drinking and had not used drugs for more than two years.
Bishop Garcia noted the work for the poor that occupied Maradona’s time in his later years.
Also on Wednesday, the Holy See’s press office said that Pope Francis remembered “with affection” meeting Maradona on various occasions, and had remembered the soccer superstar in prayer.
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Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mar 21, 2017 / 11:32 am (CNA).- Mateo studied baking and Leandro pastry making. Franco and Mauricio wanted to be waiters. These overlapping interests led the four friends with Down syndrome to start a successful pizza service in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
With nearly 40,000 followers on Facebook, this group of friends held nearly 30 events in just their first two months. Wherever they are called, they always arrive with their own oven and outfits. The offer pizza and empanadas, and they even have a menu for those who are gluten intolerant.
Each one knows his role in the undertaking, which is coordinated by Leandro López, president of the Crecer Sumando (Growing Together) association, which is dedicated to serving young people with Down syndrome.
López told CNA that “the idea was to try to change a little bit the paradigm regarding persons with Down syndrome,” in order to help normalize their inclusion in society’s workforce.
It all started in 2015, when López began working with efforts to help integrate Mauricio, Franco and Leandro into society.
“When that year was over, the guys were eager to work but there was this void.”
“In early 2016, when Mateo had already joined them, we began to work with their parents in the area of jobs, to see what kind of work they would like to do,” recalled the physical education teacher.
“One day I suggested cooking pizza, and I dove into the whole process, from buying all the materials to when we sat down at the table to eat,” López said.
The idea took off, and in June last year, the group began to work with the idea of having a pizza service whose name – “Los Perejiles” – was proposed by Leandro.
They had their first event on July 9. It became “a revolution on social media,” prompting them to “create an account, choose a logo and work on all their outfits.”
“They’re my teachers and I’m learning with them what the needs are,” López said regarding managing the project.
“These young people can really be included in society, and they have a whole lot to teach us. I’m learning something new from them every day: the goodness of being human, the essence of the human being. There is no envy or selfishness among them, instead there is friendly collaboration.”
López said that “at present there are no real job opportunities for people with Downs” in Buenos Aires. There are several training schools, but the chances of graduates being able to move beyond them and find other jobs is low.
“It seems to me that we all have a right to two fundamental things, to life and be taken into account. These two premises can make a person live happily their whole life,” López said.
This article was originally published on CNA September 19, 2016.
The President of the Communications Commission of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress, Father Livingston Olivares (left), accompanies EWTN Vice President for Programming and Production Peter Gagnon (center-right), EWTN Vice President for Spanish-language Production, Marketing, and Radio Enrique Duprat (center-left), EWTN Production Director Michael Holmes (far right), and IEC Quito 2024 Communications Coordinator Marcelo Mejía (front, kneeling) at the Monument to the Equator, the exact location of the Equator (from which the country of Ecuador takes its name) on the outskirts of the country’s capital city of Quito, site of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress. / Credit: Communications Commission of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress
ACI Prensa Staff, May 21, 2024 / 06:40 am (CNA).
The 53rd International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) has chosen EWTN as the official channel for providing live coverage of the event, which will take place from Sept. 8–15 in Quito, Ecuador.
“The 53rd International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held in Quito Sept. 8–15, has chosen EWTN as its official channel, which will broadcast everything related” to this great event, said Father Juan Carlos Garzón, secretary-general of the IEC Quito 2024, in a statement sent from Rome to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
The theme for this year’s International Eucharistic Congress is “Fraternity to Heal the World.” On Monday, the Vatican also announced that Pope Francis designated Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect for the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, as pontifical legate to the congress.
Garzón was in Rome last week as part of a delegation, chaired by Alfredo Espinoza Mateus, archbishop of Quito and primate of Ecuador, “to hold a series of meetings with the main papal authorities.”
Since the beginning of the preparations for IEC 2024, Garzón added: “EWTN has been present at the orientation and training for IEC 2024 communications personnel.”
Logo for the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress that will take place in Quito, Ecuador, from Sept. 8-15, 2024. Credit: Communications Commission of the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress
EWTN preparations for IEC Quito 2024
In tandem, to coordinate EWTN’s transmissions of IEC Quito 2024, a team from the network visited the Ecuadorian capital, including the Quito Metropolitan Convention Center, where the congress will be held.
The team was comprised of EWTN Vice President for Programming and Production Peter Gagnon, EWTN Director of Production Michael Holmes, and EWTN Vice President for Spanish-language Production, Marketing, and Radio Enrique Duprat.
Gagnon said EWTN transmissions of the event will be offered in Spanish, English, and German. “This will be a wonderful event for those attending and for those watching,” Gagnon said.
“For EWTN, it is an immense joy to be the channel for the Quito 2024 International Eucharistic Congress,” Duprat said. “It is essential for us to be the platform on which, no matter where our audience is, everyone can enjoy the most important Catholic events in the Church.”
As for coverage details, Duprat said: “The plan is to be able to offer this International Eucharistic Congress live and direct from Quito and in multiple languages [Spanish, English, and German] both through our television and radio signals, the internet, and through our digital app.”
The event coincides with the 150th anniversary of the 1874 consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1886, Quito was also the site of the first National Eucharistic Congress.
During their preparatory visit, the EWTN team traveled the route of a procession that will take place on Sept. 14 in the historic center of Quito, which will begin with a Mass in San Francisco Plaza and then head to the Basilica of the National Vow, where benediction will be given.
They also visited the IEC offices, where they were received by Garzón, who explained how the organization of the event is progressing, including the schedule of a theological symposium to be held Sept. 4–7, just prior to the Sept. 8–15 congress.
The EWTN delegation also visited the Middle of the World Park and Monument to the Equator, marking the equator dividing the northern and southern hemispheres and where a Liturgy of the Word is planned with emphasis on care for creation.
Registration underway
Registration for the International Eucharistic Congress, both for the theological symposium and for the congress itself, is underway and available through the event website.
The largest Catholic media organization in the world, EWTN’s 11 global TV channels and numerous regional channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 425 million television households in more than 160 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio, and more than 600 domestic and international AM and FM radio affiliates and a worldwide shortwave radio service.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., EWTN News operates multiple global news services, including Catholic News Agency; The National Catholic Register newspaper and digital platform; ACI Prensa in Spanish; ACI Digital in Portuguese; ACI Stampa in Italian; ACI Africa in English, French, and Portuguese; ACI Mena in Arabic; CNA Deutsch in German; and ChurchPop, a digital platform that creates content in several languages. It also produces numerous television news programs including “EWTN News Nightly,” “EWTN News In Depth,” “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,” and “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Diego Armando Maradona was blessed with awesome footballing talent. Through his on-court wizardry, the Argentine superstar brought joy to millions of football lovers across the Planet. The world cup winning football captain will be remembered for his humanitarian deeds. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon the departed former footballer. Strength and courage to all his loved ones.
Diego Armando Maradona was blessed with awesome footballing talent. Through his on-court wizardry, the Argentine superstar brought joy to millions of football lovers across the Planet. The world cup winning football captain will be remembered for his humanitarian deeds. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon the departed former footballer. Strength and courage to all his loved ones.