The week ahead: Annunciation, evangelisation, papal peregrination

Monday the 25th is the feast of the Annunciation, marking the Archangel Gabriel’s message to Our Lady, and her acceptance: “Be it done unto me according to thy word.” Unlike the Immaculate Conception or the Assumption, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation in the UK or the US, but many churches will mark it with extra solemnity.

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On Saturday the 30th, Westminster diocese is holding a “Spring Gathering” in Bushey Heath, Herts, led by Bishop John Sherrington, for laity and clergy “involved or interested in local evangelisation”. For details see redow.org.uk/events.

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Pope Francis visits Morocco on March 30-31, in a further sign of the Vatican’s outreach to the Muslim world. The Pope will visit Moroccan clergy, as well as charitable institutes and a school which trains future imams. This follows last month’s visit to the United Arab Emirates. There are an estimated 50,000 Catholics in Morocco, a country whose population is 99 per cent Muslim.