ROME, MARCH 12, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Day of Prayer and Fasting for Missionary Martyrs, set aside to remember those who have died for the faith, will be celebrated Easter Monday.
The initiative, which was started in Italy by the Youth Movement of the Pontifical Mission Societies in 1993, has spread in recent years to other countries. March 24, the date chosen, is the anniversary of the assassination in 1980 of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador.
The theme for this year, announced the Vatican missionary agency Fides, is "Shed for You and for All." The agency said the theme was chosen in harmony with the Easter celebrations, and is meant to encourage people to reflect on the martyrdom endured by many of Christ's disciples.
During the day donations will be accepted for a project of solidarity for the reconstruction of a pastoral center for children, adolescents and young people in Iraq, where the Catholic Church lives in a constant situation of challenges and suffering.
