Latest news with #Pilgrimage
Arab News
6 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan to start receiving Hajj 2026 applications today
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will begin on Monday the process of receiving applications for Hajj 2026 under the government scheme, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday. Pakistan has a Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims. Of this, 129,210 seats have been allocated for the government scheme and the rest for private tour operators, Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf announced on July 30. Under the government Hajj scheme, pilgrims can avail either a long Hajj package of 38–42 days or a short package that consists of a duration of 20–25 days, with the estimated cost of the government's Hajj package ranging from Rs1,150,000 to Rs1,250,000 [$4,049.93 to $4,236]. 'Hajj applications can be submitted through designated banks and online portal,' the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported, citing Religious Affairs Ministry spokesman Muhammad Umar Butt. 'Fresh applicants may apply from 11th to 16th of this month if seats remain available.' Individuals, registered on a first come, first served basis, can deposit the first installment of their Hajj dues by Saturday, August 9, according to the report. The second installment will be collected from November this year. 'Receipt of Hajj dues will immediately be stopped once all the seats are filled,' Butt said. Saudi Arabia had approved a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for Pakistan this year as well, but a large portion of the private Hajj quota for 2025 remained unutilized due to delays by tour operators in meeting payment and registration deadlines, while the government fulfilled its full allocation of over 88,000 pilgrims. Private operators attributed the shortfall to technical issues, including payment processing problems and communication breakdowns.
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Pope Leo draws one million for final mass at Rome youth jubilee, calls for peace over war
ROME, Aug 4 — Pope Leo XIV presided over a final mass in Rome for over one million young people yesterday, the culmination of a pilgrimage that has drawn Catholics from across the world. 'Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less,' Pope Leo told the crowd. The week-long 'Jubilee of Youth'—a highlight of the Jubilee holy year—was an enormous undertaking for the Vatican, with a half a million young pilgrims in Rome for most of the week. On Saturday night, before a twilight vigil led by the pope, organisers said there were 800,000 people in the vast, open-air space on Rome's eastern outskirts, and on Sunday the Vatican said that number had grown to one million. Most of them spent the night in tents, in sleeping bags or on mats in anticipation of Sunday's mass. Among them was New Yorker Christofer Delano, who said he was 'so happy to see Pope Leo' but stunned by the crowds. 'I didn't expect to see all these people. I knew there was going to be a lot of people—I didn't know it was going to be this many,' he told AFP. In his homily, the first US pope and former missionary encouraged the gathered youth to 'spread your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith to everyone you meet!' The Vatican has sought to highlight pilgrims who travelled to Rome from war-torn regions, and Leo said in his Angelus prayer: 'We are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils which are caused by other human beings.' 'We are with the young people of Gaza. We are with the young people of Ukraine, with those of every land bloodied by war,' said the 69-year-old pontiff. 'My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible, a world of fraternity and friendship where conflicts are not resolved with weapons but with dialogue.' Catholic 'Woodstock' The colourful event was accompanied by music from a choir, and about 450 bishops and 700 priests, all in green robes. A towering cross dominated the massive golden arch covering the stage where the pope led mass. Italian pilgrim Tommaso Benedetti said the pope had passed his 'first test' in the eyes of young people during the youth jubilee. 'We feel quite satisfied. There were many references to peace, which is a theme that is very close to our hearts as young people,' Benedetti told AFP. The young pilgrims—from 146 different countries, according to the Vatican—have filled Rome's streets since Monday, chanting, singing and waving flags of their countries. The festive atmosphere reached a peak Saturday ahead of the vigil presided over by Leo, with Italian broadcaster Rai dubbing it a Catholic 'Woodstock'. Hundreds of thousands camped out at the dusty venue, strumming guitars or singing, as music blasted from the stage where a series of religious bands entertained the crowds. Leo was greeted with deafening screams and applause after his arrival by helicopter and as he toured the grounds in his popemobile, with many people running to catch a better glimpse of the new pope. Roads leading to the Tor Vegata venue, about a 40 minute drive from the centre of Rome, were packed, making Leo's choice of helicopter transportation on both Saturday and Sunday more efficient. At over 500,000 square metres (125 acres), the grounds were the size of around 70 football fields. British student Andy Hewellyn sat in front of a huge video screen—a prime spot, as he could not even see the stage far away. 'I'm so happy to be here, even if I'm a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect!' he told AFP. 'The main thing is that we're all together.' The youth pilgrimage came about three months after the start of Leo's papacy and 25 years after John Paul II organised the last such youth gathering in Rome. It was announced by Pope Francis during World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023. The Church planned a series of events for the young pilgrims over the course of the week, including turning the Circus Maximus—where chariot races were held in ancient Rome—into an open-air confessional. — AFP
CTV News
7 days ago
- CTV News
Pope thrills hundreds of thousands of young Catholics at Holy Year youth festival
ROME — Pope Leo XIV urged hundreds of thousands of young people on Saturday to have the courage to make radical choices to do good, as he presided over his first big encounter with the next generation of Catholics during the highlight of the Vatican's 2025 Holy Year. Leo encountered a sea of people as he arrived by helicopter at the Tor Vergata field on Rome's outskirts for a vigil service of the Jubilee of Youth. Hailing from early 150 countries, the pilgrims had set up campsites on the field for the night, as misting trucks and water cannons spritzed them to cool them down from the 30C (85F) temperatures. Leo displayed his fluency in speaking to the kids in Spanish, Italian and English about the dangers of social media, the value of true friendship and the need to have courage to make radical choices like marriage or religious vows. 'Friendship can really change the world. Friendship is a path to peace,' he said. 'How much the world needs missionaries of the Gospel who are witnesses of justice and peace!' But history's first American pope also alerted them to some tragic news: Two young people who had made the pilgrimage to Rome had died, one reportedly of cardiac arrest, while a third was hospitalized, Leo told the crowd during the vigil service. Leo was to return to the field for an early morning Mass on Sunday morning to close out the celebration. Rome welcomes the throngs For the past week, these bands of young Catholics from around the world have poured into Rome for their special Jubilee celebration, in a Holy Year in which 32 million people are expected to descend on the Vatican to participate in a centuries-old pilgrimage to the seat of Catholicism. The young people have been traipsing down cobblestoned streets in color-coordinated T-shirts, praying the Rosary and singing hymns with guitars, bongo drums and tambourines shimmying alongside. Using their flags as tarps to shield them from the sun, they have taken over entire piazzas for Christian rock concerts and inspirational talks, and stood for hours at the Circus Maximus to confess their sins to 1,000 priests offering the sacrament in a dozen different languages. 'It is something spiritual, that you can experience only every 25 years,' said Francisco Michel, a pilgrim from Mexico. 'As a young person, having the chance to live this meting with the pope I feel it is a spiritual growth.' A mini World Youth Day, 25 years later It all has the vibe of a World Youth Day, the Catholic Woodstock festival that St. John Paul II inaugurated and made famous in Rome in 2000 at the very same Tor Vergata field. Then, before an estimated 2 million people, John Paul told the young pilgrims they were the 'sentinels of the morning' at the dawn of the third millennium. Officials had initially expected 500,000 youngsters this weekend, but Leo and organizers from the stage said the number could reach 1 million. The Vatican didn't immediately provide a final estimate. 'It's a bit messed up, but this is what is nice about the Jubilee,' said Chloe Jobbour, a 19-year-old Lebanese Catholic who was in Rome with a group of more than 200 young members of the Community of the Beatitudes, a France-based charismatic group. She said, for example, that it had taken two hours to get dinner at a KFC overwhelmed by orders Friday night. The Salesian school that offered her group housing is an hour away by bus. But Jobbour, like many in Rome this week, didn't mind the discomfort: It's all part of the experience. 'I don't expect it to be better than that. I expected it this way,' she said, as members of her group gathered on church steps near the Vatican to sing and pray Saturday morning before heading out to Tor Vergata. Romans inconvenienced, but tolerant Those Romans who didn't flee the onslaught have been inconvenienced by the additional strain on the city's notoriously insufficient public transport system. Residents are sharing social media posts of outbursts by Romans at kids flooding subway platforms and crowding bus stops that have delayed and complicated their commutes to work. But other Romans have welcomed the enthusiasm the youngsters have brought. Premier Giorgia Meloni offered a video welcome, marveling at the 'extraordinary festival of faith, joy and hope' that the young people had created. 'I think it's marvelous,' said Rome hairdresser Rina Verdone, who lives near the Tor Vergata field and woke up Saturday to find a gaggle of police outside her home as part of the massive, 4,000-strong operation mounted to keep the peace. 'You think the faith, the religion is in difficulty, but this is proof that it's not so.' Verdone had already made plans to take an alternate route home Saturday afternoon, that would require an extra kilometer (half-mile) walk, because she feared the 'invasion' of kids in her neighborhood would disrupt her usual bus route. But she said she was more than happy to make the sacrifice. 'You think of invasion as something negative. But this is a positive invasion,' she said. Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Crowd surge at Hindu temple in northern India leaves at least 6 dead
India Temple Crowd LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A crowd surge at a popular Hindu temple in northern India left at least six people dead and dozens injured, local authorities said Sunday. The incident in the pilgrimage city of Haridwar occurred after a high-voltage electric wire reportedly fell on a temple path, triggering panic among the large crowd of devotees. Vinay Shankar Pandey, a senior government official in Uttarakhand state where the incident happened, confirmed the deaths and said worshippers scrambled for safety following the incident. Some 29 people were injured, according to Haridwar city's senior police official Pramendra Singh Doval. Thousands of pilgrims had gathered at the Mansa Devi hilltop temple, which is a major site for Hindu devotees, especially on weekends and festival days, local officials said. They were celebrating the holy month of Shravan. Someone in the crowd shouted about an electric current on the pathway around 9 a.m. 'Since the path is narrow and meant only for foot traffic, confusion and panic spread instantly,' said local priest Ujjwal Pandit. 'A wall along the path is also suspected to have worsened the crowd bottleneck,' he added. Police and emergency services rushed to the scene and launched a rescue operation. The injured were transported to a nearby hospital, officials said. 'The situation is now under control,' Pandey told the Associated Press by phone from Haridwar. 'But the panic led to tragic consequences.' Authorities are investigating what caused the overhead wire to collapse, and whether proper crowd management protocols were in place. The town of Haridwar draws millions of visitors each year. The Mansa Devi temple, which is accessible by cable car or foot, is a major pilgrimage site that draws thousands of visitors daily during Shravan. Crowd surges at religious gatherings are not uncommon in India, where massive groups often congregate at temples or pilgrimage sites, sometimes overwhelming local infrastructure and security measures. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the victims and their families in a social media post and wished for a fast recovery for those who were injured. Solve the daily Crossword
Leader Live
26-07-2025
- Leader Live
Five-figure grant paves way for Welsh Camino enhancements
Plans to enhance the North Wales Pilgrims Way, known as 'The Welsh Camino,' have received a boost following the grant, worth £78,000, from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. A Pilgrimage Development Project Lead will now be appointed to explore, in the words of a spokesperson for the Diocese of St Asaph, the "potential for growth" in the number of people walking the 130-mile route. This could include providing suitable pilgrim accommodation as well as transport links. Possible means of promoting the Welsh language, culture, and heritage will also be considered. The route passes historic churches, sacred wells, and other sites of spiritual significance. It begins at Basingwerk Abbey, near St Winifred's Well in Holywell, and ends in Aberdaron across the Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island). The route passes landmarks such as St Asaph Cathedral, the ancient Yew Tree at Llangernyw, Aber Falls, Eryri, and the Llŷn Peninsula. The Diocese of St Asaph, which has been awarded the funding, will employ the new project lead. Sarah Wheat, engagement officer for the Diocese of St Asaph, said: "There has been a significant rise in interest in the experience of pilgrimage, with many people keen to undertake The Welsh Camino. "Yet there is little in the way of infrastructure, such as accommodation for pilgrims along the route or public transport. "We'd like to explore how local churches could assist with offering shelter and hospitality to pilgrims, and consider how we can showcase more of Wales' heritage, culture, language, and spirituality. "By bringing together local churches, businesses, accommodation providers, and key stakeholders, we think we can improve the pilgrimage and tourist experience and attract much-needed investment into the area." The North Wales Pilgrims Way was launched in 2011 by volunteers. The route was recently featured in the US travel magazine Afar, which named it "one of the best underrated places in the world to visit in 2025." Last year, it was also featured in the BBC Two programme, Pilgrimage, which followed a group of celebrity pilgrims on the journey. READ MORE: Seaside town on Anglesey one of Europe's best hidden gems More information about BBC Two's Pilgrimage is available at More information about the project lead role is available on the Diocese of St Asaph website at and the North Wales Pilgrims Way website at The Diocese of St Asaph is one of the six dioceses of the Church in Wales, an independent province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
