SEOUL (SE): The Vatican held an official celebration in Seoul, South Korea, on September 14 recognising the martyrdom shrines of the country’s capital as official International Pilgrimage Sites, a first for Asia.
 
In his homily, Andrew Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung, of Seoul, said, “I believe, today’s recognition of Seoul’s Catholic Pilgrimage Routes as an International Pilgrimage Site by Vatican will become a milestone (and) that Churches in Asia and all over the globe can band together in the name of pilgrimage.”

Vatican (SE): Following his general audience on April 27 at St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis received a group of 23 parish priests from different dioceses in People’s Republic of China. They came away from their encounter deeply impressed by the cordial, kind and simple way of the pope to spoke with them like a brother.

MANILA (Agencies): With inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy, the archdiocese of Manila is pushing people to put a new twist to their pilgrimages to the designated churches for the year.

The diocese plans to issue passports, which will contain a guide to and a brief history of the various churches, as well as information on parish activities that are connected with the pilgrimage year.