Monday, December 05, 2011

Who was St. Nicholas? The true story of Santa Claus



Who was St. Nicholas? The true story of Santa Claus

The following news reports is from RomeReports.com

December 6 is the feast day of St. Nicholas of Bari, otherwise known as Santa Claus. He was bishop of the city of Myra, in present day Turkey, where he died in the fourth century. When the city was conquered by Muslims, his remains were moved to the Italian city of Bari.
 

When his parents died, he divided his fortune among the poor. Because of his generosity, tradition remembers him as Santa Claus, who every year would deliver gifts to everyone.

He is also the patron saint of Russia, Greece and Turkey.

In Rome, a temple was built in his honor by the year 550. There are currently over 2,000 churches in the world that carry his name.

Saturday, December 03, 2011

Video contest on forgiveness offers $6000 prize to young people




The video and following news item is from RomeReports.com:

December 3, 2011 - This year's Kerygma Awards will give away $6,000 to the best video about forgiveness. The contest has two categories for advertising and short films. It's only open young people between the ages of 17 and 25. Cash prizes will also be given to second and third place of 2,000 and 1,000 dollars each.

It's being held by the NGO “Showing Christianism” and the Villanueva University in Madrid. 

Their idea was to encourage young people to come up with new ways of conveying the message of Benedict XVI. Entries can be submitted until March 12.

Last year's winners were the authors of this short Australian film called “The power of confession,” a story about the power of friendship based on real events.

The international contest receives submissions from around the world such as Israel, Chile, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.