A thousand Masses for the Pope

More than a thousand parishes around the world have pledged to hold Masses of Thanksgiving for the 25th anniversary of the Pope's pontificate - thanks to a family in South London. And the number is growing daily. The Ryan family in Croydon, South London, set up a special website to record all the celebration Masses taking place on 16 October. Mr Patrick Ryan told ICN: "We want to create a spiritual bouquet. We are hoping to ring the world in prayer on 16th October with Masses starting in Fiji, followed by New Zealand and then each country doing likewise as the sun circles the earth until it sets at the close of day off the west coast of Alaska." The Ryan's dream looks set to come true. They have already had promises from all five continents - from the Arctic to the Equator, China, the Congo. Belarus and Israel, and there are still four months to go. If you would like to register your parish Mass for the Pope's Silver Jubilee, click on: www.jp2-jubilee.org