Cardinal Nichols invites Catholics to participate in global ecumenical prayer movement

With two weeks to go, an international global ecumenical prayer campaign, which has the support of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, is set to launch. From the Ascension to Pentecost (10-20 May) Christians of all denominations will be praying for the evangelisation of the people as part of Thy Kingdom Come.

This year, the Catholic Church of England and Wales has become even more involved with the initiative which began as a simple invitation to prayer from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 2016 but has since blossomed into a global movement bringing together hundreds of thousands of Christians from across the globe during this period.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has endorsed the initiative and was recently interviewed by Archbishop Justin Welby as part of the video series 'what do we mean when we pray Thy Kingdom Come?' along with several other high profile Christian leaders.

Cardinal Nichols urged the Catholic community to get involved and said: "I am very pleased to invite you to join in this time of prayer as part of Thy Kingdom Come from 10-20 May. We do this, with a deep realisation that our world is not right. But we do it with a profound hope, profound trust in the promises of Jesus, that His Kingdom will come and in that trust and hope we pray."

Teresa Carvalho, Home Mission Development Officer for the Catholic Bishops' Conference said: "I am so excited about the Catholic Church's involvement in this year's Thy Kingdom Come. As the Development Officer for evangelisation within the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, it is a pleasure to encourage and enable Catholics to take part in this time of prayer in anticipation of Pentecost since it is only through the action of the Holy Spirit that our efforts to share the good news of Jesus Christ will be fruitful.'

Catholic churches across the country are participating including several Beacon events happening at the end of the 11-day period of prayer.

We have also produced a range of fantastic resources for the Catholic church for Thy Kingdom Come. It is wonderful to know that we are partnering with the wider body of Christ in this way for more to come to faith."

Pippa Baker from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal has also contributed to the initiative.

The resources this year include 'Journey with Mary' daily devotional podcasts read by notable Catholic voice, Maria Rodrigues, presenter for Premier Christian radio as well as a range of beautifully designed print resources including the Morning Prayer of the Church booklet.

Now in its third year, Thy Kingdom Come hopes to build momentum from last year; In 2017 alone, more than 85 countries - ranging from Canada to Australia, South Sudan to Japan - took part and it is hoped that this year, even greater numbers of individuals, families and churches will be involved.

To take part in this year's Thy Kingdom Come visit: www.thykingdomcome.global

To order copies of the resources visit: cpo.org.uk/TKCcatholic

Listen to the 'Journey with Mary' podcasts here: https://soundcloud.com/catholicchurch/sets/journey-with-mary or download from iTunes.

Watch video interviews of Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Teresa Carvalho: www.youtube.com/thykingdomcome or download them at https://vimeo.com/thykingdomcomeglobal