Aid to the Church in Need: Pelican Musical on Martyrs of the 20th century to be performed in Rome

Pelican Musical on Martyrs of the 20th century to be performed in Rome

Posted by ACN News on 1/12/2008, 8:33 am
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Italy - Musical on Martyrs of the 20th century to be performed in the Pantheon, Rome

By Eva Maria Kolmann

On the 3rd of December this year at 5:30 p.m. the musical Pelican - into thy Hands will be performed in the Pantheon, Rome. The performance, which focuses on some of the martyrs of the 20th century, sprang from an idea of the current president of the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Father Joaquin Alliende, and was written by him, originally for the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany. Since then it has been performed in several countries with great success. The musical is staged and performed by members of the Polish theatre group Teatr A from the town of Gliwice in Poland.

The performance of the musical in Rome's Pantheon - an ancient temple that was transformed in 609 into the church of Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs - was given on the occasion of the meeting of the General Council of ACN from 2 to 3 December in the Vatican and is dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI. Invitations have been extended to important figures in the Church, and also to numerous young people from the Centro San Lorenzo, where the World Youth Day cross is kept.

The musical tells the story of different people, on many continents, who died for their faith during the 20th century - for example the Polish priest Father Jerzy Popieluszko who was murdered in 1984 by the Polish secret service, the Mexican Jesuit Miguel Agustin Pro, who was executed in 1927, the Ukrainian nun, Tarsykia Mackiv, murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1944, the African seminarians butchered in 1997 by partisans in Burundi, and the young German priest, Karl Leisner, who celebrated his first and last Holy Mass in the concentration camp in Dachau. Not only Catholic martyrs are commemorated but also, representing numerous Christian martyrs of other denominations, the Russian Orthodox priest Aleksandr Men, murdered in 1990, and the Protestant pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was hanged in 1945 for his opposition to the Nazi dictatorship. Another and particular form of witness is recounted in the story of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, who in 1962 gave her own life in order to save the life of her unborn child. The relatives of this saint* have also been invited as guests of honour to this performance.

(A scene from the musical)

Speaking about the performance, Father Joaquín Alliende said: "It is true; the stones do speak. The marble of the Pantheon, the stone slabs and the columns not only speak, no, they shout aloud, they sing, they whisper. In order to hear them one must fall silent, or else venture boldly into a feast of symbols and meanings. In early Advent 2008 in this ancient and yet young temple, voices and instruments will ring out and the gestures of the human body will write a dramatic poem in the air. Ten martyrs of the 20th century will stride in through the portal or descend through the high, round opening where the vault opens up to the heavens of God."

The name of the musical, Pelican, refers to the ancient legend of the pelican who pecks her own breast open in order to feed her children with her own blood. She stands of course for Christ, who gave his life for the salvation of the world, and is thus at the same time a symbol of all the martyrs who gave the witness of their blood.

On 7 April 2008 Pope Benedict XVI had this to say in his sermon at a Mass held to commemorate the martyrs of the 20th century: "In the defeat, in the humiliation of those who suffer for the Gospel there is a power at work that the world does not know (...) It is the power of love, helpless and yet victorious, even in apparent defeat. It is a power that challenges and defeats death."

Father Werenfried van Straaten (1913 - 2003), the founder of ACN who campaigned especially for persecuted and oppressed Christians all over the world, always maintained during his lifetime that his charity should commemorate the modern martyrs and make their story known.

For further information please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org