Lodging in Rome snapped up for John Paul II's beatification

Rome is already bracing for the impact of the many pilgrims who will converge on St. Peter's for the May 1 beatification of Pope John Paul II.

Sleeping space in religious communities across the city - around 15,000 beds - was booked up within a day of the Jan. 14 announcement.

The Domus Aurelia hotel run by the Emmanuel Community has been reserved "since literally two minutes after the announcement," said Lorenzo Amico, who was working the hotel desk at the time. The hotel is located a short way from St. Peter's on foot

Two large groups made the reservations, filling the facility to capacity for an entire week.

"We've received calls continuously since then," Amico told CNA during a Jan. 31 phone conversation. "Even though the entire area is completely full, they keep on calling."

Rooms in hotels around the Vatican were snatched up quickly and those vacancies that remain are in establishments further from St. Peter's. They are priced at more than double - and even triple - normal rates, according to local media reports.

Catholics, Orthodox in Belarus celebrate Christian unity week

Catholic leaders in Belarus renowned the annual week devoted to Christian unity by meeting and breaking bread with local heads of Orthodox, Lutheran and other other Christian denominations.

From January 18 – 25, Christians around the globe noticeable the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, a time when members from various denominations usually meet to pray together for union efforts among the faithful.

In Minsk, the capital of Belarus, Catholic Archbishop Kondrusiewicz and Orthodox Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Sluzk hosted a variety of initiatives, including daily prayer with Belarusians from frequent Christian backgrounds and traditions.

At a joint celebration on Jan. 22, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Minsk, Catholics, Orthodox, Eastern Catholics, Lutherans and Christians of other denominations gathered to pray, preach and representatively share a great loaf of bread.

In a Jan. 20 dialogue with global charity Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz remembered the words of Pope John Paul II, who said the churches in East and West were like two divide “lungs” and that "Europe must breathe again with both lungs."

The archbishop said that not only do all the Christian denominations “share the wish for unity,” but that they also seek conversation with the Jewish and Muslim communities as well.

Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said that the association between the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches is very peaceful and cordial. The Orthodox Church accounts for approximately 80 percent of the citizens of Belarus, while 14 percent or around 300,000 are Catholics.