31.08.2013
A roundup of Romanian news
România Internațional, 31.08.2013, 13:36
The representative of Pope Francis at the beatification ceremony of Vladimir Ghika, cardinal Angelo Amato, has described the event in Bucharest as a “prophetic sign of reconciliation and peace”. He paid tribute to Vladimir Ghika (1873-1954), a descendant of the last ruler of Moldavia, who was concerted to Catholicism. The pope’s envoy also spoke about the persecutions to which both Catholic priests and bishops and their Orthodox brothers were subject to during the communist regime. Thousands of people from Romania and abroad attended the beatification mass for Vladimir Ghika, who died in a communist prison. His beatification is a step towards canonisation and the most important event in the life of the Romanian Catholic Church after the visit of Pope John Paul 2nd in 1999.
Romanian president Traian Basescu congratulated Romanians on Romanian Language Day, which was celebrated for the first time in this country on the 31st of August. 30 million people speak the Romanian language around the globe and for 25 million of them Romania is their mother tongue, reads the president’s message. At home and abroad, Romania’s diplomatic offices and cultural institutes staged a number of cultural, educational and artistic events dedicated to the history of the Romanian language. Similar events were held in the neighbouring, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, where Romanian Language Day has been celebrated since 1989.
The Romanian women’s coxless pair made up of Roxana Cogianu si Nicoleta Albu have won the silver medal at the World Rowing Championships hosted by Chungju in South Korea. Also on Saturday, the Romanian kayak double made up of Irina Lauric and Bianca Plesca won the bronze medal in the 1,000 m race at the World Championships in Duisburg, Germany.
