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| A Royal Wedding and a Papal Beatification |
| Joanna Bogle |
| Joanna Bogle is an author, journalist, and broadcaster living in London. She served for some years as a London Borough councillor and has also worked as a research assistant for Members of Parliament. She writes for various newspapers and magazines in Britain, America, and Australia, including Britain:s Catholic Times, and America:s National Catholic Register.
Joanna:s books include "A Book of Seasons and Celebrations" which is currently linked to a series on EWTN in which Joanna demonstrates cookery and craft ideas for celebrating the various feasts of the Church:s year.
Her other books are mostly historical biographies and include "Caroline Chisholm - the Emigrant:s Friend" about the Australian pioneer heroine, and "A Heart for Europe, a life of the last Emperor and Empress of Austria-Hungary", which she wrote jointly with her husband Jamie. Joanna also writes children:s fiction. She is a frequent speaker at women:s organisations, youth groups, and Catholic and ecumenical events and conferences.
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Monday, May 02, 2011
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| A weekend of crowds and celebrations: great crowds in London for the splendid Royal Wedding – a joyous day that put new heart into Britain - and great crowds in Rome for the Beatification of the great John Paul II.
The wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton in the glorious surroundings of Westminster Abbey gave Britain an opportunity to celebrate all sorts of things that matter: marriage, family, traditions, and a sense of community and history. And everyone did celebrate – gathered in vast crowds in London, or at street-parties, or with friends and family round a TV set, with champagne and picnics and cheers and partying.
Then, in Rome, a magnificent history-making gathering at St Peter’s as over a million and a half people gathered to watch Pope Benedict XVI declare John Paul II, the Polish-born priest, poet, playwright and Pope to be Blessed. He now belongs to all of us for always not just as a beloved Pope and father-figure, but as part of the heritage of the Catholic Church, shaping and forming the thinking of Christians in the years to come.
Two great cities – London and Rome – and two great events. And all taking place in this Easter season, and under sunny skies: a lift and a boost for us all.
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