April 2022

During the month of April, besides the usual activities of our Center for Prayer and Interreligious Dialog, like:

• the eighth study meeting on the Lotus sutra, coordinated by Ven. Hara Onin , Head of the Choen Nichiren-BuddhistTemple of Kumamoto, held at Shinmeizan with the participation (via ZOOM) of Ven. Shaku, on April 7;
• the monthly retreat also held on April 7;
• the forwarding of the message from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialog on the occasion of the Hanamatsuri (Vesakh) feast to all our Buddhist partners of dialog, on April 8;
• the participation by Sr. Maria in the first meeting of the newly convened committee for ecumenism of the Bishops` Conference of Japan (to which Sr. Maria has recently been appointed) held in Osaka on April 20…

the important event for Shinmeizan this month has been the arrival of a new director of the Center: Fr. Claudio Codenotti, former Regional Superior of the Xaverians in Japan, and already an active member of Shinmeizan in the years 1993-1998.  Sr. Maria De Giorgi mmx, Fr. Sonoda Yoshiaki OFMConv, and Fr. Franco Sottocornola sx, continue their presence and cooperation especially in the field of interreligious dialog.