On May 8, during the usual retreat of the second Thursday of every month (this time it was the 299^th time!) with great joy we celebrated the Baptism of Mr. Niijima Kokichi who has been attending this monthly retreat for some years, and last year asked to be baptized.

This month of April, a bit earlier than usual, the tsutsuji (Japanese azalea) of Shinmeizan were in full blossom!
We would like to bring a bouquet of them to the tomb of Pope Francis, in Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, remembering our meetings with him, and his encouragement to courageously continue our commitment to interreligious dialogue, a great moment for which has been the ‘Abu Dhabi Declaration on Human Fraternity’ signed on February 4th, 2019.

   Also this year, with the coming of spring, the old cherry tree at the entrance of Shinmeizan has blossomed!