News briefs

If you are in Rome, the Vatican’s Nativity scene exhibit is open through Jan. 12, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Free. Photo below – Rome on Christmas Eve.

RTÉ Christmas Broadcast now available

Archbishops of Armagh with students of the Royal School Armagh, St Catherine’s College, Armagh, and St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook who contributed to the broadcast.

The annual Christmas broadcast message from the Archbishops of Armagh, the Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, and the Most Revd Eamon Martin, is now available on the RTÉ Player website and app (in Android and iOS versions).

This year’s broadcast looks at our shared responsibility for our environment and climate. The Archbishops highlighted the Great Green Wall and Laudato Tree initiatives, to prevent desertification across 8,000 km (5,000 miles) in the Sahel, and encourage people in Ireland to plant trees here and sponsor the planting of more trees in this part of Africa. The initiative is improving food security, and creating jobs and a better quality of life in communities for millions of people who live along its path.

Keith and Lyn Scott, Church Missionary Society Mission Partners serving at St John’s Theological Seminary, Kitwe, Zambia were interviewed on Radio Ulster recently.

S is for…Salisbury

Today we are off to Wiltshire to visit Salisbury Cathedral in company with the Frfiends of Cathedral Music.

Salisbury’s choristers have been busy preparing for a performance of Handel’s Messiah, which was performed to a sizeable audience on Saturday. Now the choir is gearing up for the carol services on Sunday and Monday as well as Festal Evensong and Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and Eucharist and Evensong on Christmas Day.

Aside from the daily round of services, the choir is kept busy with BBC broadcasts, concerts, CD recordings and overseas tours.

The Cathedral also has a Junior Choir for children aged 7 – 13 and a Youth Choir for young people aged 13 – 18.

[https://fcm.org.uk/news/s-is-for-salisbury/](https://fcm.org.uk/news/s-is-for-salisbury/)

The Police Service for NI saved Christmas by arresting The Grinch