What a busy month for the FRH Torch! We have been hosted at two events, very different in their nature but equally fascinating: the closing celebrations of the Lebaniego Jubilee Year (Año Jubilar Lebaniego) in Potes, Spain, and the international conference entitled “Preserve, Use and Develop – Ecclesiastical Heritage and its Future Challenges”, organised by the Diocese of Lund, Sweden.
On Saturday, 21 April at 11:30, the FRH Torch was lit again and new contributions were added to the ever-expanding collection of memories. We are proud to announce that among the contributors were Mr. Miguel Ángel Revilla Roiz, President of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria; Mr. Josep Borrell Fontelles, Former President of the European Parliament; Mr. Francisco Javier Gómez, Mayor of Potes; Mr. Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, film director and writer; and Mr. Francisco Javier Lombraña, President of the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross. The FRH Torch was hosted at the medieval Torre del Infantado, immediately before the first edition of the Beato de Libébana Awards. The event was widely commented in the Spanish press; for detail please consult our Media Coverage webpage.
On Thursday, 26 April at 9:00, the FRH Torch Ceremony was held at the Preserve, Use and Develop Conference, adding no fewer than eight letters to our excellent collection: Ms. Lena Simonsson Torstensson, Director of the Diocese of Lund, Church of Sweden; Reverend Anna Svensson Melin, Lund Parish, Church of Sweden; Ms. Janet Gough OBE, Heritage Consultant and Commissioning Editor, Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers; Dr. Kerstin Barup, Architect, Barup & Edstrom architects AB; Mr. Rickard Isaksson, Heritage Officer, Diocese of Stockholm, Church of Sweden; Mr. Dave Stewart, Musician and Owner of Dave Stewart Entertainment; Mr. Jono Hart, Managing Partner, Dave Stewart Entertainment; and Mr. Henrik Lindblad, Heritage Officer, Church of Sweden, Diocese of Lund & Vice President of ICOMOS International Scientific Committee PRERICO.
You can also join the initiative!
As Janet Gough OBE said in her letter: Our challenge is to create the conditions to sustain a working partnership of local and national support to preserve, use and develop these precious historic religious buildings to serve everyone now and for the future. FRH is truly hoping that the Initiative will motivate European citizens to share their stories and raise awareness about the importance of religious heritage. Because, as Henrik Lindblad concludes in his letter, We can never promote and inform enough about the values of historic churches. The importance of safeguarding, documenting and studying these very fragile monuments should always be emphasized.
Do you agree? Would you like to support our Initiative? Will you add to our treasure box and share a memory? It’s so simple! Click here and send us your letter, which we will then publish on the FRH Torch website!
And if sending us a letter is not enough, why don’t you join us during the Open Churches Days in Mont-devant-Sassey, France, on 2 June?
#SocialMedia users!
Help spread the word about the FRH Torch Initiative, religious heritage and the European Year of Cultural Heritage by sharing our information and using the following hashtags: #FRHTorch #EuropeForCulture #EYCH2018 #religiousHeritage.
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