Remembering the persecuted Christians around the world and especially in Syria and Iraq, the Roman Colosseum will be illuminated by red lights later this month.
On Feb. 24 evening, the Colosseum will glow red, to represent the blood of Christians who have been attacked or lost their lives due to religious persecution.
At the same time, in Syria and Iraq, well-known churches will be illuminated with red lights. In Aleppo, the St Elijah Maronite Cathedral will be lighted, and in Mosul, the Church of St Paul, where this past Dec. 24, the first Mass was celebrated after the city's liberation from ISIS.
The event is sponsored by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The "illumination [of the Colosseum] will have two symbolic figures: Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian condemned to death for blasphemy and whose umpteenth judgment is expected to revoke the sentence; and Rebecca, a girl kidnapped by Boko Haram along with her two children when she was pregnant with a third," said Alessandro Monteduro, director of CAN.
