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On Thursday, Monaco celebrated the feast day of its patron saint, Devote. The celebrations are a big part of the tiny principality’s heritage, so its Princely family would obviously take part in them.
 Click here to view gallery at Daylife.com In the evening, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene – who marked her 34th birthday Wednesday – lit a fisherman’s boat on fire with torches on the beaches of Monaco. With them was Albert’s sister, Princess Caroline and her youngest daughter, Princess Alexandra.
This is done to commemorate the burning of a ship on the beach of Monaco, when the captain was caught after stealing the relics of Sainte Devote. Burning a fisherman’s boat has been a tradition since Prince Louis II began it in 1924.
The next morning, there was a mass held at the cathedral. Albert and Charlene then appeared on the palace balcony before the bishop and Monegasque priests.
One should remember that during her July 2nd wedding ceremony, Charlene placed her bouquet at the shrine of Sainte Devote. That is part of the tradition in Monaco.
For future reference, Albert and Charlene will be traveling to the United States in late February to attend the Academy Awards. Keep an eye out that day to see how the Princess of Monaco lights up the red carpet!
Sources: Pure People
 Click here to see more of the Bishop's concentration On Sunday, Luxembourg’s Grand Ducal couple witnessed the concentration of Jean Claude Hollerich as the eighth bishop and third archbishop of the archdiocese of Luxembourg.
The deeply religious Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were among several hundred attendees of the ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral.
The church service lasted three hours. It was conducted in Luxembourgisch – which is a dialect of German – French, English, German and Japanese. The latter happened because the now Archbishop Hollerich once lived and worked for years in Japan. At Sophia University in Tokyo, Hollerich was last rector of the Jesuit community and vice-president of the university.
Source: Wort.lu
Yesterday, Crown Princess Victoria inaugurated this year’s General Synod in Uppsala. The Synod is a yearly meeting for the National Church of Sweden, and it discusses issues concerning the church.
 Click here to view more photos at Svensk Damtidning Arriving in a black sedan, the Crown Princess emerged dressed in black and white from head to toe. Once again, she hid her baby bump with a jacket.
Once inside the cathedral, Victoria sat in a special chair of burgundy velvet and listened as the high ranked members of the Swedish Lutheran church opened the General Synod of 2011.
This year, the topics ranged from the vow of silence by pastors and deacons, or how to adapt the energy consumption of the church. One topic that was covered was the treatment of the Sami, Sweden’s indigenous people. Some church leaders noted that the Samis feel alienated.
“I think the alienation and isolation of the Sami is well known, and they can be a useful contribution in the work of a true entity church that promotes diversity,” said Tuulikki Koivunen, a dean in Uppsala, now a bishop.
As if to demonstrate of Samis are treated in Sweden, a Sami radio reporter tried to get a word from Victoria as she left the synod, but was pushed out of the way. Then again, the police and her bodyguards may not have known the person was a Sami.
Source: UNT.se
Pope Benedict XIV is in Spain for the next few days to preside over World Youth Day, a Roman Catholic event which young people celebrate their faith. His Holiness was welcomed to Madrid by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia before heading off to begin his busy schedule.
 Click here for more photos at Daylife.com But the pontiff still had time to meet other members of Spanish royalty. Some time after his arrival, the Pope went to Zarzuela Palace where he met with Prince Felipe, Princess Letizia and their two daughters, Infantas Leonor and Sofia, and Infanta Elena and her two children, Forlian Felipe and Victoria.
During the photo op, the royals lined up alongside the Pope so the media could photograph them. However, 4 year old Infanta Sofia got a little antsy during the session and was caught yawning a few times. Her big sister, Leonor, was well behaved and got a big kiss from her father.
1.5 million Catholics are in Madrid for World Youth Day. This is the pontiff”s third trip to Spain, having done a state visit just last year. The country has sparked the ire of the Catholic church by allowing gay marriage and loosening up on abortion and divorce, three issues the church is staunchly conservative on.
Source: Huffington Post, Hello!
On Thursday, nearly the entire Belgian royal family gathered for the first communion of Princess Louise, the daughter of the controversial Prince Laurent. Although the Prince has been banned from participating in royal activities, he is of course not banned from family events.
 Click here to see more photos of the Belgian royals The Belgian royals went to the small parish of Sainte-Catherine Bonlez, a district of Chaumont-Gistoux in the province of Walloon Brabant for the Catholic ceremony for the seven year old. Princess Louise wore a pink dress with matching shoes and headband. She arrived with the other youngsters making their first communion.
Her parents, Laurent and Princess Claire came with their twin boys, Prince Aymeric and Prince Nicholas. Also there were King Albert II, Queen Paola and Queen Fabiola, who is still holding strong in her late age.
Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde came with their son Prince Emmanuel. Princess Astrid attended with her husband and youngest daughter.
It is not exactly known how the King or the rest of the Belgian royals treated Prince Laurent, but according to RTBF TV, King Albert supposedly did not salute his son. One wonders if the King is still angry over his youngest son’s careless behavior this year or was simply making a public statement as a monarch.
Source: De Standaard
In November, a Seamen’s church will be consecrated in Miami and will be named after Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit. It’s official name will be “The Church’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s Church – Scandinavian Church and Center.”  Click here for more recent Mette-Marit photos The Church asked Mette-Marit’s permission to use her name earlier this year and she accepted.
“The Crown Princess demonstrate a commitment to religious and social context that coincides with the values Seamen’s Church stands for,” said Secretary General of the Seamen’s Church, Audun Myhre.
“The Church in Miami will be a royal name that is committed in a positive sense.”
There are five other seamen’s churches that have royal names: Stockholm, Paris, New York, Torrevieja and Copenhagen.
“The reason is that the Crown Prince and Princess have visited the Seamen church in Miami and has had a relationship with the former, and therefore they had a desire to name it after her,” said Myhre.
“The royal family has a long and strong connection to the Seamen’s Church. Therefore, we are both grateful and proud that the tradition of giving the sailor churches royal name continued when the new church in Miami will carry the Crown Princess’s name.”
Seamen’s Churches are located throughout the world. They function as both a house of worship and community center for ex-patriot Scandinavians.
The church to be named after Mette-Marit will have not Norwegian and American flags outside of it, but also Swedish and Danish.
Source: FVN, NRK, Wikipedia
Last night, Monaco honored its patron saint, Sainte Devote, with traditional church services and the lighting of the fishing boat. Prince Albert II and his sister, Princess Caroline were present, as well as his fiancée, Charlene Wittstock, who made her first appearance at the celebrations.
 REUTERS/Eric Gaillard Mass was held at the Church of Sainte Devote where the royal siblings and Charlene genuflected before the Monsignor prior to taking their seats at the church. The mass reflected on the troubles many Christians are facing in the world, particularly in the Middle East.
There was a moment of silence before the service let out and the trio gathered at the shore in front of the fishing boat. Torches in hand, they lit the boat on fire and sent it into the sea.
When she marries Prince Albert this July, Charlene will place her bouquet at the Church of Sainte Devote.
The lighting of the boat comes from the story of the Florentine captain Antinope who was caught stealing the relics of Sainte Devote on the Monegasque beaches. This part of the celebration was started by Prince Louis II in 1924.
Source: Monaco Maville
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, spent the weekend in Spain for a two day visit. He was there mainly to push the Church’s agenda in an increasingly secular country, but also to visit a Galician cathedral and consecrate a Barcelona basilica.
 Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images The Pope arrived in Santiago de Compostela and was greeted by the heir to the Spanish throne, Prince Felipe and his wife Princess Letizia. He visited the cathedral, which has been the site of the St. James celebrations this year. There, the pontiff prayed at what it believed to be the burial place of the apostle.
Later in the day, the pope held an open air mass at Obradoiro square which Felipe and Letizia attended.
On Sunday, Benedict went to Barcelona to consecrate Antoni Gaudi’s unfinished basilica, the Sagrada Familia. King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were there for the event, along with 6,500 faithful Spaniards. The royal couple were then present for the mass inside the basilica.
The Pope has been openly blasting Spain’s liberal society during this visit. The country has loosened up abortion laws and legalized gay marriage in recent years.
 REUTERS/Andres Ballesteros/Pool “I too wish to encourage Spain and Europe to build their present and to project their future on the basis of the authentic truth about man, on the basis of freedom which respects this truth and never harms it,” he said during the mass in Obradoiro square.
“The generous and indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation of human life,” the pope said in Barcelona.
“For this reason the Church resists every form of denial of human life and gives its support to everything that would promote the natural order in the sphere of the institution of the family,” he added.
Some Spaniards have been protesting the pontiff’s visit. There was a gay kiss-in where hundreds of gay couples kissed in the Barcelona streets as the pope mobile drove by.
Pope Benedict XVI is expected to return to Spain next year. He will attend World Youth Day in Madrid.
Sources: AFP, The Reader, Deutsche Welle
Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit took part in the Olav Festival in Trondheim Wednesday, in which they did a pilgrimage to Nidaros Cathedral for the “Faith, Hope and Love” discussion. It was there that the Crown Princess chatted with minister Per Arne Dahl about the big questions in life.
 Ned Alley / Scanpix “I want to help create a conversation about the serious topics – with room for the big questions. Questions that we all have a relationship with – each in our own way,” said Mette-Marit.
Before sitting down with the minister, Mette-Marit and Haakon went on a pilgrimage which began Tuesday in Skaun and ended at the Cathedral. During the long walk, the Crown Princess got blisters on her feet and took off her shoes (that is why she is barefoot during her discussion with Dahl).
One of the reasons why Mette-Marit wanted to talk about spiritual issues so publicly is because she felt they are a big part of Norwegian culture.
“I think we all sometimes need to gather about the key issues – which applies to people at all times. This clearly did the work of the hymns. Many of the old hymns have lyrics and messages that appeal directly to the people of our time – even if they are written for several hundred years ago,” she said.
The Crown Princess also said that we all have a chance to do something good for others – and to be the best of ourselves. This is a daily task she thinks everyone must take seriously – both large and small.
“I’m using worship actively as a place for rest, reflection and a place to draw strength from. It’s nice when it can feel like a home where there is both room for fellowship and to be themselves in peace,” she said.
Source: Kongehuset.no,
Spain’s King and Queen took part in the national offering to St. James during the saint’s holy day on Sunday. King Juan Carlos used the time to plea for national unity in an increasingly fractured country.
 Terra Noticias “These are difficult and complex times,” he said, who asked for “dialogue, consensus and tolerance and mutual respect” in a both politically and nationally divided Spain. Juan Carlos called his country a “big family together, while diverse and plural, of which we are proud.”
Spain’s ethnic groups – such as the Basques and those in Catalunya – are becoming more vocal in their desire to secede from Spain and have their own countries.
The King also prayed for economic healing in a country with 20 percent unemployment. He even praised the Constitution and its usefulness.
This was King Juan Carlos’ second time he left Madrid since his lung operation in May. He was accompanied by Queen Sofia, who wore a traditional Spanish headdress.
2010 is a holy year for the Roman Catholic Church.
In May, the Prince and Princess of Asturias went on a pilgrimage to Compostela, located in northwestern Spain. They performed the millenia old journey from one cathedral to the Cathedral of St. James.
Sources: GPD, LaVanguardia,
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