Ethiopia is well on track to host the 19th AMECEA Plenary Assembly that is scheduled to be held in 2018. The preparatory committee working on this says the groundwork has already begun, with the setting up of 11 working sub committees. According to Fr. Hagos Hayish, the Secretary General of the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat, the committees are comprised of Catholics from all walks of life and from various professional backgrounds and experiences.
The Terms of Reference of each of the committees have already been designed and approved. The preparatory committee will be launched on July 26th, 2015, during the official closing ceremony of the Ethiopian Catholic Bishops’ Conference Golden Jubilee.
He noted that the Catholics in Ethiopia are very enthusiastic about AMECEA coming to Ethiopia adding, “This is also an opportunity for promoting the Pastoral and Social Ministry of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia and increased evangelization.”
Fr. Hagos expressed his hope that AMECEA Plenary will bring more to the Church in Ethiopia “we hope that this will fuel the efforts of canonizing Bl. Gebremichael, an Ethiopian Martyr who was a student of St. Justin de Jacobis and one of the first Ethiopian Catholic Martyrs. We also hope it might create an opportunity for our Holy Father Pope Francis to visit Ethiopia.”
Source: Makeda Yohannes, Communications and Public Relations Officer Ethiopia Catholic Secretariat