Signis

Inauguration of the New SIGNIS General Secretariat

Brussels, March 19, 2007 (SIGNIS) - The new SIGNIS General Secretariat was officially inaugurated Friday March 16, 2007 in presence of His Eminence Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels.

SIGNIS President Augy Loorthusamy greets Cardinal Godfried Danneels

Cardinal Danneels blessed the building and those who occupy it, declaring “I don’t need to highlight the importance of communication and media for the Church. The Church is communication.”

The ceremony began with a welcome note from Mr. Jean-Jacques Masquelin who represented the SIGNIS Foundation. In his following speech, SIGNIS President Augy Loorthusamy thanked the guests for their presence and “all those who have made it possible for SIGNIS to acquire these new premises.” “This facility will provide the opportunity for our staff to serve better the work of the Church all around the world,” he said.

Alvito de Souza, Officer-in-charge at the General Secretariat, then read a letter from Archbishop John Foley, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, who was represented in Brussels by Dr. Claudia Di Giovanni, Delegate of the Vatican Film library.

From left to right: Gustavo Andújar, Augy Loorthusamy, Cardinal Danneels, Peter Thomas, Alvito De Souza and Ricardo Yáñez

Referring to the Latin word Ignis (fire), which sounds very much like SIGNIS, the Archbishop hoped that “this new building may become a type of fireplace for Catholics in the audiovisual media, a place where Catholic communicators might find love and warmth and from which they can carry the fire of faith and goodness to the world.”

Among other guests at the ceremony were Archbishop Karl-Josef Rauber, Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium and Archbishop André Dupuy, Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union.

Click here for a short clip of the inauguration

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