An ecumenical prayer was hosted at the Basilica San Bartolomeo in Rome, in the memory of Giovanna Reggiani. Over 300 persons - Catholics, Romanian Orthodox and representatives of the gypsy community. Among the Romanian, the niece of Emil Marcu, the Romanian severely injured in a xenophobic attack last week.
"Giovanna would have wanted us as we are now, united in prayer" said Monsignor Marco Gnavi, ecumenism responsible in the Rome office for locum tenens, in his introduction.
The prayers for Giovanna's soul were kept in Italian and in Romanian, all asking for peaceful cohabitation and condemning any form of violence and the lack of tolerance. Many of the participating Romanians lit candles and prayed in front of the altar.
After reading from the Gospels, the choir of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Rome sang the Resurrection Hymn, then the participants recited Pater Noster in Romanian and Italian.
