Pilgrimage for priest to be made a saint
Hundreds of Catholics will be making a pilgrimage to an abbey to pray for a former priest to become Britain's first black saint.
Blessed Cyprian Tansi, who was born in Nigeria, was a monk at Mount St Bernard Abbey, near Coalville, for more than a decade.
He arrived in Leicestershire from Nigeria in 1950 to train for the priesthood and remained a monk at Mount St Bernard's for 14 years, until his death in 1964, aged 61.
Due to his devout life as a Cistercian monk, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, in March 1998, for his humility after a miraculous cure for a sick woman who prayed to him in Africa.
At the abbey on Saturday Catholics will be praying and asking God to make him a saint.
This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:
Muslim leader condemns Nigerain bomb attacks
A Muslim community leader has condemned the Christmas Day bombing of churches in Nigeria.
Islamic group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which claimed at least 39 lives.
Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO), said: "These heinous acts fill us with horror.
"Millions of people around the world are engaging in acts of worship and peace. These murderers show no regard for basic human rights and values.
"Christians and Muslims both revere Jesus and deplorable terrorist attacks such as these show no regard for the principles which our shared great Prophet stood for.
"Christians and Muslims have been victims of similar attacks by the group.
"We extend our sympathies to the victims' families and wish the Nigerian government well in its attempts to catch the culprits."
