Acts of 10th European Assembly of Lay Dominican Fraternities
The European Lay Dominicans are celebrating the 800-year Jubilee of the Order with a chain of preachers of hope. Here you will find the contribution from Elisabeth Vondrous from Vienna.
This year, in 2015, the world commemorated the Second World War, which ended seventy years ago. Elisabeth Vondrous, a member of a newly formed Lay Dominican Fraternity in Vienna, arranged an exhibition on this occasion in her parish in May this year. ‘Understanding the Second World War will help us understand the world of today and find ways for a better future’, she believes.
Elisabeth says: “My parents left Europe in 1934, as my father was assigned by his employer (the Czech shoe company Bata) to Indonesia (at those times still a colony of the Netherlands – Nederlands Indië). When the war in Europe started my family could not return and had to stay in Indonesia. With God’s help and many miracles they survived the war in the Pacific region and the Japanese occupation and were brought home to Europe and to Vienna by British and US ships.”
Her parents passed on to Elisabeth their collection of photos, news magazines, letters and diaries from that period during the War. Their stories and this material are the basis of the exhibition: an exhibition about fear and war crimes, but also an exhibition about solidarity and friendship across borders of countries and religions.
Since her childhood Elisabeth had heard the reports about the War from her parents and she tried to figure out what suggestions she can give for a better future. With the exhibition in her parish she gives a vision for a sustainable global society. Read her complete story and the vision here.
The Chain:
Each Province/Vicariate is invited to share their stories and/or pictures with a next Province/Vicariate, if possible with a meeting. That Province/Vicariate invites the next Province/Vicariate, etc. For the Chain there is a route with a time table, which can be used. If every Province/Vicariate also sends their stories and pictures to the ECLDF website, we will create, in this way, a real chain of preachers of hope throughout Europe until the next Assembly October 2017 in Fatima.
Here you will find the announcement of the Chain and also an overview of all the contributions.
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