21 November 2013 – The Philippine Embassy organized a mass for the victims of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) for the Filipino community and the diplomatic corps in the Czech Republic.  The mass was held on November 17, at the Our Lady of Victory Church in Mala Strana, which houses the famous Infant Jesus of Prague statue or Sto. Nino de Praga. The memorial mass was celebrated by Fr. Lancy Lewis.

Fr. Lancy announced that the collection for all the Sunday masses at Our Lady Victorious Church on December 1, which also the feast of Christ the King, will be offered to those affected by the typhoon in the Philippines.  He said that the collection will be given to Caritas Czech Republic, which operates under the various Archdioceses in the Czech Republic.

Apart from the special mass at the Our Lady of Victory Church, mass offering for the typhoon victims were held in various churches in the Czech Republic. St. Thomas Church in Prague, which has an English mass on Saturdays and Sundays, has organized a “bake sale” to raise funds for the typhoon victims.

Philippine Embassy Charge d’Affaires, a.i Juan E. Dayang, Jr., who led the prayers of the faithful at mass, expressed the Embassy’s gratitude for the outpouring of support and assistance received from Czech government and citizens and from people of good will from all over the world, the Filipino community and the local churches.

The memorial mass was attended by the Filipino community in Prague, Embassy personnel, Foreign Ministry Protocol Chief Tomas Pernicky and members of the Diplomatic Corps including  Ambassador  María Susana Landaveri Porturas of Peru and Ambassador Michele Prancheri-Tomassini of Luxembourg and  diplomats from the Embassies of the United States and Indonesia. END