100th anniversary of Battle of Verdun
May 31, 2016
Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching offered Mass in Verdun Cathedral on May 28 to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Verdun, in which 2.4 million French and German soldiers took part over the course of 10 months and an estimated 300,000 were killed.
In a separate event at Verdun, French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized reconciliation and deplored rising nationalism in Europe.
“Verdun, city of peace remains the symbol of Franco-German reconciliation,” said Bishop Gusching, as he called Verdun a place that proclaims “an ideal and a real hope to remember the values of justice and of peace and to make fraternity fruitful.”
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Further information:
- Retour en images sur la "Messe du Centenaire" du 28 mai 2016 (Diocese of Verdun)
- Centenaire (Diocese of Verdun)
- Verdun: France and Germany mark centenary with EU unity call (BBC)
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