London: Spirit in the City, 100 Days of Peace, CitySafe Havens

Colette Joyce, steward at the Vigil

There were several major Catholic events in London over the weekend, among them: 100 Days of Peace, which began with an ecumenical all-night prayer vigil at St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square; London Citizens launched CitySafe Havens with 16 separate events all around the capital and Spirit in the City concluded three days of celebrations with a Eucharistic procession and an open-air festival in Leicester Square.

The Vigil at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, begin with hourly prayers from different traditions, culminating in songs of praise and a service on Saturday morning attended by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, and the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, with other London faith leaders.

The CitySafe Havens launched in central London took place in Chinatown and was organised by churches in Westminster, including a large group of young people from Holy Apostles, Pimlico. The celebration included a large Chinese dragon. All the celebrations were filmed from a helicopter!

A record number of young people attended Spirit in the City - a festival organised by four West End Catholic Churches: St Patrick's Soho, Our Lady of the Assumption, Piccadilly, the French Church, Leicester Square, and Corpus Christi, Covent Garden. The three days of talks, music and services concluded with a Eucharistic procession on Friday night and day-long festival in Leicester Square.

We will be bringing you more in-depth reports of all these events soon.