Mother Agnes will be giving a talk as well as meeting up with the media in Montreal on December 3, 2013, at 2pm at Centre St Pierre, rue Panet, Montreal. This is a public event to which you are cordially invited.

In Montreal, the programme is as follows:

• Tues, Press Conference,  Dec 3: 2 pm, CSN (1601, ave De Lorimier, métro Papineau); followed by meeting with civil society groups, 

• public lecture at 7pm organised by Basmet Amal (“Sourire d’espoir”), Centre islamique libanais, 40-60 Rue de Port-Royal Est à Montréal (métro Sauvé).

Mother Agnes-Mariam of the Cross is Mother Superior at the Monastery and Convent of St. James in Qara, Syria. Much of the population in the towns and villages around the monastery have fled and been made refugees. She left the safety and security of her convent to bear a message of peace in the war zone that is Syria today.

Every day there, she puts her life at serious risk organizing ceasefires to permit the evacuation of civilians caught in firefights; trying to save civilians of minority religions (such as Christians and Alawites) and of minority ethnicities (such as Druze) from harm; attempting to protect Christian churches and monasteries from attack; and promoting dialogue between the warring parties. Gunmen attacked her vehicle in May, 2013.

The story that Mother Agnes tells is very different from what we hear and read in the North American press. In May 2013, she organized an international delegation, led by Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, which visited Lebanon and Syria. The delegation observed conditions and talked with refugees, opposition and government representatives. Mother Agnes is one of the main organizers of the Mussalaha (“Reconciliation”) Initiative, a popular movement in Syria seeking to bring about a peaceful, made-in-Syria, political solution to the ongoing war. Mother Agnes-Mariam is likely to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize next year.

Mother Agnes is currently touring the U.S. and Canada to inform people about the reality in Syria and the need to stop foreign support and financing of terrorism. Her message is non-sectarian, promoting the values of peace, love and reconciliation.

Sun, Dec 1: 2 pm Centenary United Church, 24 Main West at MacNab Street South across from Hamilton City Hall, Hamilton ON

Sun, Dec 1: 7 pm, Islamic Society of York Region, 1380 Stouffville Rd, Richmond Hill, ON

Mon, Dec 2: 7 pm, St. Joseph Syriac Catholic Church, 999 Lakeshore Rd East, Mississauga, ON

Program in Montreal has been revised. (see above)

Wed, Dec 4: 7 pm, St. Paul University, Auditorium G203, Ottawa, ON

Thur, Dec 5, Toronto, ON ** to be updated