Today, Feast of the Assumption, in at least 66 French dioceses and 24 dioceses in other countries (including the Archdioceses of Madrid, Monaco, Cologne and Vienna and all the Dioceses of Belgium) church bells will be rung to show support for the persecuted Christians of the Middle East. In addition, prayers for our persecuted brethren will also be said in many of these dioceses.
This initiative came from Bishops Dominique Rey of Frejus-Toulon and Marc Aillet of Bayonne, who also happen to be the most Traditionalist-friendly diocesan bishops of France. The initiative initially met with indifference and was off to a slow start: as late as August 10 only 8 French dioceses had joined the initiative. The persistent attention and support from mostly Francophone Catholic blogs and websites was no doubt one of the reasons for the sudden surge of support that poured out for this action in the last 72 hours .
(Source: various posts on Riposte-Catholique).
