Day: August 2, 2026

Northern Arabia’s apostolic vicar urges Christians to stand firm in hope – #Catholic – The apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia, Bishop Aldo Berardi, has affirmed that churches throughout his vicariate remain open to all faithful and to anyone seeking prayer despite the uncertainty affecting the region.Berardi said parish life across the vicariate, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudia Arabia, remains strong, noting that “our churches are filled with the faithful during Masses and Eucharistic adoration.” At the same time, the bishop acknowledged that the uncertainties created by the ongoing war in Iran and the anxiety it has generated have led many Catholics to leave the Gulf after businesses closed and jobs were lost.Holding fast to hopeBerardi said the lack of clarity surrounding ongoing negotiations and the possibility of further escalation have raised serious concerns among Christians in the region.“Nevertheless, we remain hopeful and continue to witness to our hope,” he said. “Our faith is stronger than any challenge, and God alone is our help.”Berardi added that the Church continues to pray for peace throughout the Gulf region and in the Holy Land.“We never cease praying for peace in the Gulf and for the Holy Land, placing our trust in Christ. His resurrection is our hope as we face this difficult time,” he said.Pastoral visits across the vicariateIn recent weeks, Berardi carried out a series of pastoral visits throughout the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, reaffirming the Churchʼs closeness to the faithful and encouraging them to remain steadfast in unity, hope, and prayer amid rising tensions in the Gulf and across the broader Middle East.His visits included 10 parishes and two cathedrals serving Catholic communities in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. During his visits, he encouraged the faithful to deepen their relationship with Christ through the Eucharist, remain firm in the faith, and continue witnessing to the Gospel within their families, workplaces, and communities.
 
 The apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia, Bishop Aldo Berardi, recently made pastoral visits and presided at Masses throughout the vicariate calling Christians to unity and faith in difficult times.| Credit: Photo courtesy of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia (AVONA)
 
 Living unity in faithIn addition to celebrating Masses, Berardi administered the sacrament of confirmation to 155 candidates and inaugurated a jubilee year marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. As part of the observance, one church was designated as a jubilee church where pilgrims may obtain jubilee indulgences.The bishop also attended the screening of the documentary “Our Lady of Arabia: A Legacy of Faith,” which recounts the history and spiritual heritage of the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Arabia in Ahmadi, Kuwait, and highlights its continuing mission.Throughout the visits, Berardi listened to the experiences, challenges, and hopes of the faithful, offering pastoral guidance to support their spiritual growth. He also called for greater collaboration, the promotion of missionary discipleship, and a spirit of service inspired by the Holy Spirit.He concluded by reminding the faithful that the Church “cannot fully accomplish her mission unless her members live in unity of faith, hope, and charity.”This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Northern Arabia’s apostolic vicar urges Christians to stand firm in hope – #Catholic – The apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia, Bishop Aldo Berardi, has affirmed that churches throughout his vicariate remain open to all faithful and to anyone seeking prayer despite the uncertainty affecting the region.Berardi said parish life across the vicariate, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudia Arabia, remains strong, noting that “our churches are filled with the faithful during Masses and Eucharistic adoration.” At the same time, the bishop acknowledged that the uncertainties created by the ongoing war in Iran and the anxiety it has generated have led many Catholics to leave the Gulf after businesses closed and jobs were lost.Holding fast to hopeBerardi said the lack of clarity surrounding ongoing negotiations and the possibility of further escalation have raised serious concerns among Christians in the region.“Nevertheless, we remain hopeful and continue to witness to our hope,” he said. “Our faith is stronger than any challenge, and God alone is our help.”Berardi added that the Church continues to pray for peace throughout the Gulf region and in the Holy Land.“We never cease praying for peace in the Gulf and for the Holy Land, placing our trust in Christ. His resurrection is our hope as we face this difficult time,” he said.Pastoral visits across the vicariateIn recent weeks, Berardi carried out a series of pastoral visits throughout the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, reaffirming the Churchʼs closeness to the faithful and encouraging them to remain steadfast in unity, hope, and prayer amid rising tensions in the Gulf and across the broader Middle East.His visits included 10 parishes and two cathedrals serving Catholic communities in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. During his visits, he encouraged the faithful to deepen their relationship with Christ through the Eucharist, remain firm in the faith, and continue witnessing to the Gospel within their families, workplaces, and communities. The apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia, Bishop Aldo Berardi, recently made pastoral visits and presided at Masses throughout the vicariate calling Christians to unity and faith in difficult times.| Credit: Photo courtesy of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia (AVONA) Living unity in faithIn addition to celebrating Masses, Berardi administered the sacrament of confirmation to 155 candidates and inaugurated a jubilee year marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. As part of the observance, one church was designated as a jubilee church where pilgrims may obtain jubilee indulgences.The bishop also attended the screening of the documentary “Our Lady of Arabia: A Legacy of Faith,” which recounts the history and spiritual heritage of the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Arabia in Ahmadi, Kuwait, and highlights its continuing mission.Throughout the visits, Berardi listened to the experiences, challenges, and hopes of the faithful, offering pastoral guidance to support their spiritual growth. He also called for greater collaboration, the promotion of missionary discipleship, and a spirit of service inspired by the Holy Spirit.He concluded by reminding the faithful that the Church “cannot fully accomplish her mission unless her members live in unity of faith, hope, and charity.”This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

As war in the region continues, Bishop Aldo Berardi reminded the faithful that “faith Is stronger than fear.”

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Pope Leo XIV appeals for peace and justice amid ‘alarming’ Ceuta crisis – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV on Sunday expressed concern over the “alarming situation” in Ceuta and appealed for solutions capable of bringing peace, stability and justice to the Spanish enclave facing a major migration and humanitarian crisis.“I am following with concern the alarming situation in Ceuta, praying to God that, through the intercession of Our Lady of Africa, solutions may be found to bring peace, stability and justice,” the pope said after leading the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Aug. 2.His remarks followed the arrival of an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people from Morocco on July 30, many of whom attempted to reach Spanish territory by swimming around the border barriers.According to figures provided by Spanish authorities, at least 67 people died, most of them by drowning. The influx overwhelmed the autonomous city’s capacity to respond and prompted authorities to install additional barriers near the El Tarajal border crossing.The pope also renewed his appeal for an end to armed conflicts around the world.“Let us continue to pray for peace, that wars may cease throughout the world and diplomatic solutions to conflicts may be found,” he said.“Let us remember all the victims of hostilities, especially the weakest and most defenseless: children, the elderly and the sick,” he continued. “May the Lord comfort those who suffer and bless the work of those who bring aid and consolation.”Pope Leo also recalled the Pardon of Assisi, the plenary indulgence traditionally associated with the Porziuncola chapel in Assisi, Italy.“Saint Francis obtained this Indulgence from Pope Honorius III in 1216, having been inspired — while praying at the Porziuncola — by a vision of Jesus and Mary surrounded by angels,” he said.“Let us thank the Lord for this great gift and treasure it, especially in this eighth centenary year of the Transitus of the Poor Man of Assisi, who died at the Porziuncola on 3 October 1226.”Earlier, in his reflection before the Angelus, Pope Leo encouraged Catholics to rediscover the practice of blessing meals as a simple public witness to faith and a way of bringing the beauty of the Eucharist into everyday life.“As we savor the grace of the Eucharist, let us commit ourselves to bearing witness to its beauty in our daily actions, beginning with blessing meals at the table with family and friends,” he said.The pope reflected on the Gospel account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, explaining that Christ’s miracles reveal both his care for humanity and the salvation he offers to the world.“When we listen to the Gospel, we frequently hear that Jesus performed signs, which are acts that reveal his special dedication to us and the salvation that he brings to the world,” he said. “The Lord is presented as the One who gives meaning to our lives, freeing us from evil and sin.”Pope Leo said Christ’s healing miracles were not merely extraordinary acts but signs that the kingdom of God was near.“By restoring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, Christ is doing more than merely performing miraculous deeds; he is proclaiming to all that the Kingdom of God is near,” he said.The Gospel, he continued, shows that Christ not only restores the senses but also fills them with good things, giving food to the hungry as well as sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf.“The account of the multiplication of the loaves shows us that the encounter with the Lord is a nourishing experience,” he said. “In the desert, that is, when we are in need, Christ is the bread of life.”The 12 baskets of food left over after the crowd had eaten, the pope explained, signify both the universal character of God’s gift and the constancy of his providential care.“Christ truly satisfies humanity’s hunger, our hunger for truth and life,” he said. “His gesture teaches us that nothing is discarded when it is shared.”Pope Leo contrasted that spirit of generosity with a culture driven by accumulation and waste.“Hoarding and waste, on the contrary, are two sides of the same evil: greed,” he said.He described greed as a spiritual sickness that dulls the senses and makes people indifferent to the suffering of others.“This spiritual sickness numbs the senses, which become intoxicated with wealth, to the point of making people forget those who weep from hunger and cry out from thirst,” he said.“And so, in the face of an opulence that reeks of decay, we find the outstretched hands of those who have no nourishment, the burned homes of those who have no peace.”Against the “deserts of war and arrogance,” the pope invited Christians to contemplate the actions of Jesus during the multiplication of the loaves: looking to heaven, blessing the bread, breaking it and giving it to the disciples to distribute.“In this miracle of charity, we recognize the characteristic actions of Jesus, which find their culmination in the Last Supper, for it was then that the Son of God gave us his very life as our brother in humanity,” he said.The pope concluded by encouraging Catholics to make their summer vacations an opportunity for fraternity and service.“In Jesus’ company, even vacations can become a time of fraternal serenity, if we reach out to our neighbors in need,” he said.This story was first published in two parts by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated, combined and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV appeals for peace and justice amid ‘alarming’ Ceuta crisis – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV on Sunday expressed concern over the “alarming situation” in Ceuta and appealed for solutions capable of bringing peace, stability and justice to the Spanish enclave facing a major migration and humanitarian crisis.“I am following with concern the alarming situation in Ceuta, praying to God that, through the intercession of Our Lady of Africa, solutions may be found to bring peace, stability and justice,” the pope said after leading the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Aug. 2.His remarks followed the arrival of an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people from Morocco on July 30, many of whom attempted to reach Spanish territory by swimming around the border barriers.According to figures provided by Spanish authorities, at least 67 people died, most of them by drowning. The influx overwhelmed the autonomous city’s capacity to respond and prompted authorities to install additional barriers near the El Tarajal border crossing.The pope also renewed his appeal for an end to armed conflicts around the world.“Let us continue to pray for peace, that wars may cease throughout the world and diplomatic solutions to conflicts may be found,” he said.“Let us remember all the victims of hostilities, especially the weakest and most defenseless: children, the elderly and the sick,” he continued. “May the Lord comfort those who suffer and bless the work of those who bring aid and consolation.”Pope Leo also recalled the Pardon of Assisi, the plenary indulgence traditionally associated with the Porziuncola chapel in Assisi, Italy.“Saint Francis obtained this Indulgence from Pope Honorius III in 1216, having been inspired — while praying at the Porziuncola — by a vision of Jesus and Mary surrounded by angels,” he said.“Let us thank the Lord for this great gift and treasure it, especially in this eighth centenary year of the Transitus of the Poor Man of Assisi, who died at the Porziuncola on 3 October 1226.”Earlier, in his reflection before the Angelus, Pope Leo encouraged Catholics to rediscover the practice of blessing meals as a simple public witness to faith and a way of bringing the beauty of the Eucharist into everyday life.“As we savor the grace of the Eucharist, let us commit ourselves to bearing witness to its beauty in our daily actions, beginning with blessing meals at the table with family and friends,” he said.The pope reflected on the Gospel account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, explaining that Christ’s miracles reveal both his care for humanity and the salvation he offers to the world.“When we listen to the Gospel, we frequently hear that Jesus performed signs, which are acts that reveal his special dedication to us and the salvation that he brings to the world,” he said. “The Lord is presented as the One who gives meaning to our lives, freeing us from evil and sin.”Pope Leo said Christ’s healing miracles were not merely extraordinary acts but signs that the kingdom of God was near.“By restoring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, Christ is doing more than merely performing miraculous deeds; he is proclaiming to all that the Kingdom of God is near,” he said.The Gospel, he continued, shows that Christ not only restores the senses but also fills them with good things, giving food to the hungry as well as sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf.“The account of the multiplication of the loaves shows us that the encounter with the Lord is a nourishing experience,” he said. “In the desert, that is, when we are in need, Christ is the bread of life.”The 12 baskets of food left over after the crowd had eaten, the pope explained, signify both the universal character of God’s gift and the constancy of his providential care.“Christ truly satisfies humanity’s hunger, our hunger for truth and life,” he said. “His gesture teaches us that nothing is discarded when it is shared.”Pope Leo contrasted that spirit of generosity with a culture driven by accumulation and waste.“Hoarding and waste, on the contrary, are two sides of the same evil: greed,” he said.He described greed as a spiritual sickness that dulls the senses and makes people indifferent to the suffering of others.“This spiritual sickness numbs the senses, which become intoxicated with wealth, to the point of making people forget those who weep from hunger and cry out from thirst,” he said.“And so, in the face of an opulence that reeks of decay, we find the outstretched hands of those who have no nourishment, the burned homes of those who have no peace.”Against the “deserts of war and arrogance,” the pope invited Christians to contemplate the actions of Jesus during the multiplication of the loaves: looking to heaven, blessing the bread, breaking it and giving it to the disciples to distribute.“In this miracle of charity, we recognize the characteristic actions of Jesus, which find their culmination in the Last Supper, for it was then that the Son of God gave us his very life as our brother in humanity,” he said.The pope concluded by encouraging Catholics to make their summer vacations an opportunity for fraternity and service.“In Jesus’ company, even vacations can become a time of fraternal serenity, if we reach out to our neighbors in need,” he said.This story was first published in two parts by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated, combined and adapted by EWTN News English.

The pope also prayed for victims of war, recalled the Pardon of Assisi and urged Catholics to witness to the Eucharist by blessing meals and sharing with those in need.

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How vampires show us God’s mercy: Nun who writes vampire novels concludes trilogy – #Catholic – Vampires can teach us about ourselves and about God’s mercy, at least according to Sister Allison Gliot, a religious sister who wrote a vampire trilogy that concluded this summer. Gliot is part of the Daughters of St. Paul, a religious order with the mission to evangelize through media. The vampire trilogy is a part of that evangelizing mission. Gliot’s “In Aeternum” trilogy begins with Elizabeth, a Catholic teenager caught up in a fight between vampires who goes on the run with a vampire outcast named Christopher. The story concludes in the third book, “The Dawn We Seek,” which was released July 24.In an interview with EWTN News, Gliot shared about the spiritual journey of her writing process, what Catholics can learn from cryptids, and a prayer request.EWTN News: As you conclude this trilogy, what stays with you from the spiritual journey of writing it?Gliot: When I first started writing this series, it was a solitary endeavor — just me and Jesus. When I shared the books with my publishing house, the circle grew to include my sisters and editors.But now that actual readers have been engaging with these stories and sharing their thoughts, hopes, and spiritual struggles with me as a result, Jesus has really been encouraging me to carry the readers in my heart and prayers in a special way. This story isnʼt just mine anymore.I surrendered it to God and to the readers when I published it, and itʼs beautiful and profoundly humbling for me to see the fruit it’s bearing in so many lives. How can writing be a spiritual experience and how do you as a religious sister connect your faith with your writing?For me, storytelling is a spiritual experience because itʼs something I do with Jesus. He provides the initial inspiration and asks me to trust him enough to put the time and effort into writing it down. Then he stays with me during the writing, teaching me things through the experience and helping me make connections I never would have been able to see on my own.Writing stories that involve my faith helps me to explore and live that faith more deeply, and, at the same time, I often notice my spiritual struggles and faith epiphanies from religious life trickling into my writing in various (and sometimes surprising) ways.
 
 “The Dawn We Seek” by Sister Allison Gliot. | Credit: Courtesy of Pauline Books & Media
 
 How does the trilogy deal with sin, redemption, and our relationship with God, and what can we learn about ourselves through fictional cryptid characters?In the “In Aeternum” trilogy, vampires are a mirror of our wounded humanity at its worst. They are an exploration of just how far we can fall when we truly make the choice to embrace sin and evil.But because vampires embody such an extreme, they also provide an opportunity to show the extremity of Godʼs mercy and the lengths he will go to save us — if we let him. And if weʼre willing to change our ways and step toward Godʼs goodness, even if weʼve gone very far in the other direction, even if itʼs just a tiny step.No reader will have committed the same atrocities as the vampires in my books (I hope). But if there can be a possibility of repentance and redemption even for them, then I pray that even readers who feel like theyʼve hit rock bottom can find a ray of divine hope through these books.
 
 “The Dawn We Seek” by Sister Allison Gliot, a Pauline sister. | Credit: Courtesy of Pauline Books & Media
 
 How does Catholicism invite us to use our imagination and creativity? How does it expand our imagination rather than limit it?The Catholic Church teaches that God created our imaginations and gave us gifts of creativity — gifts that he desires us to delight in and to use for building up his kingdom.But God is the ultimate Creator, and his imagination far surpasses ours. He can speak to us through so many means — including beauty, story, and imaginative play. Catholicism, far from limiting our imagination, puts us in touch with Godʼs imagination and communicates his very life to us through the grace of the sacraments.When we fully embrace our faith, allowing God to infuse us with his grace and inspire us with his divine love, we find ourselves on fire with the same creativity he used to make the world and everything in it. Exercising that creativity through our minds, wills, and hearts in harmony with God is a powerful force to draw us even closer to him.What does the field of fiction-writing look like for Catholic authors? I’d like to ask anyone reading this to say a prayer for Catholic authors who are seeking to bring God and the faith into popular genres. Since I began publishing Catholic urban fantasy stories, I’ve had so many authors and aspiring authors reach out to me to share their hopes and dreams for their faith-based stories. But even though these stories are so needed in our world today and have so much evangelizing and catechetical potential, it isn’t an easy field to navigate or break into. So please pray for Catholic authors and storytellers, that the Holy Spirit can bring much good out of the work we strive to do in his name.To learn more about Gliot’s new book, visit Pauline Books & Media.

How vampires show us God’s mercy: Nun who writes vampire novels concludes trilogy – #Catholic – Vampires can teach us about ourselves and about God’s mercy, at least according to Sister Allison Gliot, a religious sister who wrote a vampire trilogy that concluded this summer. Gliot is part of the Daughters of St. Paul, a religious order with the mission to evangelize through media. The vampire trilogy is a part of that evangelizing mission. Gliot’s “In Aeternum” trilogy begins with Elizabeth, a Catholic teenager caught up in a fight between vampires who goes on the run with a vampire outcast named Christopher. The story concludes in the third book, “The Dawn We Seek,” which was released July 24.In an interview with EWTN News, Gliot shared about the spiritual journey of her writing process, what Catholics can learn from cryptids, and a prayer request.EWTN News: As you conclude this trilogy, what stays with you from the spiritual journey of writing it?Gliot: When I first started writing this series, it was a solitary endeavor — just me and Jesus. When I shared the books with my publishing house, the circle grew to include my sisters and editors.But now that actual readers have been engaging with these stories and sharing their thoughts, hopes, and spiritual struggles with me as a result, Jesus has really been encouraging me to carry the readers in my heart and prayers in a special way. This story isnʼt just mine anymore.I surrendered it to God and to the readers when I published it, and itʼs beautiful and profoundly humbling for me to see the fruit it’s bearing in so many lives. How can writing be a spiritual experience and how do you as a religious sister connect your faith with your writing?For me, storytelling is a spiritual experience because itʼs something I do with Jesus. He provides the initial inspiration and asks me to trust him enough to put the time and effort into writing it down. Then he stays with me during the writing, teaching me things through the experience and helping me make connections I never would have been able to see on my own.Writing stories that involve my faith helps me to explore and live that faith more deeply, and, at the same time, I often notice my spiritual struggles and faith epiphanies from religious life trickling into my writing in various (and sometimes surprising) ways. “The Dawn We Seek” by Sister Allison Gliot. | Credit: Courtesy of Pauline Books & Media How does the trilogy deal with sin, redemption, and our relationship with God, and what can we learn about ourselves through fictional cryptid characters?In the “In Aeternum” trilogy, vampires are a mirror of our wounded humanity at its worst. They are an exploration of just how far we can fall when we truly make the choice to embrace sin and evil.But because vampires embody such an extreme, they also provide an opportunity to show the extremity of Godʼs mercy and the lengths he will go to save us — if we let him. And if weʼre willing to change our ways and step toward Godʼs goodness, even if weʼve gone very far in the other direction, even if itʼs just a tiny step.No reader will have committed the same atrocities as the vampires in my books (I hope). But if there can be a possibility of repentance and redemption even for them, then I pray that even readers who feel like theyʼve hit rock bottom can find a ray of divine hope through these books. “The Dawn We Seek” by Sister Allison Gliot, a Pauline sister. | Credit: Courtesy of Pauline Books & Media How does Catholicism invite us to use our imagination and creativity? How does it expand our imagination rather than limit it?The Catholic Church teaches that God created our imaginations and gave us gifts of creativity — gifts that he desires us to delight in and to use for building up his kingdom.But God is the ultimate Creator, and his imagination far surpasses ours. He can speak to us through so many means — including beauty, story, and imaginative play. Catholicism, far from limiting our imagination, puts us in touch with Godʼs imagination and communicates his very life to us through the grace of the sacraments.When we fully embrace our faith, allowing God to infuse us with his grace and inspire us with his divine love, we find ourselves on fire with the same creativity he used to make the world and everything in it. Exercising that creativity through our minds, wills, and hearts in harmony with God is a powerful force to draw us even closer to him.What does the field of fiction-writing look like for Catholic authors? I’d like to ask anyone reading this to say a prayer for Catholic authors who are seeking to bring God and the faith into popular genres. Since I began publishing Catholic urban fantasy stories, I’ve had so many authors and aspiring authors reach out to me to share their hopes and dreams for their faith-based stories. But even though these stories are so needed in our world today and have so much evangelizing and catechetical potential, it isn’t an easy field to navigate or break into. So please pray for Catholic authors and storytellers, that the Holy Spirit can bring much good out of the work we strive to do in his name.To learn more about Gliot’s new book, visit Pauline Books & Media.

Sister Allison Regina Gliot, a Daughter of St. Paul, speaks on God’s mercy and creativity as she concludes her Catholic young adult vampire trilogy.

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 1: Open cluster NGC 6709 Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation at 4 A.M. EDT, standing 19° from the Sun. The tiny planet reaches an altitude of almost 5° above the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise, glowing at magnitude 0.2.Continue reading “The Sky Today on Sunday, August 2: Mercury at greatest western elongation”

The post The Sky Today on Sunday, August 2: Mercury at greatest western elongation appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Picture of the day
Photograph of Machu Picchu taken in 1912 by Hiram Bingham during the Yale Peruvian Expedition. The site, an important Inca citadel in the Andes of Peru, had been visited earlier by local people such as Agustín Lizárraga in 1902, and was later brought to international attention through Bingham’s expeditions of 1911 and 1912. Today marks the anniversary of Bingham’s 1911 visit, which contributed to its worldwide recognition.
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