International Union of Catholic Esperantists


The International Union of Catholic Esperantists is an organization of Catholic Esperanto speakers. It was founded in 1910 in Paris and is now headquartered in Rome.

Activities

IKUE organizes Masses during Esperanto meetings, and also each year its own week-long international convention. Associations and local groups of Catholic Esperantists also offer meetings
IKUE publishes Christian literature in Esperanto, e.g. the ecumenical prayer and hymnbook ADORU of 1,472 pages in 2001, and the encyclical Deus caritas est in 2006. Its magazine Espero Katolika first appeared in 1903.

Recognition from the Vatican

All popes from Pius X onwards have welcomed and supported the Esperanto movement.
In 1977, Vatican Radio began regular broadcasts in Esperanto. In 1990, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments approved the Esperanto translation of the prayers of the Mass. The Esperanto Missal and Lectionary for Sundays and Feastdays was published in 1995. In 1994, Pope John Paul II began to include Esperanto among the languages of his annual Easter and Christmas greetings; at Easter 2006, Pope Benedict XVI continued this tradition of his predecessor.