This press release went out to over 100 news agencies on May 3, 1995.

On Monday, May 1, 1995, the Unification Church celebrated its 41st Anniversary. Founded in 1954 by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, the Church has expanded to 160 countries with an estimated current following of over 3 million. Reverend and Mrs. Moon participated in the anniversary celebration with church members in South America.

This international celebration initiated the final stage of preparations for Blessing '95, a unique religious ceremony which is intended to transcend religious and denominational distinctions. The theme of this event is World Peace Through Ideal Families. Blessing '95 will be officiated by the Reverend and Mrs. Moon and will include over 360,000 couples. It is scheduled for Friday, August 25, 1995. While the central venue will be the Olympic Main Stadium in Seoul, Korea, the majority of participants will be simultaneously linked to the main ceremony by satellite in hundreds of locations in dozens of countries around the world.

For Unificationists, Blessing '95 will be a ceremony of marriage which, in the tradition of the Church, is considered the most sacred sacrament. For those non-Unificationist couples taking part, it will be both a blessing of their pre-existing marriages by the Reverend and Mrs. Moon and a public expression of their commitment to affirm the Blessing's theme, World Peace Through Ideal Families. Originally the Blessing was available only to adherents of the Unification faith. However, based on their world-wide foundation and their life-long commitment to inter-religious harmony, Reverend and Mrs. Moon are now extending Blessing '95 to people of all religious persuasions. To participate, each couple is invited to affirm the ideal of purity and their eternal commitment to God, humanity, and to each other.

Throughout 1993 and 1994, Reverend and Mrs. Moon spoke in over 40 countries, at the United Nations, before distinguished audiences at the national parliament buildings in Korea, Canada, Brazil, India, Taiwan, the Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, and at the Kremlin in Moscow. Mrs. Moon spoke to professors and students at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the other major universities of the U.S. and Korea. At all of these events, Reverend and Mrs. Moon explained their historical role as the True Parents. They understand that they have been called by God to promote world peace through the establishment of true marriages and families of true and lasting love.

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