New Delhi:

Mary Millben, an African-American singer and actress known for her admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday exchanged Christmas greetings with him and praised him for honouring Jesus Christ at an event.

After PM Modi attended Christmas celebrations at the headquarters of the Catholic Church in India, Ms Millben posted on X, “Bless you, @PMOIndia. Jesus Christ is the greatest gift and example of love. Thank you, PM Modi, for honouring my Savior Jesus Christ publicly at the @IndianBishops Christmas Celebration. Your words touched me… Merry Christmas to all my brothers and sisters in India.”

PM Modi later responded by posting a message, “The teachings of Lord Christ celebrate love, harmony, and brotherhood. It is important that we all work to make this spirit stronger.”

Ms Millben had first met PM Modi in June 2023 when he was on a state visit to the US.

She is the singer who performed the Indian national anthem at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., in 2023. Following her performance, she touched the feet of PM Modi to seek his blessings, attracting huge media attention.

Ms Millben earlier called the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) a “true act of democracy,” commending the Indian PM for providing refuge to persecuted religious minorities. She urged the US government to recognise his leadership and improve diplomatic relations with India.

On another occasion, she highlighted PM Modi’s efforts towards women’s empowerment, suggesting that he is the best leader for India’s progress and advocating for more women in leadership roles in the country.

She also praised PM Modi’s leadership during the ongoing issues in Manipur, stating that he “will always fight for your freedom” and emphasised the confidence India has in him as a leader.

The singer has often expressed deep affection for India, stating, “I love India.”

On Monday, speaking at the Christmas event hosted by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) at its headquarters in Delhi, PM Modi condemned attempts to incite violence in society, highlighting that Jesus Christ’s teachings promote love, harmony and brotherhood.

He also condemned last week’s terror attack at Germany’s Magdeburg Christmas Market, where a Sports Utility Vehicle drove into a crowd, killing four women and a nine-year-old child, while injuring 205 people, including seven Indians.

The Vatican will hold a press conference to announce the updated church doctrines on “supernatural phenomena” on Friday. A notice about the press conference has been posted on the website of Holy See Press Office, which led several outlets to incorrectly report that the announcement is about “aliens”. Rather, the church officials will “present the new provisions of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for discerning between apparitions and other supernatural phenomena”, according to the notice.

An “apparition” refers to an instance where a divine entity, such as a saint, the Virgin Mary or Christ himself, appears before a person on Earth.

The press conference will be held by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, Monsignor Armando Matteo and Sister Daniela Del Gaudio.

The announcement will be live-streamed on the YouTube channel of the Vatican.

A report published in Fox News last week, Fernandez had said that the dicastery is “in the process of finalising a new text with clear guidelines and norms for the discernment of apparitions and other phenomena”.

As per established practice, apparitions are documented and scrutinised by the diocesan bishop’s office and then forwarded to Rome for further investigation.

The announcement is gaining traction because the one like this has not been held since February 1978.

Fox News said the most well-documented apparition in the modern day is the Miracle of Fatima in 1917. After an alleged series of appearances by the Virgin Mary to several peasant children that promised a public miracle, tens of thousands of people in Fatima, Portugal, claimed to witness the sun move erratically across the sky and produce radiant colors for several minutes.

The Pope formally recognised the “supernatural” event in 1930 and formally approved it a decade later.