"In this difficult time for mankind, Holy Mother Church gives us another twelve months to start anew with Christ, letting us be accompanied by Mary, a sign of consolation and sure hope for all," says Archbishop Fabio Dal Cin, Pontifical Delegate to the Shrine of Loreto.

It is time to honour the women who have acted as first responders to the darkest hours of crisis, says UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa and some Irish Loreto sisters brave hostilities to continue work.

The film, which has been titled ‘I Thirst’, will be released in 2015.