Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tunis to close down all the Catholic churches in the country, forced the Holy See to accept an agreement of the type known as a modus vivendi, a term that literally means "a way of living". This particular agreement was unofficially described as instead a "modus non moriendi" ("a way of not dying"). By it, all but 5 of the country's more than 70 churches were handed over to the state, including what had been the cathedral of the archdiocese, while the state, for its part, promised that the buildings would be put only to use of public interest consonant with
Ad astra (phrase) Ad astra (phrase) Ad astra is a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has origins with Virgil, who wrote "sic itur ad astra" ("thus one journeys to the stars", from "Aeneid" book IX, line 641, spoken by Apollo to Aeneas's young son Iulus) and "opta ardua pennis astra sequi" ("desire to pursue the high (or hard to reach) stars on wings" book XII, lines 892–893, spoken by Aeneas to his foe Turnus in their combat). Another origin is Seneca the Younger, who wrote "non est ad astra mollis e terris via" ("there is no easy way from the