A large congregation made up mostly of local Christians and Westerners living in Jerusalem, assembled at Saint Anne’s Basilica to celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Mass is traditionally celebrated by a Franciscan father in remembrance of the firman the Friars Minor had obtained to maintain Christian worship in the crypt during the time when the church had been turned into a Koranic school.
Built at the beginning of the twelfth century, it was due to its extraordinary acoustics that the church escaped destruction after Jerusalem fell and was re-taken by Saladin in the year 1192. In the 15th century, by dint of continuing patience, the Franciscans obtained the firman that authorized them to make twice-yearly pilgrimages to the crypt, as Father Stephane Milovitch, Secretary of the Custody, noted in his homily: the 8th of December, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and nine months later on the 8th of September for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. “However,” Father Milovitch continued, “because the church was not accessible to Christians, the friars entered the crypt by lowering themselves with ropes through a cellar window, which is still visible in the exterior wall of the sacristy.” The house of Simeon and Anne, the Virgin Mary’s parents, is located in the crypt, which is why the celebrant descends to incense it at the beginning of the Mass.
Also remarking on the traditions regarding the Blessed Virgin’s family, Father Milovitch concluded by marking the connection between the approaching feast of the Consecration of Mary in the Temple and her life “consecrated to the service of a Temple even more sacred than that of Jerusalem, the body of Christ.”
The basilica was given to the French government in 1856 for its assistance during the Crimean War. Enjoying extraterritorial status, the site was entrusted to the White Fathers, who are still there. Because it is French territory, the Consul General of France, currently His Excellency M. Alain Rémy, attends three consular Masses at the basilica each year: the two Marian feasts mentioned above and the French national holiday, July 14.
The White Fathers, as hosts, warmly welcomed everyone for refreshments, during which the holiday spirit continued, along with the back-to-work atmosphere, as everyone expressed their joy at seeing each other again after an active summer.
MAB
Built at the beginning of the twelfth century, it was due to its extraordinary acoustics that the church escaped destruction after Jerusalem fell and was re-taken by Saladin in the year 1192. In the 15th century, by dint of continuing patience, the Franciscans obtained the firman that authorized them to make twice-yearly pilgrimages to the crypt, as Father Stephane Milovitch, Secretary of the Custody, noted in his homily: the 8th of December, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and nine months later on the 8th of September for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. “However,” Father Milovitch continued, “because the church was not accessible to Christians, the friars entered the crypt by lowering themselves with ropes through a cellar window, which is still visible in the exterior wall of the sacristy.” The house of Simeon and Anne, the Virgin Mary’s parents, is located in the crypt, which is why the celebrant descends to incense it at the beginning of the Mass.
Also remarking on the traditions regarding the Blessed Virgin’s family, Father Milovitch concluded by marking the connection between the approaching feast of the Consecration of Mary in the Temple and her life “consecrated to the service of a Temple even more sacred than that of Jerusalem, the body of Christ.”
The basilica was given to the French government in 1856 for its assistance during the Crimean War. Enjoying extraterritorial status, the site was entrusted to the White Fathers, who are still there. Because it is French territory, the Consul General of France, currently His Excellency M. Alain Rémy, attends three consular Masses at the basilica each year: the two Marian feasts mentioned above and the French national holiday, July 14.
The White Fathers, as hosts, warmly welcomed everyone for refreshments, during which the holiday spirit continued, along with the back-to-work atmosphere, as everyone expressed their joy at seeing each other again after an active summer.
MAB