Bethlehem, Tuesday, 24 June. The President of the French Republic, Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, and his wife, Carla Bruni, came to Bethlehem as part of the President’s first state visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
After meeting the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), their last stop in the city of the birth of Christ was the Church of the Nativity. The French President was met in Manger Square by the Custos of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Brother Stéphane Milovitch ofm, and representatives of the Armenian Church, as well as the superior of the Greek Orthodox Community of Bethlehem.
Then the Presidential couple turned to the Basilica for a visit that was meant to have been private, but to which part of the French delegation attached itself. Brother Stéphane Milovitch, Secretary of the Custody and a compatriot, guided the visit. At the base of the nave they greeted the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theophilos III, who was accompanied by a number of priests from the patriarchate.
Upon leaving, another delegation, made up of important personages, made the same visit.
While the delegation joined the convoy that would accompany it to the airport, Mr. and Mrs. Sarkozy went to Saint Catherine’s Church to greet the new Patriarch, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, and representatives of the French-speaking Christian communities. Carla Bruni Sarkozy did not hide her joy at being addressed in Italian by the Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart, who serve with the Franciscan Community in Bethlehem.
After a brief stop for refreshments at the Casa Nova, the President took his leave and set out for the return journey to France.
The evening before, meeting guests from the French community, both Franco-Israelis and Franco-Palestinians, the President made a point of greeting the numerous French Christian communities in the Holy Land and, departing from his official text, added a few more general words about the crucial role of Christians in the Holy Land, seeing them as possible mediators in the dialogue toward an urgently needed peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
MAB
After meeting the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), their last stop in the city of the birth of Christ was the Church of the Nativity. The French President was met in Manger Square by the Custos of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Brother Stéphane Milovitch ofm, and representatives of the Armenian Church, as well as the superior of the Greek Orthodox Community of Bethlehem.
Then the Presidential couple turned to the Basilica for a visit that was meant to have been private, but to which part of the French delegation attached itself. Brother Stéphane Milovitch, Secretary of the Custody and a compatriot, guided the visit. At the base of the nave they greeted the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theophilos III, who was accompanied by a number of priests from the patriarchate.
Upon leaving, another delegation, made up of important personages, made the same visit.
While the delegation joined the convoy that would accompany it to the airport, Mr. and Mrs. Sarkozy went to Saint Catherine’s Church to greet the new Patriarch, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, and representatives of the French-speaking Christian communities. Carla Bruni Sarkozy did not hide her joy at being addressed in Italian by the Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart, who serve with the Franciscan Community in Bethlehem.
After a brief stop for refreshments at the Casa Nova, the President took his leave and set out for the return journey to France.
The evening before, meeting guests from the French community, both Franco-Israelis and Franco-Palestinians, the President made a point of greeting the numerous French Christian communities in the Holy Land and, departing from his official text, added a few more general words about the crucial role of Christians in the Holy Land, seeing them as possible mediators in the dialogue toward an urgently needed peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
MAB