At the end of his first day in Cyprus, Pope Benedict XVI has taken up residence – as is traditional on papal journeys – at the Apostolic Nunciature, which in Nicosia is in a wing of the Franciscan convent of the Holy Cross. The Convent of the Holy Cross has been kept by the Franciscan friars during the events that divided the island and especially the city of Nicosia where a wall of separation was built. Today the Franciscan community lives on the green line, a demilitarized zone controlled by the United Nations.
This explains the television footage showing the Holy Father returning on foot to the Nunciature at the end of the Mass in the late afternoon and passing in front of some members of the UN peace-keeping force.
This church, the only one in the city for the Latin rite, is the parish of some local Catholics but it also welcomes faithful of about fifty different nationalities. « It is a great wealth, not only for the local Church but for the whole of Cypriot society, » says Fr. Umberto Barato, a Franciscan and the parish priest but also Patriarchal Vicar of the Latin Catholics see the video in Italian « Nicosia e la Holy Cross Catholic Church ».
If a Franciscan is the Patriarchal Vicar and three of the other parishes on the island are in the care of Franciscans it is because this role was given to them in the early 13th century by the Holy See. It is highly probable that the first convent built by the Franciscans in Nicosia was finished in 1226 according to the fascinating study of the Franciscan presence in Cyprus by Mr. Paolo Pieraccini. This presence of almost eight centuries has been marked by the martyrdom of many Christians, including Franciscans.
Although this illustrious history of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land has not been much talked about since the start of Benedict XVI’s pilgrimage ,the Franciscans will have appreciated not only the Mass in their parish, but also this short sentence pronounced this morning at the meeting with the Catholic community of Cyprus on the sports ground of St. Maroun’s Primary School : “ I also greet His Beatitude the Patriarch Fouad Twal as well as the profound and patient work of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, represented by Father Pizzaballa, who is here with us today.”
The Franciscans of Cyprus and with them all the brothers of the Custody who have come especially from the rest of the Province to experience this first visit by a Pope to Cyprus are truly overjoyed. They can sometimes be seen on television, naturally the Custos who is part of the entourage of the Pope with Fr. Umberto Barato but, at St. Maroun’s School, Fr. Martin Zavaletta, Head of the Holy Land School of Nicosia which has an excellent reputation and who received, as did the Head of the Maronite school, a reproduction of the icon of “Maria, Salus Populi Romani” which is in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. About fifteen students from the seminary have also made the journey and they served Mass this evening.
The Mass was full of prayers, celebrated with the priests, the religious and lay representatives of the pastoral activity of the island, skilfully mixing Greek, Arabic, Latin and English. During this Mass, the Holy Father meditated on the mystery of the Cross in his homily.
“The Cross, then, is something far greater and more mysterious than it at first appears. It is indeed an instrument of torture, suffering and defeat, but at the same time it expresses the complete transformation, the definitive reversal of these evils: that is what makes it the most eloquent symbol of hope that the world has ever seen.”
“the world needs the Cross, The Cross is not just a private symbol of devotion (…) The Cross speaks of hope, it speaks of love, it speaks of the victory of non-violence over oppression, it speaks of God raising up the lowly, empowering the weak, conquering division, and overcoming hatred with love. A world without the Cross would be a world without hope.”
After having addressed the priests of the whole world and the seminarians who will soon be ordained, the Holy Father had some magnificent words for the priests of the Middle East who carry a cross in the events they are going through.
“In my thoughts and prayers, I am especially mindful of the many priests and religious in the Middle East who are currently experiencing a particular call to conform their lives to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross. Through the difficulties facing their communities as a result of the conflicts and tensions of the region, many families are taking the decision to move away, and it can be tempting for their pastors to do likewise. In situations of this kind, though, a priest, a religious community, a parish that remains steadfast and continues to bear witness to Christ is an extraordinary sign of hope, not only for the Christians but for all who live in the region. Their presence alone is an eloquent expression of the Gospel of peace, the determination of the Good Shepherd to care for all the sheep, the Church’s unyielding commitment to dialogue, reconciliation and loving acceptance of the other. By embracing the Cross that is held out to them, the priests and religious of the Middle East can truly radiate the hope that lies at the heart of the mystery we are celebrating in our liturgy today.”
This support of the Holy Father to the whole of Christianity in the Middle East places us in the perspective of this journey with his handing over tomorrow of the Instrumentum Laboris. And the more we discover Cyprus through this pilgrimage, the more we understand why, even though it is now part of the European Community, it shares the concerns of the Middle East as well as its hopes.
Cyprus is living through a forgotten conflict and in cut in half to the indifference of the international community, but the excellence and the depth of the speeches by the Cypriot President will have spoken for the island. In his welcome to the Pope this morning he said these words : “No human being, no people, no community is an island. Everybody needs everybody. Everybody needs friendship, forgiveness and help from someone else. We share a common destiny whether we live together in peace or perish together. No hatred, no conflict, no wall can resist the power or prayer, of forgiveness, of patient love that guides dialogue. Dialogue does not generate weakness but rather generates a new strength. It is a real alternative to violence, nothing is lost with dialogue.”
The Churches experience this dialogue together in Cyprus, as was also shown by the reception at the Orthodox Patriarchate on Saturday morning and the welcome reserved for the Holy Father. This country is said to have an Orthodox majority and it is true that this trip attracts smaller crowds than are usual in Catholic countries, but the words of His Beatitude Chrysostomos II, his gestures during the visit of the Pope and regularly when Orthodox churches are offered for worship by other confessions, like yesterday in Paphos, all this shows and gives hope for the ecumenical dialogue which the Middle East so greatly needs.
Cyprus, the Holy Father recalled, is part of the Holy Land. His journey there will allow many to discover and others to rediscover that it is an integral part of the Custody, for our great joy.
Mab
To follow and gain a better understanding of the Holy Father’s visit, please see the section "The Pope in Cyprus" on our site, updated with the videos of the Franciscan Media Center, and the site of the Custody’s publishers in Milan: www.terrasanta.net.
and
http://www.papalvisit.org.cy/cgibin…
and
www.lpj.org
This explains the television footage showing the Holy Father returning on foot to the Nunciature at the end of the Mass in the late afternoon and passing in front of some members of the UN peace-keeping force.
This church, the only one in the city for the Latin rite, is the parish of some local Catholics but it also welcomes faithful of about fifty different nationalities. « It is a great wealth, not only for the local Church but for the whole of Cypriot society, » says Fr. Umberto Barato, a Franciscan and the parish priest but also Patriarchal Vicar of the Latin Catholics see the video in Italian « Nicosia e la Holy Cross Catholic Church ».
If a Franciscan is the Patriarchal Vicar and three of the other parishes on the island are in the care of Franciscans it is because this role was given to them in the early 13th century by the Holy See. It is highly probable that the first convent built by the Franciscans in Nicosia was finished in 1226 according to the fascinating study of the Franciscan presence in Cyprus by Mr. Paolo Pieraccini. This presence of almost eight centuries has been marked by the martyrdom of many Christians, including Franciscans.
Although this illustrious history of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land has not been much talked about since the start of Benedict XVI’s pilgrimage ,the Franciscans will have appreciated not only the Mass in their parish, but also this short sentence pronounced this morning at the meeting with the Catholic community of Cyprus on the sports ground of St. Maroun’s Primary School : “ I also greet His Beatitude the Patriarch Fouad Twal as well as the profound and patient work of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, represented by Father Pizzaballa, who is here with us today.”
The Franciscans of Cyprus and with them all the brothers of the Custody who have come especially from the rest of the Province to experience this first visit by a Pope to Cyprus are truly overjoyed. They can sometimes be seen on television, naturally the Custos who is part of the entourage of the Pope with Fr. Umberto Barato but, at St. Maroun’s School, Fr. Martin Zavaletta, Head of the Holy Land School of Nicosia which has an excellent reputation and who received, as did the Head of the Maronite school, a reproduction of the icon of “Maria, Salus Populi Romani” which is in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. About fifteen students from the seminary have also made the journey and they served Mass this evening.
The Mass was full of prayers, celebrated with the priests, the religious and lay representatives of the pastoral activity of the island, skilfully mixing Greek, Arabic, Latin and English. During this Mass, the Holy Father meditated on the mystery of the Cross in his homily.
“The Cross, then, is something far greater and more mysterious than it at first appears. It is indeed an instrument of torture, suffering and defeat, but at the same time it expresses the complete transformation, the definitive reversal of these evils: that is what makes it the most eloquent symbol of hope that the world has ever seen.”
“the world needs the Cross, The Cross is not just a private symbol of devotion (…) The Cross speaks of hope, it speaks of love, it speaks of the victory of non-violence over oppression, it speaks of God raising up the lowly, empowering the weak, conquering division, and overcoming hatred with love. A world without the Cross would be a world without hope.”
After having addressed the priests of the whole world and the seminarians who will soon be ordained, the Holy Father had some magnificent words for the priests of the Middle East who carry a cross in the events they are going through.
“In my thoughts and prayers, I am especially mindful of the many priests and religious in the Middle East who are currently experiencing a particular call to conform their lives to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross. Through the difficulties facing their communities as a result of the conflicts and tensions of the region, many families are taking the decision to move away, and it can be tempting for their pastors to do likewise. In situations of this kind, though, a priest, a religious community, a parish that remains steadfast and continues to bear witness to Christ is an extraordinary sign of hope, not only for the Christians but for all who live in the region. Their presence alone is an eloquent expression of the Gospel of peace, the determination of the Good Shepherd to care for all the sheep, the Church’s unyielding commitment to dialogue, reconciliation and loving acceptance of the other. By embracing the Cross that is held out to them, the priests and religious of the Middle East can truly radiate the hope that lies at the heart of the mystery we are celebrating in our liturgy today.”
This support of the Holy Father to the whole of Christianity in the Middle East places us in the perspective of this journey with his handing over tomorrow of the Instrumentum Laboris. And the more we discover Cyprus through this pilgrimage, the more we understand why, even though it is now part of the European Community, it shares the concerns of the Middle East as well as its hopes.
Cyprus is living through a forgotten conflict and in cut in half to the indifference of the international community, but the excellence and the depth of the speeches by the Cypriot President will have spoken for the island. In his welcome to the Pope this morning he said these words : “No human being, no people, no community is an island. Everybody needs everybody. Everybody needs friendship, forgiveness and help from someone else. We share a common destiny whether we live together in peace or perish together. No hatred, no conflict, no wall can resist the power or prayer, of forgiveness, of patient love that guides dialogue. Dialogue does not generate weakness but rather generates a new strength. It is a real alternative to violence, nothing is lost with dialogue.”
The Churches experience this dialogue together in Cyprus, as was also shown by the reception at the Orthodox Patriarchate on Saturday morning and the welcome reserved for the Holy Father. This country is said to have an Orthodox majority and it is true that this trip attracts smaller crowds than are usual in Catholic countries, but the words of His Beatitude Chrysostomos II, his gestures during the visit of the Pope and regularly when Orthodox churches are offered for worship by other confessions, like yesterday in Paphos, all this shows and gives hope for the ecumenical dialogue which the Middle East so greatly needs.
Cyprus, the Holy Father recalled, is part of the Holy Land. His journey there will allow many to discover and others to rediscover that it is an integral part of the Custody, for our great joy.
Mab
To follow and gain a better understanding of the Holy Father’s visit, please see the section "The Pope in Cyprus" on our site, updated with the videos of the Franciscan Media Center, and the site of the Custody’s publishers in Milan: www.terrasanta.net.
and
http://www.papalvisit.org.cy/cgibin…
and
www.lpj.org