There are countless Christian pilgrims who year after year travel to Jerusalem to experience Easter in the places where Jesus walked, died and was resurrected. For some, these places are not a destination for a few days but home. The Latin Christians of the Holy City, the “living stones” of this land, walked together towards Resurrection, celebrating the Easter Triduum – these few days - praying in the church of St. Saviour.
Arabic and Latin, for the celebrations of Holy Thursday and Good Friday of the parishioners of Jerusalem, the services are long but there are very many children. On Thursday, it is the Father Custos, brother Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who presides the “Missa in Coena Domini” and repeats the gesture of Washing the feet – which a few hours before, he had done for some of the parish’s children at the Cenacle – with twelve representatives of the Scouts.
The Parish priest, brother Feras Hejazin, delivered the Homily, recalling how strong, in the gesture of Jesus on the Thursday regarding his Apostles, the dimension of communion is: “He lived in the middle of the people, and just as He could not live without people, we cannot live without Him.”
On Friday it is the commemoration of the Passion of Christ, in the choir there are many youngsters from the local community and their voices are the background to the touching moment when the Crucifix is brought before the altar, uncovered by the red cloth that covered it and then carried to the centre of the nave, to receive the kiss of the faithful who line up to adore it. The faithful then go into the street, to accompany a realistic representation of the dead Christ in a procession which skirts the convent of St. Saviour.
“We live Easter not just as a festivity, we feel that we have been given a very important role”. These are the words of Eli Hajjar, one of the young people who animate the Parish, one of the Christians of the Holy Land who, here, are a minority. “For us, it is ‘normal’ to be here where Jesus lived, it’s home for us. But this does not mean that we live it with any less intensity. Today, during the Via Crucis, I saw lots of us crying.” It is a community that has to face up to difficulties of incomprehension and mistrust and they have a strong responsibility: “We feel the duty to be custodians of these places as well, to preserve them for those who are far away and cannot touch them, and for the pilgrims who come from all over the world. Being custodians here, means not only looking after stones and things, but also us, as Christians.
This is why we have to thank the Franciscans, thanks to their presence we feel stronger as well, there are not very many of us, but we are not alone.”
By Serena Picariello
Photos by Marco Gavasso
Arabic and Latin, for the celebrations of Holy Thursday and Good Friday of the parishioners of Jerusalem, the services are long but there are very many children. On Thursday, it is the Father Custos, brother Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who presides the “Missa in Coena Domini” and repeats the gesture of Washing the feet – which a few hours before, he had done for some of the parish’s children at the Cenacle – with twelve representatives of the Scouts.
The Parish priest, brother Feras Hejazin, delivered the Homily, recalling how strong, in the gesture of Jesus on the Thursday regarding his Apostles, the dimension of communion is: “He lived in the middle of the people, and just as He could not live without people, we cannot live without Him.”
On Friday it is the commemoration of the Passion of Christ, in the choir there are many youngsters from the local community and their voices are the background to the touching moment when the Crucifix is brought before the altar, uncovered by the red cloth that covered it and then carried to the centre of the nave, to receive the kiss of the faithful who line up to adore it. The faithful then go into the street, to accompany a realistic representation of the dead Christ in a procession which skirts the convent of St. Saviour.
“We live Easter not just as a festivity, we feel that we have been given a very important role”. These are the words of Eli Hajjar, one of the young people who animate the Parish, one of the Christians of the Holy Land who, here, are a minority. “For us, it is ‘normal’ to be here where Jesus lived, it’s home for us. But this does not mean that we live it with any less intensity. Today, during the Via Crucis, I saw lots of us crying.” It is a community that has to face up to difficulties of incomprehension and mistrust and they have a strong responsibility: “We feel the duty to be custodians of these places as well, to preserve them for those who are far away and cannot touch them, and for the pilgrims who come from all over the world. Being custodians here, means not only looking after stones and things, but also us, as Christians.
This is why we have to thank the Franciscans, thanks to their presence we feel stronger as well, there are not very many of us, but we are not alone.”
By Serena Picariello
Photos by Marco Gavasso