Prepared with great care by the many people who, in different capacities, worked on organizing this extraordinary event, the 3rd International Conference of the Commissaries of the Holy Land started on the morning of Monday 30th January, bringing together more than 110 participants from all over the world, including the Commissaries and Deputy Commissaries from 44 countries. There is also the Minister General of the Order, Brother José Rodriguez Carballo, who will be present throughout the conference, as well as the General Curia, the Custos of the Holy Land, Brother Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Economic Commission, the Curia of the Custody, the experts, the collaborators, the translators, the secretaries, the photographers and the journalists.
The day opened with the celebration of the Eucharist held in the parish church of St. Saviour and presided by the Minister General. In his homily, starting from the liturgy of the feast of the Transfiguration proposed for the Conference, Brother Carballo, who was ordained a priest in the Holy Land and who celebrated his first Holy Mass in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, placed the accent on the special vocation to which the Franciscans who operate for the Holy Land, the pearl of the missions of the Order, have been called for more than eight hundred years now. A story of toil and suffering, but of extraordinary value as these friars are, in the name of the Catholic Church and of the Order, the custodians of the Holy Places and the custodians and animators of the “living stones” of the Mother Church of Jerusalem. And the Commissaries of the Holy Land, in their turn, offer their precious contribution to achieve the pastoral, social and formative goals of the Custody. Like the Apostles called by Jesus to witness the marvel of the transfiguration of the Lord and to announce to their brothers what they had seen and experienced, in the same way the Christians and the Franciscans of the Custody in particular must climb up the mountain – stay pilgrims on the way who turn to God and operate as a prophetic voice in the world -, listen – approach Jesus, the favourite Son and definitive Word of the Father, and always stay in communion with Him-, witness - speak to the brothers of the meeting with Jesus in the land where He lived and accompany them, climbing the mountain and listening to the Word, to the personal encounter with Him. This is the challenge, the vocation and the mission: not to be simply masters but witnesses, through whom pilgrims and all those who come to the Holy Land can have the chance to discover and receive the grace of these Holy Places.
At the end of the celebration, the Conference opened in the Immaculate Conception Hall of St. Saviour’s Convent where, after the introduction by Brother Giorgio Vigna, in charge of the newly established Office for the Coordination of the Commissariats of the Holy Land and who gave the participants some important information on the organization of the conference and the programme of the days, the Minister General again spoke, examining in depth the tasks of the Franciscans in the Holy Land and the privileged relation that must unite the Commissaries and the Custody. In this land which was so beloved by St. Francis, who set off to visit it three times and did not reach it until 1219, "Providence wanted – as Pope Paul VI said – that, alongside the brothers of the Oriental Churches, there were above all the friars of Francis of Assisi, the saint of poverty, gentleness and peace, to interpret the Christian desire of protecting the places where our spiritual roots are."
The Commissaries of the Holy Land, “ambassadors” of the Custody in the world, inaugurate today the 3rd International Conference that is being celebrated six years after the last one, according to the provisions of the Discretorium of the Custody. The participants will work together to draw up the Vademecum for the Commissaries, paying special attention to the identity of the Commissaries in relation to the Provinces of the Order and the Custody, as well as to its mission, so that it can be used as orientation and line of action for the precious service by the Commissaries for the Holy Land. The International Conference must, however, also be a fundamental opportunity to promote reciprocal knowledge between the Commissaries and between them and the friars and to increase the knowledge, interest and devotion for the Holy Places. Because "the Holy Places need care and therefore they need money; above all they need priest brothers and lay brothers, they need friars who are in love with Christ and His Land; they need evangelizing passion, care for the pilgrims and that particular sensibility towards creature and the created which we bear as Franciscans. They need friars who love the local Christians with the same love that Francis had for the poor, humble and despised people of his time; they need friars who love this Land sanctified by the earthly life of the Son of God and his poor Mother venerated by St. Francis and that there in particular are witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of his Kingdom of Peace". Aware therefore of the extent and the importance of the field of action that still awaits the Franciscans in the Holy Land, Brother Carballo concluded his address with some question on the identity and the work of the Commissaries and their relations with the Custody of the Holy Land and with their respective Provinces, thus introducing the following reflection which was to be examined in depth during the day of study and discussion.
At this point, the Custos of the Holy Land, Brother Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who addressed the guests at the Conference and focused on the meaning of the meeting and the expectations regarding the results of the joint work of the whole week. The Custos then inaugurated the reflection on the first of the three main topics of the Conference, i.e. The Commissaries and their relations with the Custody, the Province and the Dioceses. In his speech, Brother Pizzaballa highlighted, with great insight and clarity, the strong points, the critical aspects and the essential needs that shape the relationship of the Commissaries with their respective provinces, the responsibilities of the Commissaries in promoting vocations for the Holy Land, in organizing and animating the pilgrimages, in improving knowledge about the Custody, in fostering relations with the Bishops and the local churches, in developing the skills of communication and dialogue with all the figures and entities linked directly and indirectly with the Holy Land. Before concluding his speech, Brother Pizzaballa raised some practical and concrete questions which often insinuate tensions and difficulties and to the resolution of which the Vademecum and the Juridical Commission of the Custody and of the Order ought to pay special attention.
He was followed by Brother Dobromir J. Jasztal, lecturer in canon law, who examined the topic of the relations of the Commissaries with the Custody, with the Province and with the Dioceses from the juridical point of view.
In the afternoon, after lunch at St. Saviour’s Convent, the linguistic groups set down to work, examining in further depth and discussing the ideas presented by the experts in the first part of the day, in the perspective of identifying adequate solutions and strategies of action and in view of producing the Vademecum and the final document of the meeting. The day came to an end with the celebration of Vespers in the Church of St. Saviour, presided by Brother Jeremy Harrington, Commissary of the Holy Land in the USA.
By Caterina Foppa Pedretti
Photos by Miriam Mezzera
Visit the website of the Congress.
The day opened with the celebration of the Eucharist held in the parish church of St. Saviour and presided by the Minister General. In his homily, starting from the liturgy of the feast of the Transfiguration proposed for the Conference, Brother Carballo, who was ordained a priest in the Holy Land and who celebrated his first Holy Mass in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, placed the accent on the special vocation to which the Franciscans who operate for the Holy Land, the pearl of the missions of the Order, have been called for more than eight hundred years now. A story of toil and suffering, but of extraordinary value as these friars are, in the name of the Catholic Church and of the Order, the custodians of the Holy Places and the custodians and animators of the “living stones” of the Mother Church of Jerusalem. And the Commissaries of the Holy Land, in their turn, offer their precious contribution to achieve the pastoral, social and formative goals of the Custody. Like the Apostles called by Jesus to witness the marvel of the transfiguration of the Lord and to announce to their brothers what they had seen and experienced, in the same way the Christians and the Franciscans of the Custody in particular must climb up the mountain – stay pilgrims on the way who turn to God and operate as a prophetic voice in the world -, listen – approach Jesus, the favourite Son and definitive Word of the Father, and always stay in communion with Him-, witness - speak to the brothers of the meeting with Jesus in the land where He lived and accompany them, climbing the mountain and listening to the Word, to the personal encounter with Him. This is the challenge, the vocation and the mission: not to be simply masters but witnesses, through whom pilgrims and all those who come to the Holy Land can have the chance to discover and receive the grace of these Holy Places.
At the end of the celebration, the Conference opened in the Immaculate Conception Hall of St. Saviour’s Convent where, after the introduction by Brother Giorgio Vigna, in charge of the newly established Office for the Coordination of the Commissariats of the Holy Land and who gave the participants some important information on the organization of the conference and the programme of the days, the Minister General again spoke, examining in depth the tasks of the Franciscans in the Holy Land and the privileged relation that must unite the Commissaries and the Custody. In this land which was so beloved by St. Francis, who set off to visit it three times and did not reach it until 1219, "Providence wanted – as Pope Paul VI said – that, alongside the brothers of the Oriental Churches, there were above all the friars of Francis of Assisi, the saint of poverty, gentleness and peace, to interpret the Christian desire of protecting the places where our spiritual roots are."
The Commissaries of the Holy Land, “ambassadors” of the Custody in the world, inaugurate today the 3rd International Conference that is being celebrated six years after the last one, according to the provisions of the Discretorium of the Custody. The participants will work together to draw up the Vademecum for the Commissaries, paying special attention to the identity of the Commissaries in relation to the Provinces of the Order and the Custody, as well as to its mission, so that it can be used as orientation and line of action for the precious service by the Commissaries for the Holy Land. The International Conference must, however, also be a fundamental opportunity to promote reciprocal knowledge between the Commissaries and between them and the friars and to increase the knowledge, interest and devotion for the Holy Places. Because "the Holy Places need care and therefore they need money; above all they need priest brothers and lay brothers, they need friars who are in love with Christ and His Land; they need evangelizing passion, care for the pilgrims and that particular sensibility towards creature and the created which we bear as Franciscans. They need friars who love the local Christians with the same love that Francis had for the poor, humble and despised people of his time; they need friars who love this Land sanctified by the earthly life of the Son of God and his poor Mother venerated by St. Francis and that there in particular are witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of his Kingdom of Peace". Aware therefore of the extent and the importance of the field of action that still awaits the Franciscans in the Holy Land, Brother Carballo concluded his address with some question on the identity and the work of the Commissaries and their relations with the Custody of the Holy Land and with their respective Provinces, thus introducing the following reflection which was to be examined in depth during the day of study and discussion.
At this point, the Custos of the Holy Land, Brother Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who addressed the guests at the Conference and focused on the meaning of the meeting and the expectations regarding the results of the joint work of the whole week. The Custos then inaugurated the reflection on the first of the three main topics of the Conference, i.e. The Commissaries and their relations with the Custody, the Province and the Dioceses. In his speech, Brother Pizzaballa highlighted, with great insight and clarity, the strong points, the critical aspects and the essential needs that shape the relationship of the Commissaries with their respective provinces, the responsibilities of the Commissaries in promoting vocations for the Holy Land, in organizing and animating the pilgrimages, in improving knowledge about the Custody, in fostering relations with the Bishops and the local churches, in developing the skills of communication and dialogue with all the figures and entities linked directly and indirectly with the Holy Land. Before concluding his speech, Brother Pizzaballa raised some practical and concrete questions which often insinuate tensions and difficulties and to the resolution of which the Vademecum and the Juridical Commission of the Custody and of the Order ought to pay special attention.
He was followed by Brother Dobromir J. Jasztal, lecturer in canon law, who examined the topic of the relations of the Commissaries with the Custody, with the Province and with the Dioceses from the juridical point of view.
In the afternoon, after lunch at St. Saviour’s Convent, the linguistic groups set down to work, examining in further depth and discussing the ideas presented by the experts in the first part of the day, in the perspective of identifying adequate solutions and strategies of action and in view of producing the Vademecum and the final document of the meeting. The day came to an end with the celebration of Vespers in the Church of St. Saviour, presided by Brother Jeremy Harrington, Commissary of the Holy Land in the USA.
By Caterina Foppa Pedretti
Photos by Miriam Mezzera
Visit the website of the Congress.