A celebratory crowd of some 2000 people welcomed the Holy Remains of St. Thérèse of Lisieux at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. The warmth of the Arab faithful embraced the Saint, she who compared the day of her consecration to the triumph of her Lord and the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, and will be very pleased with this great celebration.
Some people, to be able to see her, climbed up on to the building material for the road maintenance works. Simple people surrounded the reliquary of the Holy Relics carried at shoulder-height to touch it, to pass over it a rosary or a handkerchief, to pick up some of the thousands of petals thrown into the air as the Saint passed and which settled, forming a floral carpet of incredible beauty.
The Scouts preceded the procession with the banners of the Church of the Holy Land, marching to the sound of drums and bagpipes. What emerged was not the composure of a solemn procession, but the warmth and simple and sincere affection of ordinary people for a small and humble Saint. "The greatest saint of modern times comes to meet us today," said the Patriarch Mons.
Fouad Twal in the church of the Patriarchate, where the procession ended and vespers were recited. "We invoke Grace for our unity as Christians and also for unity with our Jewish and Muslim brothers ... and we ask for the grace to implement the provisions of the recent Synod," said His Beatitude who asked the Patron Saint of the Missions to be near to our mission; that of being Christians in the Holy Land.
The Patriarch recalled how suffering and weakness are experiences that our life and that of this small great nun have in common and exhorted us not to fear asking God, with the simplicity of children, to help us in these times of uncertainty in the Middle East. "Suffering is great, but Hope must be more so!" Mons. Fouad Twal boomed with feeling from the pulpit, just a few feet from the reliquary placed before the altar, surrounded by religious and faithful of every order.
All the highest religious personalities who came to welcome St. Thérèse and pray together can be seen in the choir, absorbed in prayer. Some children were still joyously waving the flag with the colours of the Church with the image of the Saint printed on it; it is their way of reciting vespers. It is the end of the prayer and the scouts, led by the religious, form a human corridor through which the people pass to pay tribute, touch and kiss the reliquary, asking for intercessions for recovery from illness, support and peace.
In the courtyard of the Latin Patriarchate, religious and faithful form groups and, still in a festive mood, speak about the event, the stopping places of the pilgrimage of St. Thérèse (programme St. Joseph's Latin Parish - Haifa - Relics’ Visit ), share our experience and express their gratitude for the people who made all this possible, but above all speak about her who shows us Jesus with her life and her presence.
Article and Photos by Marco Gavasso
Some people, to be able to see her, climbed up on to the building material for the road maintenance works. Simple people surrounded the reliquary of the Holy Relics carried at shoulder-height to touch it, to pass over it a rosary or a handkerchief, to pick up some of the thousands of petals thrown into the air as the Saint passed and which settled, forming a floral carpet of incredible beauty.
The Scouts preceded the procession with the banners of the Church of the Holy Land, marching to the sound of drums and bagpipes. What emerged was not the composure of a solemn procession, but the warmth and simple and sincere affection of ordinary people for a small and humble Saint. "The greatest saint of modern times comes to meet us today," said the Patriarch Mons.
Fouad Twal in the church of the Patriarchate, where the procession ended and vespers were recited. "We invoke Grace for our unity as Christians and also for unity with our Jewish and Muslim brothers ... and we ask for the grace to implement the provisions of the recent Synod," said His Beatitude who asked the Patron Saint of the Missions to be near to our mission; that of being Christians in the Holy Land.
The Patriarch recalled how suffering and weakness are experiences that our life and that of this small great nun have in common and exhorted us not to fear asking God, with the simplicity of children, to help us in these times of uncertainty in the Middle East. "Suffering is great, but Hope must be more so!" Mons. Fouad Twal boomed with feeling from the pulpit, just a few feet from the reliquary placed before the altar, surrounded by religious and faithful of every order.
All the highest religious personalities who came to welcome St. Thérèse and pray together can be seen in the choir, absorbed in prayer. Some children were still joyously waving the flag with the colours of the Church with the image of the Saint printed on it; it is their way of reciting vespers. It is the end of the prayer and the scouts, led by the religious, form a human corridor through which the people pass to pay tribute, touch and kiss the reliquary, asking for intercessions for recovery from illness, support and peace.
In the courtyard of the Latin Patriarchate, religious and faithful form groups and, still in a festive mood, speak about the event, the stopping places of the pilgrimage of St. Thérèse (programme St. Joseph's Latin Parish - Haifa - Relics’ Visit ), share our experience and express their gratitude for the people who made all this possible, but above all speak about her who shows us Jesus with her life and her presence.
Article and Photos by Marco Gavasso