The participants in the 12th Course for Spiritual Animators of pilgrimages, organized by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land and the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum to form religious and priests who intend to be guides and offer cultural and spiritual accompaniment for pilgrimages, arrived in Jerusalem on 15th November. The group is made up of 37 participants of different nationalities (especially Italian, Spanish and Argentinean but there is also a Maltese and a Korean) and no fewer than 28 of them are priests. There are some religious and consecrated people and even some lay people who are particularly committed to the Church, especially regarding relations with the Holy Land. “Pilgrimages are an essential activity for the Custody,” explains Brother Gianfranco Pinto Ostuni, currently Director of the Pilgrimage Department of the Custody of the Holy Land based in Rome, “and, ever since 1400, the Franciscans have accompanied the pilgrims: at the time they were very few in number and stayed at the Mount Zion Convent, they were given the sacrament of confession and then they started out on their pilgrimage, understood as an act of penitence, so that often the pilgrims received a cross in the Diocese – and for this reason they were called “crusaders” – which they placed in the Holy Sepulchre on their arrival. In Jericho, along the itinerary of the visit to the Holy Places, they would also receive a palm, taking on the name of “palmers”. Today the Custody continues, through the Pilgrimage Department, to organize trips in the Holy Land and to support the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in forming the future animators of pilgrimages, communicating the Franciscan style to them. This is a style that has a very precise physiognomy, deriving from the experience of St. Francis, who wanted to see and touch the human aspect of Christ and, therefore, to see the place where He was born, the rock on which He suffered, the Sepulchre in which he was placed. The salvation of man passes through the humanity of Christ, which thus elevates humanity to the dignity of participation in divine life.”
The participants in the initiative are taking on an important course, which they began last September in Rome, with some intense days of formation based on lessons by teachers from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and aimed at outlining the historical-archaeological background and the cultural and religious traditions present in the Holy Land. The group is now completing the course with a period of guided excursions in the Holy Land, study and in-depth study of the local situation, starting from Galilee, through Samaria and Judea and reaching Jerusalem, where the formative itinerary will come to an end after its detailed visit between 15th and 21st November. Many figures of the Studium Biblicum are involved in the guided visits including Father Giovanni Bissoli, who teaches Judaism and New Testament, Father Frederic Manns, who teaches exegesis of the New Testament and ancient Hebrew literature, and Father Eugenio Alliata, who teaches Archaeology. The course also has the highlight of three important evening meetings with the Custos, Brother Pierbattista Pizzaballa, with the Custodial Vicar, Brother Artemio Vitoresand with Brother Atanasio Macora, responsible for the Status Quo.
“The pilgrimage is a veritable moment of evangelization,” begins Bother Pizzaballa, answering the future animators’ questions, “and its value exceeds the mere devotional aspect. Religious tourists represent over 60% of the visitors to the Holy Land and come from all over the world. The guide, or rather the spiritual animator, becomes a figure of reference, has to be culturally trained but also stimulating on the level of faith. Pilgrims are very open to having a significant experience, meeting a living reality and visiting places that really make you feel the presence of Christ. The guide has to speak about Jesus, the history of salvation and to carry out an invaluable work of evangelization. Therefore, as friars of the Custody, who for a very long time have devoted ourselves to protecting and promoting the Holy Places, we expect the animators and the guides to be people who sincerely love the Holy Land and who take on this role without reducing it to a professional commitment, but with the capacity to transmit love for the Holy Land and to teach people to love the Holy Land and make an intense experience of their visit. Guides therefore have the chance to leave a deep mark on the soul of the pilgrims and for this reason it is fundamental that high human, spiritual and cultural qualities are required from them.” Another aspect on which the Custos offered some invaluable suggestions concerns the manner in which the animator should approach the current situation of the Holy Land, with its problems and contradictions, and the work of mediation and approach that he could bring about between the pilgrims and the local Christian community. “In actual fact,” says the Custos, “it is practically impossible that guides are not asked about the complex questions affecting the Holy Land. However, the way in which the contents are expressed and how problems are approached is fundamental. In this sense, the animator has a great responsibility, he must not be artificially neutral nor take on blatantly biased positions, but maintain a serene approach and speak about the different questions with sensitivity and intelligence. An important experience which can also help for a better contact with the local reality is a meeting with the local Church. This can be by taking part in the Sunday Mass in Arabic together with the local Christian community, in one of the many sanctuaries of the Holy Land, which are also parish churches, or by organizing meetings with the parish priests, who can teach a great deal about the local church and pastoral activities. The Christians, who are a minority in the Holy Land, are nevertheless called on to give great testimony of faith, to be a living presence, in love with their history, not to fear changes and meetings with diversity, but to be open, serene, free, positive and, at the same time, clear and well-rooted in their sense of identity and belonging, and constructive.”
This is exactly the spirit that animates and brings together the participants on the course, stimulated by the desire to reinforce the roots of Christian faith, through getting to know the historical, cultural and religious context in which it was born. In the words of Father Biagio Grilli, parish priest of Manfredonia, and of Father Paolo Baldo, parish priest of Bellegra in the Diocese of Palestrina, two of the priests in the group, a genuine love for the Holy Land, where the mystery of the Incarnation actually took place at an actual time, is felt and therefore this has an extraordinary value for the Universal Church and is of crucial importance for the whole world. Through this course of formation, which combines moving and beautiful moments, like the celebration of the Holy Mass and the visit to the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the evening, in an exclusive moment of silence and prayer, and the celebration of the solemn Holy Mass with the Franciscans in the Holy Sepulchre, in the very early morning, with moments of great cultural enrichment, such as the excursions led by the teachers of the Studium Biblicum, the future animators expect to be able to offer pilgrims a more balanced and better journey, a more aware and significant experience on the human level and of that of the faith – and to discover together the genuine value of the pilgrimage. As Brother Benjamin Owusu ofm, who presided the Holy Mass of the group at the Holy Sepulchre, said in his homily, on the morning of 17th November, “after having relived, stage by stage, from Nazareth to Jerusalem, all the Mysteries that are celebrated during the Liturgical Year, we also came hastily, like Mary of Magdala and the disciples, to the sepulchre of the Lord. However, whilst they came with their hearts filled with doubt about what they would find there, we come to this Holy Place to reinforce faith in the resurrection and to receive the strength given to Mary and the Apostles to proclaim Christ Arisen, to announce this extraordinary message the whole world over and to share with others the immense joy for this gift of life.”
By Caterina Foppa Pedretti
The participants in the initiative are taking on an important course, which they began last September in Rome, with some intense days of formation based on lessons by teachers from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and aimed at outlining the historical-archaeological background and the cultural and religious traditions present in the Holy Land. The group is now completing the course with a period of guided excursions in the Holy Land, study and in-depth study of the local situation, starting from Galilee, through Samaria and Judea and reaching Jerusalem, where the formative itinerary will come to an end after its detailed visit between 15th and 21st November. Many figures of the Studium Biblicum are involved in the guided visits including Father Giovanni Bissoli, who teaches Judaism and New Testament, Father Frederic Manns, who teaches exegesis of the New Testament and ancient Hebrew literature, and Father Eugenio Alliata, who teaches Archaeology. The course also has the highlight of three important evening meetings with the Custos, Brother Pierbattista Pizzaballa, with the Custodial Vicar, Brother Artemio Vitoresand with Brother Atanasio Macora, responsible for the Status Quo.
“The pilgrimage is a veritable moment of evangelization,” begins Bother Pizzaballa, answering the future animators’ questions, “and its value exceeds the mere devotional aspect. Religious tourists represent over 60% of the visitors to the Holy Land and come from all over the world. The guide, or rather the spiritual animator, becomes a figure of reference, has to be culturally trained but also stimulating on the level of faith. Pilgrims are very open to having a significant experience, meeting a living reality and visiting places that really make you feel the presence of Christ. The guide has to speak about Jesus, the history of salvation and to carry out an invaluable work of evangelization. Therefore, as friars of the Custody, who for a very long time have devoted ourselves to protecting and promoting the Holy Places, we expect the animators and the guides to be people who sincerely love the Holy Land and who take on this role without reducing it to a professional commitment, but with the capacity to transmit love for the Holy Land and to teach people to love the Holy Land and make an intense experience of their visit. Guides therefore have the chance to leave a deep mark on the soul of the pilgrims and for this reason it is fundamental that high human, spiritual and cultural qualities are required from them.” Another aspect on which the Custos offered some invaluable suggestions concerns the manner in which the animator should approach the current situation of the Holy Land, with its problems and contradictions, and the work of mediation and approach that he could bring about between the pilgrims and the local Christian community. “In actual fact,” says the Custos, “it is practically impossible that guides are not asked about the complex questions affecting the Holy Land. However, the way in which the contents are expressed and how problems are approached is fundamental. In this sense, the animator has a great responsibility, he must not be artificially neutral nor take on blatantly biased positions, but maintain a serene approach and speak about the different questions with sensitivity and intelligence. An important experience which can also help for a better contact with the local reality is a meeting with the local Church. This can be by taking part in the Sunday Mass in Arabic together with the local Christian community, in one of the many sanctuaries of the Holy Land, which are also parish churches, or by organizing meetings with the parish priests, who can teach a great deal about the local church and pastoral activities. The Christians, who are a minority in the Holy Land, are nevertheless called on to give great testimony of faith, to be a living presence, in love with their history, not to fear changes and meetings with diversity, but to be open, serene, free, positive and, at the same time, clear and well-rooted in their sense of identity and belonging, and constructive.”
This is exactly the spirit that animates and brings together the participants on the course, stimulated by the desire to reinforce the roots of Christian faith, through getting to know the historical, cultural and religious context in which it was born. In the words of Father Biagio Grilli, parish priest of Manfredonia, and of Father Paolo Baldo, parish priest of Bellegra in the Diocese of Palestrina, two of the priests in the group, a genuine love for the Holy Land, where the mystery of the Incarnation actually took place at an actual time, is felt and therefore this has an extraordinary value for the Universal Church and is of crucial importance for the whole world. Through this course of formation, which combines moving and beautiful moments, like the celebration of the Holy Mass and the visit to the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the evening, in an exclusive moment of silence and prayer, and the celebration of the solemn Holy Mass with the Franciscans in the Holy Sepulchre, in the very early morning, with moments of great cultural enrichment, such as the excursions led by the teachers of the Studium Biblicum, the future animators expect to be able to offer pilgrims a more balanced and better journey, a more aware and significant experience on the human level and of that of the faith – and to discover together the genuine value of the pilgrimage. As Brother Benjamin Owusu ofm, who presided the Holy Mass of the group at the Holy Sepulchre, said in his homily, on the morning of 17th November, “after having relived, stage by stage, from Nazareth to Jerusalem, all the Mysteries that are celebrated during the Liturgical Year, we also came hastily, like Mary of Magdala and the disciples, to the sepulchre of the Lord. However, whilst they came with their hearts filled with doubt about what they would find there, we come to this Holy Place to reinforce faith in the resurrection and to receive the strength given to Mary and the Apostles to proclaim Christ Arisen, to announce this extraordinary message the whole world over and to share with others the immense joy for this gift of life.”
By Caterina Foppa Pedretti