On Tuesday March 4, the annual continuing education session for the friars in charge of receiving pilgrims in the sanctuaries: sacristans, guardians and spiritual assistants. By their request, for the first time representatives of the Israel Tour Guides Association (IGTA) were invited to participate. The association, which is attached to the Israel Ministry of Tourism, came to present the experience and questions of the guides. In addition, they came to develop a closer relationship with the Franciscans “whom we meet everywhere with our Christian pilgrims”, as Ori Katzir, one of the representatives, explained.
A bilingual dialogue in the presence of the Father Custos took place, not only allowing each participant to express his objectives, ways of working and daily difficulties, but also to hear those of the others. “We are well aware that accompanying pilgrims is not easy; there are unforeseen delays and pilgrims change their minds, but the guides must keep in mind that we are not serving just one group, but dozens every day,” remarked Fra Luca, who is sacristan at the Shrine of the Annunciation in Nazareth. This is also problem in the eyes of the guides, as Ronen Spigler explained: “We are perfectly aware of the pressure the friars work under, and thanks to these meetings understanding will be expressed as cooperation.”
The guides invited the friars to organize and present a continuing education course so that the former can better respond to the pilgrims’ expectations in terms of the Christian faith, holy places and celebrations. This is a positive, meaningful step forward that the friars welcome, who sometimes reproach the guides for staying with archeological information to the detriment of the spiritual experience.
At the end of the morning Fra Agostino, the head of the Franciscan Pilgrims Office at the Jaffa Gate, took the floor to present the latest improvements to the Mass reservation process, which will take place on line from now on. The office receives over 2,000 reservations each year, but 10% of them are not honored and the groups do not show up. “By working with mutual honesty and listening to each other we will best meet the needs of the pilgrims,” he concluded, inviting the guides to visit the Franciscan Pilgrims Office.
Emilie Rey
A bilingual dialogue in the presence of the Father Custos took place, not only allowing each participant to express his objectives, ways of working and daily difficulties, but also to hear those of the others. “We are well aware that accompanying pilgrims is not easy; there are unforeseen delays and pilgrims change their minds, but the guides must keep in mind that we are not serving just one group, but dozens every day,” remarked Fra Luca, who is sacristan at the Shrine of the Annunciation in Nazareth. This is also problem in the eyes of the guides, as Ronen Spigler explained: “We are perfectly aware of the pressure the friars work under, and thanks to these meetings understanding will be expressed as cooperation.”
The guides invited the friars to organize and present a continuing education course so that the former can better respond to the pilgrims’ expectations in terms of the Christian faith, holy places and celebrations. This is a positive, meaningful step forward that the friars welcome, who sometimes reproach the guides for staying with archeological information to the detriment of the spiritual experience.
At the end of the morning Fra Agostino, the head of the Franciscan Pilgrims Office at the Jaffa Gate, took the floor to present the latest improvements to the Mass reservation process, which will take place on line from now on. The office receives over 2,000 reservations each year, but 10% of them are not honored and the groups do not show up. “By working with mutual honesty and listening to each other we will best meet the needs of the pilgrims,” he concluded, inviting the guides to visit the Franciscan Pilgrims Office.
Emilie Rey