On Tuesday 11th January, the Ministry of Tourism officially presented its latest publication: a booklet entitled “In the footsteps of the Virgin Mary”, at the “Eden Tamir” Music Centre, Ein Karem.
According to the Director-General of the Ministry of Tourism, Noaz Bar Nir – who wished everyone a Happy New Year - “the brochure has been written specifically for tour operators and pilgrimage organizers, and offers new ideas for itineraries for Catholic pilgrims seeking to enrich and diversify their spiritual experience in the Holy Land.”
The booklet aims to be a practical guide, covering all the places the Virgin Mary passed through, or which are connected to a Marian tradition or worship.
Invited to speak, the Custos of the Holy Land said that “the pilgrimage can represent an important turning-point in the life of a believer. It allows him or her to see, feel and touch the places linked to the Bible.” The Custos nevertheless told the journalists that the document presented is for tour operators and does not contain that spiritual side – which is proper to the pilgrimage – but acknowledged the work done, as a guide for tourists and information for operators in the sector.
If on the one hand, as Lina Haddad, editor of the project, said, “it is natural to speak about the Virgin Mary in this country, which is her land and where the most important events in her life took place,” the fact nevertheless remains that the elements presented do not form the basis for a pilgrimage: it is an experience of an encounter with God, and the Virgin Mary, who brought the Messiah into the world, teaches Christians in the Gospel, to turn to his Divine Son.
Tourism and pilgrimage are different words which express different purposes in travel. The (legitimate) aim of the Marketing Department of the Ministry of Tourism in producing the booklet is understandable. It is a question of finding new perspectives to make people come and return to the country. Jewish tourism and pilgrimages have reached their limit. The “reservoir” of potential development for the economy of tourism and pilgrimage for the State of Israel is naturally Christianity.
In the record year of 2010, 3.45 million tourists and pilgrims visited the country. According to the figures of the Ministry of Tourism, 69% of these were Christians, and half of them were Catholics. According to the figures in the 2010 edition of the Pontifical Yearbook, there are 1,166 million Catholics in the world (and, Ed.’s note, 2.2 billion Christians in the world). This figure leaves a great margin for development.
The Custody hopes that an ever-increasing number of people can enjoy the experience of a pilgrimage and that each of them can see with their own eyes the Word of God made flesh in the person of Jesus, who was incarnated and lived here. The Custody invites pilgrims not only to touch the stones, but also to meet the local Christian communities as well as to share with Jews and Muslims their love for this Holy Land.
The brochure, presented in English, should be translated “in about a month’s time” into Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish. It can also be downloaded from the site http://www.holyland-pilgrimage.org/
To launch the project, the Ministry of Tourism organized the meeting very well, alternating the brief speeches with the female choir, Naama, who enraptured the public with Christian songs in Latin and Arabic and a religious song in Hebrew. The meeting was held at the foot of the mountain of the Visitation. Perhaps it is in this sanctuary that the public was able to set off “in the footsteps of the Virgin Mary” to sing the Magnificat with her?
Mab
According to the Director-General of the Ministry of Tourism, Noaz Bar Nir – who wished everyone a Happy New Year - “the brochure has been written specifically for tour operators and pilgrimage organizers, and offers new ideas for itineraries for Catholic pilgrims seeking to enrich and diversify their spiritual experience in the Holy Land.”
The booklet aims to be a practical guide, covering all the places the Virgin Mary passed through, or which are connected to a Marian tradition or worship.
Invited to speak, the Custos of the Holy Land said that “the pilgrimage can represent an important turning-point in the life of a believer. It allows him or her to see, feel and touch the places linked to the Bible.” The Custos nevertheless told the journalists that the document presented is for tour operators and does not contain that spiritual side – which is proper to the pilgrimage – but acknowledged the work done, as a guide for tourists and information for operators in the sector.
If on the one hand, as Lina Haddad, editor of the project, said, “it is natural to speak about the Virgin Mary in this country, which is her land and where the most important events in her life took place,” the fact nevertheless remains that the elements presented do not form the basis for a pilgrimage: it is an experience of an encounter with God, and the Virgin Mary, who brought the Messiah into the world, teaches Christians in the Gospel, to turn to his Divine Son.
Tourism and pilgrimage are different words which express different purposes in travel. The (legitimate) aim of the Marketing Department of the Ministry of Tourism in producing the booklet is understandable. It is a question of finding new perspectives to make people come and return to the country. Jewish tourism and pilgrimages have reached their limit. The “reservoir” of potential development for the economy of tourism and pilgrimage for the State of Israel is naturally Christianity.
In the record year of 2010, 3.45 million tourists and pilgrims visited the country. According to the figures of the Ministry of Tourism, 69% of these were Christians, and half of them were Catholics. According to the figures in the 2010 edition of the Pontifical Yearbook, there are 1,166 million Catholics in the world (and, Ed.’s note, 2.2 billion Christians in the world). This figure leaves a great margin for development.
The Custody hopes that an ever-increasing number of people can enjoy the experience of a pilgrimage and that each of them can see with their own eyes the Word of God made flesh in the person of Jesus, who was incarnated and lived here. The Custody invites pilgrims not only to touch the stones, but also to meet the local Christian communities as well as to share with Jews and Muslims their love for this Holy Land.
The brochure, presented in English, should be translated “in about a month’s time” into Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish. It can also be downloaded from the site http://www.holyland-pilgrimage.org/
To launch the project, the Ministry of Tourism organized the meeting very well, alternating the brief speeches with the female choir, Naama, who enraptured the public with Christian songs in Latin and Arabic and a religious song in Hebrew. The meeting was held at the foot of the mountain of the Visitation. Perhaps it is in this sanctuary that the public was able to set off “in the footsteps of the Virgin Mary” to sing the Magnificat with her?
Mab