"So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the Lord, died. He was buried in the ravine opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the place of his burial. (Dt 34:6)
On Saturday, 1 November, all Saints Day, we knew the grave of Brother Michele Piccirillo.
We didn’t wanted it be so soon. But seeing him buried there, at the top of Mount Nebo, brought us some comfort. Following the example of Brother Jerome Mihaic (Abouna Germana † 1960), an originator of the renaissance of the Moses Memorial in 1935 who is also buried in the convent courtyard, committing Brother Michele to the earth on Mount Nebo was like reuniting him with his great love.
It is not possible to reproduce the work of Brother Michele or what he accomplished on this hill in Jordan, but this place sums up very well not only his work, but Brother Michele himself.
There, he lived out his love for the Holy Land that he walked, of course, but also contemplated; there, his passion for archaeological research that he put into practice, here as elsewhere; there, his attraction for Scripture,what it reveals and what it still conceals; there, his love for art, for all art of all time; there, his love for mankind, in the first place for his family, his Franciscan brothers, whom he loved to welcome (and put to work); there, his love for his work crews, and for all the volunteers who came to help him and for the students of the mosaic schools (at Madaba and at Jericho). There, his love for the Lord whom he celebrated in the liturgy of this unique sanctuary , whose ongoing renovations were so dear to his heart that they were suspended while awaiting his return.
He loved. He was and is loved. As is proved by the telephone calls and testimonies that are ariving from everywhere to the Studium Biblicum, the Flagellation, the Custody, the Delegation in Rome.
And as further proof, the full churches in Italy at the viewing, at the obsequies in the Basilica of Saint Anthony, and today in Jordan, in the parish of Sweifieh. From workers to ministers to the Prince, once again he gathered around himself those whom he has touched.
A touch that was sometimes a bit brusque, as one of his friends, Franco Cardini , wrote: "He was a charitable man, but he hated compromise and loved the truth. It wasn’t rare, therefore, that he argued with someone he wanted to change." Sometimes, because he had an "impetuous and indomitable" personality , as the Custos, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, à Rome recalled, he could also rub his friends or his brothers in the Custody the wrong way.
His brothers of the Custody wanted to come in large numbers, from all over the Holy Land, and also Jordan and Syria, showing their affection, as well as their respect and admiration.
Many are those who left the spotlight to him. Some, like Brothers Eugenio Alliata and Carmelo Pappalardo on Mont Nebo, like Brother Stefano De Luca at Magdala, will continue his scientific work, just as he himself continued that of his peers, Brothers Sylvester Saller († 1975), Bellarmino Bagatti († 1990) and Virgilio Corbo († 1991), without forgetting the current work of Brothers Stanislao Loffreda and Giovanni Loche, who are also Custody archaeologists.
At the Beit Shean border crossing, a group of some forty individuals, mostly Franciscans, presented themselves. They arrived just as it opened. But they were made to wait under the pretext of a computer failure. The wait got longer and put them at risk of being unable to attend the Eucharistic celebration. After two hours of waiting, they knew that they would arrive in the middle of Mass. One group gave up and went back, death in their souls. Twenty-four remained. They had to pass from checkpoint to checkpoint on both sides of the border, notwithstanding the intervention of Israeli and Jordanian government ministries, notwithstanding even the intervention from the Palace Royal, they had to wait two more hours. But those stranded at Beit Shean hold firm. They want at least to be at the burial on Mount Nebo, a two hours’ drive from there. As the bird flies, Jerusalem and Mount Nebo are 47 miles apart. It took them eight hours to get from one point to the other.
In Amman, they held off celebrating the Mass as long as it was possible to keep waiting such officials as the Minister of Culture, the Madaba representative of the Jordanian Ministry of Archaeology and Antiquities, the representative of Prince Hasan, a representative of the Waqf, the ambassadors of Italy and Spain. His Beatitude Msgr. Fouad Twal was the principal concelebrant of the Mass, assisted by the Custos of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa; the Custodial Vicar, Artemio Vitores; Franciscan priests from Jordan and Syria, and a large group of priests from the Patriarchate, who had been Brother Michele’s friends during the 40 years he served the Holy Land and Jordan. In addition, all the Oriental Churches were present, having sent one or more of their members. The Mass was celebrated in Arabic and it was the Mass of All Saints, but the songs were those of a funeral Mass.
The church was full and the same devotion was seen among the Christians and the Muslims. After the celebration, the funeral cortège set out for Madaba and Mount Nebo, going as slowly as possible, still waiting for the bus from Beit Shean. More than an hour later than scheduled, when the bus finally arrived at the gates of the property, Brother Michele could finally be laid in his final resting place.
The interment took place in privacy and in pain, but also in hope, the same hope that Brother Michele attributed to Moses, writing that "[he was] buried with that vision of hope that he had contemplated from the top of the mountain still in his eyes".
Brother Michele will rest in the earth of Mount Nebo, at the side of Brother Jerome Mihaic, on whose grave he was always careful to keep flowers in bloom, in spite of the incapacitating heat that often strikes there.
Prior to this, he passed one final time down the sanctuary aisles, carried on the shoulders of his friends. A particularly moving moment. One last time, he made a stop at the foot of the immense cross that dominates the site and the valley. It is there that the Custos, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, blessed the coffin for the first time. One last time, he entered the convent. He was surrounded by everyone, and surrounded is not an empty word. Residents of neighboring villages, the workers with whom he labored so long, pressed around his coffin, both to cover him with their affection and because they were incapable of separating themselves from him. For a long time, neither his family, his sister and brothers who were present, nor his Franciscan family could approach. To them Michele was their teacher, their brother, their Abouna.
Bringing brother Michele Piccirillo’s body to Jordan was no easy task. This was the first time that a foreigner who died in a foreign country was buried in Jordan. The relevant ministries, therefore, were unfamiliar with the procedure; they didn’t even know if it was possible. It required the intervention of the Palace Royal to overcome all the administrative obstacles.
At the door to the convent, the Custos, the Custodial Vicar, Brother Michele’s family, and the village mayor awaited the participants to receive their condolences. But in spite of the lateness of the hour, people left in only small numbers.
His family and the Franciscan friars also stayed. They shared memories. It is hard to share one’s testimony in front of cameras and microphones. There were plenty of eyes red with tears, of voices choked with emotion. "He was a volcano, always erupting." "It will take ten years to complete everything he had going, the digs, the renovations, the projects, articles, books." "This is an enormous loss for the Custody, a loss for the visibility, awareness and recognition of the Holy Land. He helped in so many ways for it to be known and loved." "We have to move forward," declared the Custos. "A new era is opening for the Custody. We have to testify to the love that Father Piccirillo bore for the Holy Land. We have to keep his work alive and follow him in that same spirit, that same enthusiasm, that same passion, even though it will have to be in a different way because Father Piccirillo is irreplaceable."
The castaways of Beit Shean celebrated the Mass in the convent chapel. The feast day Mass, the Mass of All Saints, of all those who are today with God. During this time, Michele’s grave was visited endlessly, in silence. From there you could see the setting sun, the hills painted with its colors, a landscape of intoxicating beauty.
Moses died "at the mouth of the Lord", says the Hebrew text, literally. Moses died "by God’s order", some translate, by "God’s kiss", the Talmud interprets.
In a kiss, God gave Michele Piccirillo the order to come home. With the psalmist we want to say: "The ways of the Lord are straight, they make the heart rejoice; the commandment of the Lord is clear, it enlightens the gaze." (Ps 19)
MAB
"From the mountain where Moses gazed with hope to the future, I too try to look ahead, seeing so many young people willing to live in peace in a world that cannot tolerate more war and hatred."
Brother Michele Piccirillo, Franciscan
On Saturday, 1 November, all Saints Day, we knew the grave of Brother Michele Piccirillo.
We didn’t wanted it be so soon. But seeing him buried there, at the top of Mount Nebo, brought us some comfort. Following the example of Brother Jerome Mihaic (Abouna Germana † 1960), an originator of the renaissance of the Moses Memorial in 1935 who is also buried in the convent courtyard, committing Brother Michele to the earth on Mount Nebo was like reuniting him with his great love.
It is not possible to reproduce the work of Brother Michele or what he accomplished on this hill in Jordan, but this place sums up very well not only his work, but Brother Michele himself.
There, he lived out his love for the Holy Land that he walked, of course, but also contemplated; there, his passion for archaeological research that he put into practice, here as elsewhere; there, his attraction for Scripture,what it reveals and what it still conceals; there, his love for art, for all art of all time; there, his love for mankind, in the first place for his family, his Franciscan brothers, whom he loved to welcome (and put to work); there, his love for his work crews, and for all the volunteers who came to help him and for the students of the mosaic schools (at Madaba and at Jericho). There, his love for the Lord whom he celebrated in the liturgy of this unique sanctuary , whose ongoing renovations were so dear to his heart that they were suspended while awaiting his return.
He loved. He was and is loved. As is proved by the telephone calls and testimonies that are ariving from everywhere to the Studium Biblicum, the Flagellation, the Custody, the Delegation in Rome.
And as further proof, the full churches in Italy at the viewing, at the obsequies in the Basilica of Saint Anthony, and today in Jordan, in the parish of Sweifieh. From workers to ministers to the Prince, once again he gathered around himself those whom he has touched.
A touch that was sometimes a bit brusque, as one of his friends, Franco Cardini , wrote: "He was a charitable man, but he hated compromise and loved the truth. It wasn’t rare, therefore, that he argued with someone he wanted to change." Sometimes, because he had an "impetuous and indomitable" personality , as the Custos, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, à Rome recalled, he could also rub his friends or his brothers in the Custody the wrong way.
His brothers of the Custody wanted to come in large numbers, from all over the Holy Land, and also Jordan and Syria, showing their affection, as well as their respect and admiration.
Many are those who left the spotlight to him. Some, like Brothers Eugenio Alliata and Carmelo Pappalardo on Mont Nebo, like Brother Stefano De Luca at Magdala, will continue his scientific work, just as he himself continued that of his peers, Brothers Sylvester Saller († 1975), Bellarmino Bagatti († 1990) and Virgilio Corbo († 1991), without forgetting the current work of Brothers Stanislao Loffreda and Giovanni Loche, who are also Custody archaeologists.
At the Beit Shean border crossing, a group of some forty individuals, mostly Franciscans, presented themselves. They arrived just as it opened. But they were made to wait under the pretext of a computer failure. The wait got longer and put them at risk of being unable to attend the Eucharistic celebration. After two hours of waiting, they knew that they would arrive in the middle of Mass. One group gave up and went back, death in their souls. Twenty-four remained. They had to pass from checkpoint to checkpoint on both sides of the border, notwithstanding the intervention of Israeli and Jordanian government ministries, notwithstanding even the intervention from the Palace Royal, they had to wait two more hours. But those stranded at Beit Shean hold firm. They want at least to be at the burial on Mount Nebo, a two hours’ drive from there. As the bird flies, Jerusalem and Mount Nebo are 47 miles apart. It took them eight hours to get from one point to the other.
In Amman, they held off celebrating the Mass as long as it was possible to keep waiting such officials as the Minister of Culture, the Madaba representative of the Jordanian Ministry of Archaeology and Antiquities, the representative of Prince Hasan, a representative of the Waqf, the ambassadors of Italy and Spain. His Beatitude Msgr. Fouad Twal was the principal concelebrant of the Mass, assisted by the Custos of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa; the Custodial Vicar, Artemio Vitores; Franciscan priests from Jordan and Syria, and a large group of priests from the Patriarchate, who had been Brother Michele’s friends during the 40 years he served the Holy Land and Jordan. In addition, all the Oriental Churches were present, having sent one or more of their members. The Mass was celebrated in Arabic and it was the Mass of All Saints, but the songs were those of a funeral Mass.
The church was full and the same devotion was seen among the Christians and the Muslims. After the celebration, the funeral cortège set out for Madaba and Mount Nebo, going as slowly as possible, still waiting for the bus from Beit Shean. More than an hour later than scheduled, when the bus finally arrived at the gates of the property, Brother Michele could finally be laid in his final resting place.
The interment took place in privacy and in pain, but also in hope, the same hope that Brother Michele attributed to Moses, writing that "[he was] buried with that vision of hope that he had contemplated from the top of the mountain still in his eyes".
Brother Michele will rest in the earth of Mount Nebo, at the side of Brother Jerome Mihaic, on whose grave he was always careful to keep flowers in bloom, in spite of the incapacitating heat that often strikes there.
Prior to this, he passed one final time down the sanctuary aisles, carried on the shoulders of his friends. A particularly moving moment. One last time, he made a stop at the foot of the immense cross that dominates the site and the valley. It is there that the Custos, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, blessed the coffin for the first time. One last time, he entered the convent. He was surrounded by everyone, and surrounded is not an empty word. Residents of neighboring villages, the workers with whom he labored so long, pressed around his coffin, both to cover him with their affection and because they were incapable of separating themselves from him. For a long time, neither his family, his sister and brothers who were present, nor his Franciscan family could approach. To them Michele was their teacher, their brother, their Abouna.
Bringing brother Michele Piccirillo’s body to Jordan was no easy task. This was the first time that a foreigner who died in a foreign country was buried in Jordan. The relevant ministries, therefore, were unfamiliar with the procedure; they didn’t even know if it was possible. It required the intervention of the Palace Royal to overcome all the administrative obstacles.
At the door to the convent, the Custos, the Custodial Vicar, Brother Michele’s family, and the village mayor awaited the participants to receive their condolences. But in spite of the lateness of the hour, people left in only small numbers.
His family and the Franciscan friars also stayed. They shared memories. It is hard to share one’s testimony in front of cameras and microphones. There were plenty of eyes red with tears, of voices choked with emotion. "He was a volcano, always erupting." "It will take ten years to complete everything he had going, the digs, the renovations, the projects, articles, books." "This is an enormous loss for the Custody, a loss for the visibility, awareness and recognition of the Holy Land. He helped in so many ways for it to be known and loved." "We have to move forward," declared the Custos. "A new era is opening for the Custody. We have to testify to the love that Father Piccirillo bore for the Holy Land. We have to keep his work alive and follow him in that same spirit, that same enthusiasm, that same passion, even though it will have to be in a different way because Father Piccirillo is irreplaceable."
The castaways of Beit Shean celebrated the Mass in the convent chapel. The feast day Mass, the Mass of All Saints, of all those who are today with God. During this time, Michele’s grave was visited endlessly, in silence. From there you could see the setting sun, the hills painted with its colors, a landscape of intoxicating beauty.
Moses died "at the mouth of the Lord", says the Hebrew text, literally. Moses died "by God’s order", some translate, by "God’s kiss", the Talmud interprets.
In a kiss, God gave Michele Piccirillo the order to come home. With the psalmist we want to say: "The ways of the Lord are straight, they make the heart rejoice; the commandment of the Lord is clear, it enlightens the gaze." (Ps 19)
MAB
"From the mountain where Moses gazed with hope to the future, I too try to look ahead, seeing so many young people willing to live in peace in a world that cannot tolerate more war and hatred."
Brother Michele Piccirillo, Franciscan