St. Louis Review – By Joseph Kenny – December 9, 2009
The Franciscan friars of the Holy Land are a familiar sight around the many holy places held sacred by Christians. The Holy Land is known as the home of local Catholics but also the universal Church.
Long ago the Franciscans’ mission was named the Custody of the Holy Land, serving as guardians of the holy places, and, as they explain, “sharing the grace of praying in these blessed places with pilgrims, welcoming them and providing hospitality.” They describe their work as faithful missionaries and prophets of reconciliation and peace.
The friars’ daily prayer and the use of the churches and chapels by pilgrims from afar is a reminder that these places are not museums. People gather for Mass and prayers as others visit as tourists, taking photos, noting the architectural highlights and often, kneeling or standing in prayer themselves.
A group of five Catholic journalists from the United States found a similar atmosphere while attending Sunday Mass at the Basilica of Agony (Church of All Nations), joining a group of pilgrims in a Mass celebrated by their priest in Spanish.
Local Catholics are mostly Arab but also include others from all the continents who have come to the Middle East.
The Franciscans exercise their pastoral ministry in 29 parishes and in other chapels and churches. They are responsible for the three largest parishes in the Holy Land: Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth. The friars have roots in parishes in both big cities and villages, including in Syria and Lebanon.
The Franciscans’ pastoral ministry reaches both Christians and nonChristians.
Several centuries ago, the Custody instituted and supported the housing and lodging ministry to provide aid and relief to the poorest of the poor. It seeks to consolidate the Christian presence around the holy places and deals with a constant and continuous exodus of the local Arab Christian population related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. In Jerusalem alone, the Custody offers some 350 housing units, with rent based on ability to pay. In addition, the Franciscans have had apartments built in a northern suburb that are offered to Christian families for a third of the market rent. Similar initiatives are in Behlehem and in Bethpage on the Mount of Olives. The aim is to preserve the living stones of the Holy Land — the local Christian communities.
Help for the work comes from a collection in churches on Good Friday and from the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land.
The foundation was created to inform and educate the general public about the plight of Christians in the Holy Land, where inadequate housing, high unemployment and greatly reduced educational opportunities are causing widespread suffering and a mass exodus of the indigenous Christian population. By increasing awareness of the complex human rights issues involving Christians in this part of the world, the foundation seeks to establish equality of opportunity for this unrepresented minority group and safeguard their right to remain in their homeland.
The initial goals established by the Foundation are to help Christians find employment through training and counseling and also by creating new positions in schools, churches, parish centers and medical facilities; to implement scholarship programs to offer hope to Christian Palestinians unable to afford the cost of higher education; to continue the Community Development Housing Program to provide subsidized housing for Christians in Holy Land cities; and to restore the Tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
For information on the foundation call (866) 905-3787 or see www.ffhl.org.
Tags: Franciscan, Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land, Holy Land, St. Louis Review