The mass for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul was celebrated on June 29 at the Church of St. Savior in Jerusalem. The Eucharist was presided over by Fr. Claudio Bottini, the dean emeritus of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, and the central theme was the celebration of the jubilees for the priesthood and religious life for 17 friars of the Custody. This event took place on the eve of the ordinations of 14 other friars of the Custody.
In his homily, Fr. Claudio Bottini recalled that “traditionally, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul is reserved for ordinations, [and] in our case, 12 deacons and two priests [will be ordained] tomorrow in Nazareth.” “Today's Gospel,” he continued, “offers us two symbols: the first is the stone, a metaphor of the solidity of Peter’s faith, on which Jesus will build his Church, of which we are the heirs. The second symbol is the keys, which are a representation of power par excellence, the power with which Jesus invests Peter, entrusting him with authority over the Christian community.”
Fr. Claudio Bottini then pointed out three key words, referring to the Gospel reading for the Solemnity: “The first is Thanks; thank you for the boundless love that God has placed in us; the second is Mercy: before our weakness as men, Peter and Paul offer us their example of having begged God for help. The third and last key word is Yes: before the time that awaits us, we say our ‘yes’ to the Lord without hesitation, as Saints Peter and Paul did.”
At the end of the mass, the Father Custos, Fr. Francesco Patton, expressed his joy, on behalf of the Franciscan community, for the friars’ 2018 jubilees of ordination and religious life.
The following priests celebrated their 25th anniversary of priesthood: Fr. Peter Alcantara Ashton, Fr. Atef El-Falah, Fr. Raimondo Girgis, Fr. Sewerym Lubecki, Fr. François Marie Shamiyeh. The following priests celebrated their 50th anniversary of priesthood: Fr. Bienvenido Baisas, Fr. G. Claudio Bottini, Fr. Gennaro De Robertis. These priests celebrated 60 years in the priesthood: Fr. Emilio Barcena and Fr. Camillo Ferro. For the jubilees of religious life, Fr. John Luke Gregory, Fr. Eduardo Sanchez Valez and Fr. Rafael Sube Jimenez, celebrated their 25th anniversary of religious life. Fr. Georges Abou Khazen and Fr. Michael Raum celebrated their 50th anniversary of religious life. Finally, Fr. Halim Noujaim and Fr. Jesus Sebastian celebrated their 65th anniversary of religious life.
