9th February 2008 will remain an unforgettable date for the friars minor who operate in Syria: the successor of St. Francis, Friar José Rodriguez Carballo, visited this land of mission which belongs to the Custody of the Holy Land. He was welcomed at Aleppo airport in the late evening by all the friars of Aleppo with the Custos of the Holy Land.
The next day, at 9.30 a.m., the Minister General met the Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, Mons. Giuseppe Nazzaro ofm, who gave him a very warm reception. After a brief pause, he was accompanied by Mr. A. Hajjar on a visit of the old city of Aleppo: the Omayyad mosque, the souk, the citadel and our former convent and school of Scribes which dates back to the 15th century.
All the friars from the north of Syria who work in the missions of the Oronte were present at lunch, together with the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who cooperate with them. At 3.30 p.m. there was a meeting with all the Franciscan families that operate in the north of Syria, followed by a meeting with the friars. The Minister General urged the friars to be aware of the scourges that afflict society and asked them to be authentic witnesses of Christ and St. Francis. At 6.00 p.m., in the Cathedral of St. Francis, the General presided a solemn mass in Arabic, on the occasion of the day of the ill, concelebrated by all the friars and with the participation of many worshippers.
After the celebration, the faithful welcomed the General in the parish hall. At 9.30 p.m. there was a dinner with all the Catholic bishops and the superiors of the religious orders that work in Aleppo.
On 11th February, early in the morning. the Minister General, accompanied by the Custos Father, Friar Hanna Jallouf and Friar Romualdo Fernandez, set off for Damascus. During the journey, they made a detour to visit the monumental ruins of the city of Palmyra. Before reaching Hama, in Tayyeb-el-Iman, there was a stop to admire the exquisite mosaics of a church of the year 442, where the Franciscan Institute of Mount Nebo worked with the Syrian government to open a museum to preserve this extraordinary wealth of Christian art.
They arrived in Palmyra at about noon, immediately visiting the grandiose temple of Beel, the colonnade of the Cardo Maximus, the theatre, the senate, the agora, which is one of the best preserved of the Graeco-Roman world, other temples of the city, the museum and the tower-shaped tombs. They then continued their journey to Damascus where they arrived at about 6.00 p.m. The General stayed in the centuries-old convent of the parish of Bab-Touma.
On Tuesday 12th, Holy Mass was concelebrated on the tomb of the Blessed Martyrs of Damascus, slaughtered in the Druze revolution of 1860 and beatified in 1927. After lunch, we went to the convent-parish of St. Anthony, in the new part of the city, where we were expected by the guardian-parish priest Friar Filippo Mistrih, Delegate of the Custody for Syria and Lebanon. At 9.00 the small group of friars in Damascus met, joined by Friar Rachid Mistrih who had come from Amman for the occasion of the visit.
The Minister General encouraged us to celebrate the Centenary of the foundation of the Order, which has been in preparation since 2006, with the greatest joy. He reminded us in brief what this celebration entails: discernment, projecting oneself ahead with the roots in the Gospel, the Rule and the Constitutions; fraternal dynamism; the importance of values; celebrating the gift of the vocation, with joy and amazement, just like a gift to return to the Lord in fraternal life. The culminating point will be 2009 with a solemn renewal of the religious profession.
The Holy Father has also proclaimed the year 2008-2009 the year of St. Paul and in Damascus we have two sanctuaries of the apostle of the peoples. It is also the year of the Word of God, the subject of the Synod, which will help us to study the Holy Scripture in greater depth and, in particular, the letters from Paul. The Minister General exhorted the friars to transform these world events into concrete acts of celebration as soon as possible. The Minister General then went on to another subject, that of restructuring the Order and the future of our presence in Lebanon-Syria.
The Minister General insisted on the urgency of the vocational pastoral, in which all the friars are summoned to participate. At 10.30 a.m. the friars when to the parish hall where the nuns of the Franciscan institutions were waiting for them: the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and the Franciscan Missionary nuns of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Minister General, in a broader context, repeated the ideas for the celebration of the 8th Centenary, asking all the collaborate and take part in these major events.
After this meeting, the Minister General, together with the group of religious men and women, went to visit the monastery-Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary of Saidnaya, a place of pilgrimage since the 6th century, where an icon of the Mother of God that was brought from Jerusalem in the 6th century and believed to have been painted by St. Luke, is venerated. After lunch, there was a visit to the piece of land where the Custody of the Holy Land intends to build a youth centre. After this, the journey continued to Maalula, a Christian town, where Aramaic, the language of Jesus, is still spoken and with a visit to the ancient monastery of St. Serge, with its fine icons and the great altar (of the 4th century), where the symbol of the table and the sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist are united.
After Maalula, the group returned to the capital to visit the Apostolic Nuncio who received them with great fraternal affection and warmth, although he had a cold. Afterwards, there was a visit to the sanctuary of the Conversion of St. Paul (the Memorial), where, as well as the memory-celebration of the grandiose mystery of divine grace, the Conversion of Saul, on the explicit request of Pope Paul VI, we work and pray for ecumenism, for the union of the churches of the Orient. After dinner, there was a visit to the sanctuary, where a small chapel is being built for the Year of Paul.
On 13th February, Holy Mass was celebrated in the early morning in the sanctuary of St. Anania, where we remember the welcome that the convert Saul received from the early Christian community of Damascus. At the end of the lunch, the Minister General went to Beirut, accompanied by Friar Ibrahim Sabbagh.
Friar Hanna Jallouf ofm
Friar Romualdo Fernandez ofm
The next day, at 9.30 a.m., the Minister General met the Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, Mons. Giuseppe Nazzaro ofm, who gave him a very warm reception. After a brief pause, he was accompanied by Mr. A. Hajjar on a visit of the old city of Aleppo: the Omayyad mosque, the souk, the citadel and our former convent and school of Scribes which dates back to the 15th century.
All the friars from the north of Syria who work in the missions of the Oronte were present at lunch, together with the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who cooperate with them. At 3.30 p.m. there was a meeting with all the Franciscan families that operate in the north of Syria, followed by a meeting with the friars. The Minister General urged the friars to be aware of the scourges that afflict society and asked them to be authentic witnesses of Christ and St. Francis. At 6.00 p.m., in the Cathedral of St. Francis, the General presided a solemn mass in Arabic, on the occasion of the day of the ill, concelebrated by all the friars and with the participation of many worshippers.
After the celebration, the faithful welcomed the General in the parish hall. At 9.30 p.m. there was a dinner with all the Catholic bishops and the superiors of the religious orders that work in Aleppo.
On 11th February, early in the morning. the Minister General, accompanied by the Custos Father, Friar Hanna Jallouf and Friar Romualdo Fernandez, set off for Damascus. During the journey, they made a detour to visit the monumental ruins of the city of Palmyra. Before reaching Hama, in Tayyeb-el-Iman, there was a stop to admire the exquisite mosaics of a church of the year 442, where the Franciscan Institute of Mount Nebo worked with the Syrian government to open a museum to preserve this extraordinary wealth of Christian art.
They arrived in Palmyra at about noon, immediately visiting the grandiose temple of Beel, the colonnade of the Cardo Maximus, the theatre, the senate, the agora, which is one of the best preserved of the Graeco-Roman world, other temples of the city, the museum and the tower-shaped tombs. They then continued their journey to Damascus where they arrived at about 6.00 p.m. The General stayed in the centuries-old convent of the parish of Bab-Touma.
On Tuesday 12th, Holy Mass was concelebrated on the tomb of the Blessed Martyrs of Damascus, slaughtered in the Druze revolution of 1860 and beatified in 1927. After lunch, we went to the convent-parish of St. Anthony, in the new part of the city, where we were expected by the guardian-parish priest Friar Filippo Mistrih, Delegate of the Custody for Syria and Lebanon. At 9.00 the small group of friars in Damascus met, joined by Friar Rachid Mistrih who had come from Amman for the occasion of the visit.
The Minister General encouraged us to celebrate the Centenary of the foundation of the Order, which has been in preparation since 2006, with the greatest joy. He reminded us in brief what this celebration entails: discernment, projecting oneself ahead with the roots in the Gospel, the Rule and the Constitutions; fraternal dynamism; the importance of values; celebrating the gift of the vocation, with joy and amazement, just like a gift to return to the Lord in fraternal life. The culminating point will be 2009 with a solemn renewal of the religious profession.
The Holy Father has also proclaimed the year 2008-2009 the year of St. Paul and in Damascus we have two sanctuaries of the apostle of the peoples. It is also the year of the Word of God, the subject of the Synod, which will help us to study the Holy Scripture in greater depth and, in particular, the letters from Paul. The Minister General exhorted the friars to transform these world events into concrete acts of celebration as soon as possible. The Minister General then went on to another subject, that of restructuring the Order and the future of our presence in Lebanon-Syria.
The Minister General insisted on the urgency of the vocational pastoral, in which all the friars are summoned to participate. At 10.30 a.m. the friars when to the parish hall where the nuns of the Franciscan institutions were waiting for them: the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and the Franciscan Missionary nuns of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Minister General, in a broader context, repeated the ideas for the celebration of the 8th Centenary, asking all the collaborate and take part in these major events.
After this meeting, the Minister General, together with the group of religious men and women, went to visit the monastery-Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary of Saidnaya, a place of pilgrimage since the 6th century, where an icon of the Mother of God that was brought from Jerusalem in the 6th century and believed to have been painted by St. Luke, is venerated. After lunch, there was a visit to the piece of land where the Custody of the Holy Land intends to build a youth centre. After this, the journey continued to Maalula, a Christian town, where Aramaic, the language of Jesus, is still spoken and with a visit to the ancient monastery of St. Serge, with its fine icons and the great altar (of the 4th century), where the symbol of the table and the sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist are united.
After Maalula, the group returned to the capital to visit the Apostolic Nuncio who received them with great fraternal affection and warmth, although he had a cold. Afterwards, there was a visit to the sanctuary of the Conversion of St. Paul (the Memorial), where, as well as the memory-celebration of the grandiose mystery of divine grace, the Conversion of Saul, on the explicit request of Pope Paul VI, we work and pray for ecumenism, for the union of the churches of the Orient. After dinner, there was a visit to the sanctuary, where a small chapel is being built for the Year of Paul.
On 13th February, Holy Mass was celebrated in the early morning in the sanctuary of St. Anania, where we remember the welcome that the convert Saul received from the early Christian community of Damascus. At the end of the lunch, the Minister General went to Beirut, accompanied by Friar Ibrahim Sabbagh.
Friar Hanna Jallouf ofm
Friar Romualdo Fernandez ofm