"You are surely the only person who has read the Acta Custodiæ in its entirety." Father Pierre Grech enjoys quoting this remark that was smilingly made him by the Custos of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa. He was also a devoted reader of Frati della Corda, he added.
Secretary-General of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, Secretary of the Conference of Latin Bishops for the Arab Regions, Secretary of the Pilgrimage Commission, Assistant-General of the Union of Women Religious, member of the Commission for Bilateral Discussions between the Holy See and the State of Israel: Father Pierre Grech has chosen to bring his Holy Land activities to an end after more than 30 years of service to the local Church. Having returned to the country twenty-one years ago, he was director of the patriarchal seminary at Beit Jala during the 1960s. He is leaving for Lourdes in France where, rejoining his brethren in the Betharram Fathers, he will be chaplain to a religious community.
The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, of which the Custos is a member, was in full attendance, along with the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Antonio Franco, to honor and thank him at Notre Dame Center on Monday, April 7, 2008.
The reception in honor of Father Grech was marked by emotion, but also by good humor on everyone’s part, much like Father Grech himself, who was unequaled in dedramatizing any situation and teaching people to take the long view. Thus, after the Nuncio decorated him with the "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice" cross, one of the highest distinctions awarded by the Pope, the Patriarch, Msgr. Michel Sabbah, quipped in his remarks of gratitude, "The gospel says: Jesus went about doing good; you have gone about doing good. Jesus went back to his Father; you are going back to Lourdes."
For his part, Msgr. Elias Chakour, who arrived with a large delegation of priests from the Galilee, said: "If you wanted an address, information about a congregation or a priest, about a certain bishop, you didn’t need to go to the Patriarch, but to Father Grech. You became a living encyclopedia of the Church. And when we spoke with you, we discovered that you are profoundly a man of God.” When Msgr. Chakour offered his best wishes to Father Grech’s successor, the Nuncio corrected him. Msgr Chakour, at the microphone, added: "See? The difficulties begin." The Nuncio said that there will be not one, but three successors.
In turn, Father Grech, greatly moved, thanked everyone present. "If the Church of Jerusalem should have one characteristic, that is to live the gospel together," a last invitation to unity issued by this Maltese, born in Egypt to an Italian mother, holding a British passport that he will exchange for a French one when he returns to the Betharram Fathers. Father Grech always wanted to be present to all and at the service of all. He did not like to be in the limelight, but always knew how to build bridges, to oil the wheels of the Church of the Holy Land.
The next day Father Grech breakfasted with the Franciscan community of Saint Saviour’s where, as a sign of friendship, the Father Custos bestowed on him the "Grato animo" medal.
With the departure of Father Grech, the Church of the Holy Land indisputably loses one of its most discreet and effective servants, and the Custody, a friend.
MAB
Secretary-General of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, Secretary of the Conference of Latin Bishops for the Arab Regions, Secretary of the Pilgrimage Commission, Assistant-General of the Union of Women Religious, member of the Commission for Bilateral Discussions between the Holy See and the State of Israel: Father Pierre Grech has chosen to bring his Holy Land activities to an end after more than 30 years of service to the local Church. Having returned to the country twenty-one years ago, he was director of the patriarchal seminary at Beit Jala during the 1960s. He is leaving for Lourdes in France where, rejoining his brethren in the Betharram Fathers, he will be chaplain to a religious community.
The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, of which the Custos is a member, was in full attendance, along with the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Antonio Franco, to honor and thank him at Notre Dame Center on Monday, April 7, 2008.
The reception in honor of Father Grech was marked by emotion, but also by good humor on everyone’s part, much like Father Grech himself, who was unequaled in dedramatizing any situation and teaching people to take the long view. Thus, after the Nuncio decorated him with the "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice" cross, one of the highest distinctions awarded by the Pope, the Patriarch, Msgr. Michel Sabbah, quipped in his remarks of gratitude, "The gospel says: Jesus went about doing good; you have gone about doing good. Jesus went back to his Father; you are going back to Lourdes."
For his part, Msgr. Elias Chakour, who arrived with a large delegation of priests from the Galilee, said: "If you wanted an address, information about a congregation or a priest, about a certain bishop, you didn’t need to go to the Patriarch, but to Father Grech. You became a living encyclopedia of the Church. And when we spoke with you, we discovered that you are profoundly a man of God.” When Msgr. Chakour offered his best wishes to Father Grech’s successor, the Nuncio corrected him. Msgr Chakour, at the microphone, added: "See? The difficulties begin." The Nuncio said that there will be not one, but three successors.
In turn, Father Grech, greatly moved, thanked everyone present. "If the Church of Jerusalem should have one characteristic, that is to live the gospel together," a last invitation to unity issued by this Maltese, born in Egypt to an Italian mother, holding a British passport that he will exchange for a French one when he returns to the Betharram Fathers. Father Grech always wanted to be present to all and at the service of all. He did not like to be in the limelight, but always knew how to build bridges, to oil the wheels of the Church of the Holy Land.
The next day Father Grech breakfasted with the Franciscan community of Saint Saviour’s where, as a sign of friendship, the Father Custos bestowed on him the "Grato animo" medal.
With the departure of Father Grech, the Church of the Holy Land indisputably loses one of its most discreet and effective servants, and the Custody, a friend.
MAB