From 13 to 15 September, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton, took part in the eighth edition of the “Jerusalemite Days of Miechów”, in the Polish town of the same name. The purpose of these Days is to “pray for the Land of Jesus, to present the history and the current situation of the Holy Land, of the community that lives there, as well as the needs of the Catholic Church,” said the President of the Organizing Committee of this year’s celebrations, Stanisław Franciszek Osmenda. The initiatives include lectures, concerts, guided tours and liturgical celebrations. This year’s guests included the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Cardinal Fernado Filoni.
Miechów-Jerusalem
The “Days of Miechów” form an important connection between the Holy Land and Poland. The cultural event is organized every two years by the Polish section of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, which has its headquarters in Miechów (the first seat founded in Europe). In the cloister of the Basilica, there is a reproduction of the Holy Sepulchre dating back to the early 16th century, which for centuries has been a destination of pilgrimage for the faithful. Hence the nickname of the “Polish Jerusalem” given to Miechów. During the event, some students who took part in the competition for schools “Connections of the land of Miechów with Jerusalem.”
Living in the Holy Land
“Living in the Holy Land means living in a place which is in the news only when there are acts of violence. In actual fact, this place, which is so small on the globe, is that fragment of earth where our history changed, with the birth, the life, the passion, the death and the resurrection of Jesus,” said Fra Patton in his address, on Saturday 14 September. The Custos spoke of the Franciscan presence in the Holy Land and the work for the local population. He also stressed the particular context of tension in which the friars operate, marked by war, growing violence and a great economic crisis. “At the moment,” he exhorted, “it is the responsibility of all Christians to look after the Holy Land and the small Christian community that is left there.” The friars of the Custody, including many Poles, have been doing so since 1217. “Thank to your help and your solidarity, you make the continuity of this mission possible.”
Letting yourself be transformed by love
In his homily of the Pontifical Mass on Sunday 15 September, in Miechów, the Custos spoke if the transforming love of the Cross. “In the context of war and violence, anger and desire for vendetta we are living in, we must not let ourselves be overwhelmed by the temptation to look elsewhere; to flee from the dark times we are in. Rather, we must once again look up at the Crucifix which gives off the light of the greatest love, capable of taking on himself the sins and defeating death, capable of offering reconciliation at the price of the gift of the self.”
Marinella Bandini
