Sunday, 31st May, the end of the month of May, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was celebrated with a solemn procession.
Throughout the month, every evening the parish church of St. Anthony was filled with worshippers of all the Christian rites and denominations: Orthodox, Melkite, Maronite, Copt, Lutheran, Latin and Armenian. The Virgin Mary, as all over the world, is for the Oriental Christians a very strong pole of attraction. The old Franciscan parish priests used to say that Christianity in the Holy Land was saved by the devotion of the faithful for the Cross, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.
On the initiative of the parish priest, Fr. Toufic Bou Merhi, this year the route of the traditional Marian procession for the end of May went from the Latin Catholic church of St. Anthony of Padua to the Greek Orthodox church of St. George. The parish priests of the different Oriental rites attended the Holy Mass celebrated in the Latin church.
The procession got off to a start following the Oriental tradition: the cross, the icon of the Virgin Mary carried by youngsters, the people and the clergy. For the occasion, the police closed off a stretch of Yephet Street. The Jaffa faithful accompanied the icon constantly singing Marian hymns. On their arrival in the courtyard of the Orthodox church, the people waited along the path to make room and let the clergy pass. With spontaneous applause, the faithful showed their joy and faith as the clergy moved forward and passed under the image of the Virgin Mary raised by the youngsters to receive its blessing. Fireworks then expressed to all those present this joy experienced in brotherhood. It was truly moving.
In the church of St. George, the Orthodox parish priest, Abuna Costantin, welcomed the faithful of all the rites, recalling that devotion to the Virgin Mary, so deeply rooted in the Orient, must lead us to practise charity which is the virtue that helps us reach true unity. As a Byzantine hymn, deeply felt by the Oriental soul, was being sung, the parish priest incensed the icon and blessed the people. Everybody was greatly moved. An elderly teacher of the Terra Sancta school, with tears in his eyes, said: “This is a historic event for Jaffa. This is the first time that this has taken place, before it would have been unimaginable. Today we all feel united, all brothers, all Christians. We feel that we are truly equal.”
Fr. Arturo Vasaturo ofm
Throughout the month, every evening the parish church of St. Anthony was filled with worshippers of all the Christian rites and denominations: Orthodox, Melkite, Maronite, Copt, Lutheran, Latin and Armenian. The Virgin Mary, as all over the world, is for the Oriental Christians a very strong pole of attraction. The old Franciscan parish priests used to say that Christianity in the Holy Land was saved by the devotion of the faithful for the Cross, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.
On the initiative of the parish priest, Fr. Toufic Bou Merhi, this year the route of the traditional Marian procession for the end of May went from the Latin Catholic church of St. Anthony of Padua to the Greek Orthodox church of St. George. The parish priests of the different Oriental rites attended the Holy Mass celebrated in the Latin church.
The procession got off to a start following the Oriental tradition: the cross, the icon of the Virgin Mary carried by youngsters, the people and the clergy. For the occasion, the police closed off a stretch of Yephet Street. The Jaffa faithful accompanied the icon constantly singing Marian hymns. On their arrival in the courtyard of the Orthodox church, the people waited along the path to make room and let the clergy pass. With spontaneous applause, the faithful showed their joy and faith as the clergy moved forward and passed under the image of the Virgin Mary raised by the youngsters to receive its blessing. Fireworks then expressed to all those present this joy experienced in brotherhood. It was truly moving.
In the church of St. George, the Orthodox parish priest, Abuna Costantin, welcomed the faithful of all the rites, recalling that devotion to the Virgin Mary, so deeply rooted in the Orient, must lead us to practise charity which is the virtue that helps us reach true unity. As a Byzantine hymn, deeply felt by the Oriental soul, was being sung, the parish priest incensed the icon and blessed the people. Everybody was greatly moved. An elderly teacher of the Terra Sancta school, with tears in his eyes, said: “This is a historic event for Jaffa. This is the first time that this has taken place, before it would have been unimaginable. Today we all feel united, all brothers, all Christians. We feel that we are truly equal.”
Fr. Arturo Vasaturo ofm