Coming from Jerusalem and the entire Holy Land, the Franciscans gathered on Thursday, October 3rd, to celebrate the feast of their patron saint, Francis of Assisi.
In Saint Saviour Church the Custos presided over First Vespers. The procession reached the altar that was encircled by Franciscans ready to celebrate the office. In his homily, the Custos exhorted each of them to live “Saint Paul’s experience with Christ”. He recalled that with the Father and the Son the Christian is “a new man” if he allows Christ to live in him because he is “the light” that guides us out of darkness to a new world.
After the friars in temporary vows had renewed those vows, the reading of the Transitus, Francis’ passage into the arms of Sister Death, took place. The final benediction was followed by an opportunity for the large assembly to venerate the relics of Saint Francis.
On Friday the 4th of October the church was filled as a procession of seventy priests entered for Mass. Consecrated persons from every congregation, as well as pilgrims and the local faithful, were also present in large numbers to celebrate the memory of the “Poverello”. In the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio and the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and according to tradition, the Custos and his Vicar stood aside for the Dominican superior of St. Stephen’s Monastery, Fra Guy Tardivy, to preside over the Mass. Similarly, another Dominican, Fra Dominique Marie Cabaret, gave the homily. Recalling the suffering of the saint from Assisi, he exhorted the faithful to “be united with Christ”. “It is Christ who lives in me,” he said. In the same way, the re-creation, the new life, must pass through a complete “abandonment” of oneself to the one who was “crucified for the world”, resurrected for us. Francis of Assisi, leaving the comfortable life of his social standing, abandoned everything to follow Christ and be re-created in him through denuding himself, through self-abnegation, but also the suffering, “the stigmata received at the end of his life”. Nevertheless, recalled Father Cabaret, Francis is also the “saint of joy”: in Christ, man finds joy. The assembly was exhorted to be inspired by the saint and to follow in the footsteps of Christ.
Concluding the celebration, the Custos thanked all those assembled, notably the four consuls general of the Latin nations: Italy, France, Spain and Belgium, for their participation and their friendship. He also did not forget all the religious orders and the various communities of the large Franciscan fraternity, or the Dominicans, whom he thanked with good humor.
Refreshments were then served on the Custody grounds, followed by a communal meal that brought together the consuls and representatives of the different Catholic congregations of the Holy Land.
The prayers were also the occasion to pray for Pope Francis, the first pope to choose the patronage of the saint from Assisi, where the Holy Father, in fact, chose to spend the day. The prayer also included everyone named Francis.
S.C.
In Saint Saviour Church the Custos presided over First Vespers. The procession reached the altar that was encircled by Franciscans ready to celebrate the office. In his homily, the Custos exhorted each of them to live “Saint Paul’s experience with Christ”. He recalled that with the Father and the Son the Christian is “a new man” if he allows Christ to live in him because he is “the light” that guides us out of darkness to a new world.
After the friars in temporary vows had renewed those vows, the reading of the Transitus, Francis’ passage into the arms of Sister Death, took place. The final benediction was followed by an opportunity for the large assembly to venerate the relics of Saint Francis.
On Friday the 4th of October the church was filled as a procession of seventy priests entered for Mass. Consecrated persons from every congregation, as well as pilgrims and the local faithful, were also present in large numbers to celebrate the memory of the “Poverello”. In the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio and the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and according to tradition, the Custos and his Vicar stood aside for the Dominican superior of St. Stephen’s Monastery, Fra Guy Tardivy, to preside over the Mass. Similarly, another Dominican, Fra Dominique Marie Cabaret, gave the homily. Recalling the suffering of the saint from Assisi, he exhorted the faithful to “be united with Christ”. “It is Christ who lives in me,” he said. In the same way, the re-creation, the new life, must pass through a complete “abandonment” of oneself to the one who was “crucified for the world”, resurrected for us. Francis of Assisi, leaving the comfortable life of his social standing, abandoned everything to follow Christ and be re-created in him through denuding himself, through self-abnegation, but also the suffering, “the stigmata received at the end of his life”. Nevertheless, recalled Father Cabaret, Francis is also the “saint of joy”: in Christ, man finds joy. The assembly was exhorted to be inspired by the saint and to follow in the footsteps of Christ.
Concluding the celebration, the Custos thanked all those assembled, notably the four consuls general of the Latin nations: Italy, France, Spain and Belgium, for their participation and their friendship. He also did not forget all the religious orders and the various communities of the large Franciscan fraternity, or the Dominicans, whom he thanked with good humor.
Refreshments were then served on the Custody grounds, followed by a communal meal that brought together the consuls and representatives of the different Catholic congregations of the Holy Land.
The prayers were also the occasion to pray for Pope Francis, the first pope to choose the patronage of the saint from Assisi, where the Holy Father, in fact, chose to spend the day. The prayer also included everyone named Francis.
S.C.