The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, together with friends and faithful, gathered around the family of Shibly Abu Sada for the last farewell to one of the long-term collaborators of the Custody. Shibli was “a gift from the Lord and a special person,”, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton, said who on 15 October, presided over his funeral in St James’ church in Beit Hanina (Jerusalem).
The Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Greek Catholic bishop, Monsignor Yasser Hayash, many friars and collaborators of the Custody, several priests of both the Latin and Melkite rites, were present. The celebration, which according to the local rite, was held with the coffin open, was a moment of intense prayer, grief embraced by song.
God and the friars
Shibly, who would have been 59 at the end of October, had arrived at St Saviour’s when he was only five and was taken into the friars’ orphanage. The director, Fra Sante Nuccio, was like a second father for him. He was the one who encouraged him to form a family, and he supported him by giving him a small apartment of the Custody. “My heart is full of gratitude,” said Shibly in an interview five years ago to TV2000. “I am grateful to the friars, in the first place because they introduced me to God and then because without them, nobody would have taken care of me.”
Shibly’s gratitude to the Franciscans led him to serve the Custody of the Holy Land with all his strength, carrying out various duties: in the kitchen, in the postal service and in recent years as the chauffeur of the Custos. Above all however, for over 25 years he was one of the kawas, a sort of “escort” of the Custos of the Holy Land, with the task of opening up the way during processions. As well as their characteristic uniform, a heritage from Ottoman times, the kawas have a stick which they beat on the ground to announce the passage of an important person. This made Shibly proud, because “this way we make people see and hear that there are still Christians in this land.”
He loved his work, he loved the friars, he loved the Church
Shibly “was able to live his whole life with faith and with gratitude,” said the Custos in his homily . “I myself, if this evening I can celebrate for him, it is because he taught me how to celebrate Mass in Arabic. When he took me from one place to another,” is one of the memories that the Custos shared, “I would try to read the parts of the Mass and he would patiently correct my pronunciation.”
“He loved his work, he loved the friars, he loved the Church,” is how the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa remembers him, having known Shibly when he was a young friar and had him at his service when he was Custos. “He was always willing, he was cheerful and he was a man of prayer. It was easy to see him praying, he was always looking for a moment to pray. He really was a believer.”
The earthly pilgrimage is finished for Shibly, “With his kawas costume ,” the Custos concluded, “the Lord now accompanies him to the light of celestial Jerusalem. Now he can rejoice in heaven together with his dearest ones, he can intercede for his family and also for us, the friars of the Custody, and he can ask the Lord, for the Holy Land, the gift of peace.”
Marinella Bandini
