Feast of Communities: Yom HaKehilot- Sukkot

The Feast began at 10:00 with registration and a warm welcome. At 11:00, Fr. Piotr Zelazko presided over the Mass, concelebrated by seven other priests from the parishes and communities that comprise the Vicariate. During his homily, Fr. Piotr reminded us of the fruits blessed on the Feast of Sukkot and how we can relate to them. He said, "As a Vicariate, we might be a small part of the Church, but we have so many reasons to thank the Lord for each and everyone who gathers, like the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palms, and boughs of leafy trees and valley willows, making together this beautiful basket of fruits, flowers, and leaves." (Read the full homily here).

Among the various reasons to celebrate was the Sacrament of Confirmation conferred during the Mass upon Eyal Jerome and Tomer Itiel Jerome, adult and active members of the Haifa community. They chose the name Jerome in honor of St. Jerome, an important Saint of the Church who translated the Bible into Latin in the 4th century A.C.

We were truly blessed to have people from each community participating in readings, singing, playing musical instruments, and serving at the altar during the Eucharistic celebration. We witnessed the generosity of each individual as they brought and shared food and drink around 12:30.

After 14:00, three different activities were organized: a walk on Jerusalem's ramparts, a virtual tour of the Holy Sepulcher at the Christian Information Center, and a Neapolitan bingo game called Tombola. Each person chose one activity to participate in.

Around 16:00, we all gathered to listen to the experiences of our Youth who had participated in the World Youth Day in Lisbon for seven days. They shared their challenges, discoveries, experiences of faith, and life, and above all, the witness of the 22 young men and women who represented the Vicariate and the Hebrew Speaking Catholics of Israel among thousands of young people from all over the world in Portugal, responding to Pope Francis' call.

The day concluded with the blessing from our Patriarchal Vicar, Father Piotr, and the singing of the Shmah Israel in Hebrew, with verses from the priestly blessing in English from the Book of Numbers.