Father Gregor - Jubilee in Jaffa

In a crowded church, about 250 faithful, friends of Father Gregor, priests, men and women religious and representatives of the various groups that pray at St Peter's in Jaffa (Hebrew-speakers, Polish speakers, Spanish speakers, Filipinos and other English speakers) gathered to celebrate the feast of the two primary apostles and to render homage to Father Gregor. The mass was celebrated in Polish and in Hebrew with prayers and readings in English and Spanish too. The mass was animated by a chior made up of members of the different Hebrew-speaking communities.

Father Gregor celebrated the mass, surrounded by about 25 priests, led by the Custos of the Holy Land and Vicar for the Hebrew-speaking Catholic communities, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM. In his homily, Father Pierbattista spoke of the faith of Peter and likened Father Gregor to the apostle. "You too, Father Gregor, had nothing. You had no church, no official recognition, no title and no status, and yet you built up a community. Here, gathered today, is the evidence of your faith that has radiated and attracted so many."

The homily was followed by the prayers of the faithful and a procession with the gifts in which representatives of all the diverse communities at Saint Peter's participated. The mass solemnly continued and communion was distributed by Father Gregor and the other priests

H.B. the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mgr. Fouad Twal, sent a letter which was read out at the end of the mass in French and in Hebrew. The Patriarch wrote:

"Dear Father Gregor,

You celebrate this year 50 years of priestly ministry and you give thanks to God for all his blessings during the Eucharist on June 28 in Tel Aviv - Jaffa.

You arrived in Israel in 1970, sensing that "your place was here, in the midst of the Jewish people". You perceived a call to work among the Christians living in Israel. You settled in Jaffa, and you put yourself immediately at the service of the Polish Catholic community and then the service of the Hebrew-speaking community. For the past 38 years, you neither measured the effort nor the kilometers undertaken in order to teach the children, encourage the Christian faithful and visit the sick.

Dear Father Gregor, in the name of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all these years spent in the service of the faithful who were confided to you and for your pastoral solicitude and for the love you have shown them. I join myself to the prayer at your thanksgiving mass. May the Lord grant you many more years, may he bless you and keep you.

+ Fouad Twal, Patriarch"

At the end of the mass, Gregor spoke to the assembled crowd in Hebrew and in Polish. He evoked his mother, who had perished in the Shoah, and explained that he is both a proud Pole and a faithful son of Israel. He then thanked the many people who had supported him, naming many of the great founders of the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community, especially the beloved and sorely missed pastor of Tel Aviv - Jaffa, Father Alfred Delmée. He also thanked in a special way the Franciscans who are responsible for St Peter's Church where he has worked for the past 38 years.

After the mass, the crowd of faithful was invited to a reception in the courtyard of the Franciscan monastery, beautifully organized by the Franciscan superior, Father Narcyz Klimas OFM.

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