Religious education for Filipino children

On Saturday, March 6, 2010, for the first time, Father David, the Vicar of the Hebrew-Speaking community in Israel and responsible for the community in Jaffa, went to the Divine Mercy Chapel in the area of the central bus station in Tel Aviv in order to meet with a group of Filipino children and to give them religion lessons. He was received by Father Ric Hernando, Salesian priest responsible for the community and his team. About 25 children, between the ages of 5 and 12, gathered there with some parents too. We hope that we will meet regularly in order to integrate the new generation into the life of the Church.

There are about 35000 Filipinos in Israel and they work within the Jewish, Hebrew speaking society. Almost all the children who came to the lesson were born in Israel and study in Jewish Hebrew speaking schools (most of them in one school, Bialik Rogozin, in the area of the central bus station). The children are completely Hebrew speaking and need religion lessons in Hebrew just as they learn the other subjects in Hebrew.

Pastoral work with the Filipinos in Israel is in the hands of a small group of priests (most of them Filipinos too) – Franciscans, Salesians and Passionists – who do not speak Hebrew and have difficulties communicating with the new generation that was born in Israel. We hope to be able to develop this collaboration.