Saint Rachel Center children visit Mount Zion


Preparing for the Feast of Pentecost in the Church, 43 children from the Saint Rachel Center made a pilgrimage to Mount Zion on Thursday, June 1, 2017.

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The Shavuot (Jewish Pentecost)) vacation from school provided the opportunity for the children who attend the Saint Rachel Center in Jerusalem to visit Mount Zion as preparation for Pentecost in the Church. The children set off with Sister Claudia, Father Rafic and Father David and walked through Yemin Moshe to Mount Zion. The first stop was the Cenaculum, the room of the Last Supper. Father David explained to the children that this building is very important as it is composed of three floors and each one represents a chapter in the history of salvation: the first floor – the tomb of King David, the second floor – the room of the last supper of Jesus with his disciples where he gave them his body and blood, the third floor – the upper room where the disciples received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The children then prayed, reciting the Our Father.

The second stop was the Church of the Dormition. In the large church, Father David explained the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Church after Jesus’s ascension to heaven. The children prayed here, reciting the Hail Mary. They then descended into the crypt and contemplated the statue of Mary who has fallen asleep and the mural of the Pentecost event as the disciples receive the Holy Spirit.

The Benedictine monks welcomed the children into their visitor’s salon and had prepared drinks for the children. After that, the children went off and found a place in the shadow of the Old City walls to eat the picnic lunch they had brought with them. The trip ended at the water fountains next to Jaffa Gate where the children played in the water alongside many other Jerusalemite children.

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