Pope will arrive in a few days

Pope Francis will arrive in the Holy Land on Saturday, May 24, 2014 with a first stop in Jordan. There he will celebrate mass with the largest gathering of faithful, about forty thousand people. The following day, Sunday, May 25, he will continue on to Palestine, where mass will be celebrated in Bethlehem with ten thousand faithful, including many from Israel. On that evening, he will arrive in Israel, at Ben Gurion Airport and we will be able to welcome him in Hebrew.

By helicopter, he will be hurrying to Jerusalem to participate in the central event of this pilgrimage: the meeting before the empty tomb in the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulcher) with Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, surrounded by the heads of all Jerusalem’s Churches. There the two will underline the unity to which we as Christians are called. We are particularly called to pray for this meeting!

The following day, the Pope will have a full morning. He will visit in quick succession: the Haram al-Sharif and meet the Mufti of Jerusalem, the Western Wall, Mount Herzl, Yad VaShem, the Chief Rabbis, the President’s Residence, ending with a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

In the afternoon, he will briefly visit Patriarch Bartholomew on the Mount of Olives, and then make his way to Gethsemane for a time of prayer with the priests, men and women religious and seminarians. Finally, he will celebrate mass in the Cenacle, where the mass was instituted by Christ himself. He will celebrate together with the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land.

Welcome Holy Father but we want to say this visit is far too short. Please come and visit us again!

Visit the site of the Pope’s visit here