New charity to support Christians in Holy Land

Mount of the Beatitudes

Friends of the Holy Land, a new Charity set up to support Christians in the Holy Land, is being launched this weekend, 14-15 November in the two Archdioceses of Birmingham and Liverpool.

On Saturday, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, will be visiting Birmingham and concelebrating Mass at 1.30pm in St Chad's Cathedral with Bishop Philip Pargeter.

On Sunday he will be concelebrating Mass at 3pm in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool with The Most Reverend Patrick Kelly, the Archbishop of Liverpool.

Parish Priests of both Archdioceses have been invited to attend the Mass and a Reception afterwards. The Patriarch will be encouraging all Parishes in England & Wales to establish a Friends of the Holy Land Parish Group. Pilot groups have been successfully set up in both Dioceses in the last 12 months and received much support. The Patriarch said: "I ask you to encourage and support this initiative. We need your help more than ever".

National Chairman of Friends of the Holy Land, Dr Michael Whelan, said: "We are delighted and privileged to welcome the Latin Patriarch to launch the Friends of the Holy Land in these first two Dioceses. Our target is to have an FHL Group in every Parish in England and Wales within the next few years. There is a real need to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by the Christian Community in the Holy Land, to provide financial support to aid their wellbeing and to encourage prayers to be offered for their intentions".

Parishioners who would like to form a Friends of the Holy Land Group in their Parish should email: info@friendsoftheholyland.org.uk or contact the National Centre in Kenilworth, Warwickshire on 01926 512980.

The Friends of the Holy Land (FHL) is a registered charity and assists the Christian Community in the Holy Land, working in close cooperation with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The objectives are to raise awareness of the difficulties experienced by the Christian Community in the Holy Land, to encourage and to provide for prayers to be offered for their intentions and to create financial support to aid their well-being. Financial support is provided to Parishes and Schools and families within the Christian Community to enable them to live a fruitful and rewarding life in their homeland. This is carried out through funding for Parish activities, assistance to Schools, financing small self-help projects in the community and providing humanitarian aid to the needy.

This is all achieved with the backing and blessing of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales. The FHL is a non-political organisation.

For more details see: www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk