Israel: Hebrew-speaking Catholics celebrate 60th anniversary of St James Society

Hebrew-speaking Catholics from all four corners of Israel, met at Notre Dame Monastery of the Ark of Covenant, on the hills of Abu Gosh, for a Thanksgiving Mass celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Foundation of St James on Saturday. There was an atmosphere of joy and delight as the communities came by bus from Jaffa, Jerusalem, Beer Sheva, Haifa, and Tiberias, to show their gratitude.

Singing in Hebrew, the celebration was led by the Apostolic Nuncio in Israel and Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine, Mgr Giuseppe Lazzarotto. He was aided by His Excellency Mgr Marcuzzo, Patriarchal Vicar for Israel, Mgr Kamal Hanna Bathish, Emeritus Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem, as well as by Fr David Neuhaus, Patriarchal Vicar for Hebrew-speaking Catholics of the Holy Land.

The Mass started with a reading of Pope Francis's wishes, conveyed by Cardinal Parolin. The Pope sent his prayers to members of St James Vicariate, so that they "will be renewed in your happy witness of the Bible, "not only by words but first and foremost by lives transfigured by the presence of Christ" (Evangelii Gaudium, 259). Thus not only the community of the Vicariate will be strengthened, but will perhaps become a tool of dialogue and more effective peace within the society, serving as a sign of Christ's love for the more needy".

In his homily the Nuncio sent a strong greeting to this "solid community", able to stand in the face of challenges surrounding the Church of the Holy Land. He urged the kehillot to serve as bridges between Jews and Christians, repeating the call to "Disciples of Christ - whether Hebrew-speaking or Arabic-speaking to show that justice, peace and reality are still possible in our country", as Fr Neuhaus wrote in his Pastoral Letter.

At the conclusion of the Mass, a film produced by Christian Media Center was shown: it sketches the history of the birth and development of St James Society, then of St James Vicariate within the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

St James Society was founded in 1954 after the creation of the State of Israel: Christians lived then within a Jewish majority, something which had never happened since the early stages of Christianity. From there on, Christians living within a Jewish sphere (Christians members of Jewish families, "rightful among the nations" ... started to gather to celebrate Mass altogether. The St James Society is dedicated to developing Catholic communities, to work for the full integration of Jews becoming Catholics in the Church and inside the Israeli society, to motivate the Church back to its ancient Jewish roots and to fight anti-Semitism under all its aspects.

Kehillot stand also for a center of learning for Christian children from families who have immigrated from Asia, Africa or South America, who follow catechism in Hebrew. A group of kehilla children of Jerusalem put on a performance at the end of the great feast day for St James Vicariate and the Church of the Holy Land.

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