As part of this year’s Holy Land Co-ordination, a group of bishops and representatives from Catholic organisations visited the St James Vicariate in Jerusalem.
The St James Vicariate serves seven communities of Hebrew-speaking Catholics across Israel, as well as a small community of Russian-speaking Catholics.
Speaking to the delegation, Fr Piotr Zelazko, Patriarchal Vicar of the St James Vicariate, said:
“We are part of this society, but also as Catholics, we are part of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and so we are an integral part of the local Catholic Church here.”
Fr Zelasko described the unique nature of this community as the only place in the world where the Catholic faith is expressed in the Hebrew language. The community also has a significant migrant population, and the Vicariate works particularly with the children of migrants who have been born there.
Focusing their work on young people is one way in which the Vicariate seeks to build a culture of respect, dialogue and encounter between communities.
Fr Zelasko explained:
“We are trying to bring together Catholics who speak Arabic and Hebrew, especially the young generations, the kids. We have a beautiful project of a choir, Kids United, with the children from Ramla; they are Arabic-speaking and our kids from Tel Aviv are Hebrew-speaking. It’s not easy, but hearing the same songs and prayers in Arabic and in Hebrew in these difficult times is very, very beautiful, and we will continue to do this.
“We will try to be this bridge on one hand between Jewish people and Catholics, between Catholic Church and modern society in Israel. On the other hand, we want to be the bridge between Hebrew-speaking and Arabic-speaking Catholics here inside the Latin Patriarchate.”
A recurring theme during the Holy Land Co-ordination visit this year was the sense from some communities that they have been forgotten.
Fr Zelasko said:
“I am very grateful to the Holy Land Co-ordination for this visit here because there are not many people in the world who know that we exist. Your visit here is a great opportunity to raise awareness that the Church also speaks Hebrew.”
Just as His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was to do the following day of the visit, Fr Zelasko extended an invitation to all people to return to the Holy Land.
He said:
“This is our mission. Visit us, learn about us, stay with us, and absolutely not only visit us on our web page, but come here to Israel and meet us, see the prayer and learn the songs in Hebrew and meet these people here. Meet us and be welcome in the Holy Land.”
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Find out more about the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community of the St James Vicariate by visiting its official website.
