A Jubilee event has been held for the religious in the Holy Land in Bethlehem, with the solemn celebration of the First Vespers of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord at the Temple, the Day of Consecrated Life. The prayer was presided over by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem,  Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, in St Catherine’s church, the Latin part of the Basilica of the Nativity.

Jubilee crosses in the Holy Land

On this occasion, the Jubilee Cross , a symbol of the  Jubilee 2025,made its solemn entry in the Basilica, which is a “Jubilee site” according to the Pope’s wishes. The cross, made by the Spanish artist Maria Ruiz, was carried in procession along the nave of the basilica and then placed next to the altar and incensed. AS the Patriarch recalled, there is another cross in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth and another one will soon be on display in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, both of which are Jubilee sites, together with Bethlehem. 

The religious: witness of hope and consolation 

The Vespers took place according to the usual rite, with the recital of hymns and psalms in different languages. In his homily, the Patriarch emphasized the importance of the presence of the religious in the Holy Land and their fundamental role in keeping eh local Christian community alive. 

“The religious is not immersed in daily chores like the crowds at the temple described in the Gospel according to Luke 2: 22-40). On the contrary, like the two old men, immersed in prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit, he is capable of seeing the passage of consolation in our midst and points it out to us, thus becoming in turn a consoler.”

Continuing his reflection,  the Patriarch wanted to recall leniency as a distinctive characteristic of the religious. “Being lenient means giving a humble and simple testimony of the gift of self, expressing the desire for deep listening, accompanying the pain and suffering especially of the weakest,  being capable of forgiveness,  saying words of consolation which open up  horizons where everything seems without a way out. Being every day, in joy and in pain, an announcement of salvation received and given.”

Hope for peace

The celebration concluded with an invitation to pray for all the religious present. The entrance of the jubilee cross in the Basilica of Bethlehem, on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, was  a call to hope, the theme of this Holy Year. In  situation marked by conflict, this tangible sign of the Jubilee invites everyone not to lose hope for peace in the Holy Land.