Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, gives the final blessing with the relic of the holy cross at the end of the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Mar 25, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).
On Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, Christians participated in the traditional procession marking the beginning of Holy Week with palm and olive branches — one of the most significant events for the Christian community in the Holy Land. The route follows the same path that Jesus took on the back of a donkey when he went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
The procession departed from Bethphage on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives. The faithful then ascended the Mount of Olives, walked along the ridge — enjoying one of the most beautiful panoramas of Jerusalem — and then descended on the western side, passing by the sanctuaries of Dominus Flevit (where Jesus wept over Jerusalem) and Gethsemane, where Jesus experienced the most painful hours of his passion. From there, the procession entered the city through the Lion’s Gate and stopped at the Basilica of St. Anne.
A group of participants in the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024, walk along the ridge of the Mount of Olives. From here, you can enjoy one of the most beautiful panoramas of Jerusalem. Credit: Marinella Bandini
About 3,000 people were present — a much smaller number than usual. Due to the ongoing war, there were few pilgrims. Christians from the Palestinian Territories obtained 2,000 permits for the day, but with such short notice many were unable to reach the Holy City. However, several faithful arrived from Tel Aviv and the Galilee.
Faced with such significant absences, those present not only responded with closeness in prayer but also with a message of joy, defying the rain-laden clouds looming over the Holy City. And so, as in past years, the various communities present enlivened the procession with music, songs, and dances along the route, expressing praise to God and the joy of being Christians.
Franciscan friars from the Custody of the Holy Land play music and sing during the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. The various communities present enlivened the procession with music, songs, and dances along the route, expressing praise to God and the joy of being Christians. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Along the road and from the balconies, several families and children from the Muslim neighborhoods observed the event. A small group of children offered water to passersby from the top of one of the inclines. As he entered the Lion’s Gate, the patriarch was greeted with showers of rice and small treats such as chocolates and candies.
The Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem, on March 24, 2024, enters Jerusalem through the Lion’s Gate. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“Even though we are few, it is important that there has been this triumphant entry. We have many problems, but we are truly happy that Jesus is our Lord! He is our joy and our strength,” said the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who led the procession.
Also present were the custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, and Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, the apostolic nuncio in Israel and apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine.
The patriarch wanted to particularly remember the small community in Gaza, “very dear to all of us,” for which he expressed words of great admiration. Also present at the procession was Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Gaza who has had to remain in Jerusalem, who was visibly moved.
“We will never abandon you,” said the patriarch to the Christians of Gaza, “and we will do everything we can to support you. I know that this night seems endless, but do not be afraid, even this night will end, and the dawn of the third day will come for you and for all.”
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land (on Pizzaballa’s right), walk together in the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. As per tradition, the religious authorities close the procession. Credit: Marinella Bandini
In bidding farewell to those present as Holy Week began, the cardinal said: “Let us renew our commitment to follow Jesus and let us not be afraid! Jesus on the cross is the victory over the world, not the victory of arms, but that of love.”
The procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem was preceded on Sunday morning by the solemn Palm Sunday liturgy at the Holy Sepulcher, presided over by Pizzaballa. The Mass commenced with the Palm procession, during which celebrants and faithful waved palm branches and chanted “Hosanna,” circling the edicule of the Holy Sepulcher (the small shrine that houses the tomb of Jesus Christ) three times to symbolize the three days Jesus spent in the tomb. The Eucharistic celebration took place at the altar of Mary Magdalene because the space in front of the edicule was reserved for the Greek Orthodox, who were observing the first Sunday of Lent, known as the “Sunday of Orthodoxy.”
On Sunday morning, March 24, 2024, the solemn Palm Sunday liturgy was held at the Holy Sepulcher, presided over by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. The Eucharistic celebration took place at the altar of Mary Magdalene. Credit: Marinella Bandini
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Aboard the papal plane, Mar 8, 2021 / 08:10 am (CNA).- Pope Francis on Monday confirmed that he planned to visit Hungary for the closing Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place Sept. 12 in Budapest’s Heroes’ Sq… […]
Seminarians at Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Nigeria’s Kaduna state where four students were kidnapped and one, Michael Nnadi, was killed in 2020. / Credit: Good Shepherd Major Seminary Kaduna/ Facebook
ACI Africa, Jan 26, 2024 / 11:40 am (CNA).
Last year, 2023, was a difficult year for Brother Peter Olarewaju, a postulant at the Benedictine monastery in Nigeria’s Ilorin Diocese who was kidnapped alongside two others at the monastery. Olarewaju underwent different kinds of torture and witnessed the murder of his companion, Brother Godwin Eze.
After his release, Olarewaju said his kidnapping was a blessing, as it had strengthened his faith. He even said that he is now prepared to die for his faith.
“I am prepared to die a martyr in this dangerous country. I am ready any moment to die for Jesus. I feel this very strongly,” Olarewaju said in an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on Nov. 26, 2023, days after he was set free by suspected Fulani kidnappers.
The late Brother Godwin Eze who was kidnapped from the Benedictine monastery in Nigeria’s Ilorin Diocese and murdered by his kidnappers in October 2023. Credit: Benedictine monastery, Eruku
The monk’s testimony is not an isolated case in Nigeria, where kidnapping from seminaries, monasteries, and other places of religious formation has been on the rise. While some victims of the kidnappings have been killed, those who survived the ordeal have shared that they have come back stronger — and ready to die for their faith.
Seminarian Melchior Maharini, a Tanzanian who was kidnapped alongside a priest from the Missionaries of Africa community in the Diocese of Minna in August 2023, said the suffering he endured during the three weeks he was held captive strengthened his faith. “I felt my faith grow stronger. I accepted my situation and surrendered everything to God,” he told ACI Africa on Sept. 1, 2023.
Father Paul Sanogo (left) and Seminarian Melchior Maharini (right) were kidnapped from their community of Missionaries of Africa in Nigeria’s Diocese of Minna. Credit: Vatican Media
Many other seminarians in Nigeria have been kidnapped by Boko Haram militants, Fulani herdsmen, and other bandit groups operating in Africa’s most populous nation.
In August 2023, seminarian David Igba told ACI Africa that he stared death in the face when a car in which he was traveling on his way to the market in Makurdi was sprayed with bullets by Fulani herdsmen.
Seminarian Na’aman Danlami died when the Fulanis attacked St. Raphael Fadan Kamantan Parish on the night of Sept. 7, 2023. Credit: Photo courtesy of Aid to the Church in Need
In September 2023, seminarian Na’aman Danlami was burned alive in a botched kidnapping incident in the Diocese of Kafanchan. A few days earlier, another seminarian, Ezekiel Nuhu, from the Archdiocese of Abuja, who had gone to spend his holidays in Southern Kaduna, was kidnapped.
Two years prior, in October 2021, Christ the King Major Seminary of Kafanchan Diocese was attacked and three seminarians were kidnapped.
Seminarian David Igba during a pastoral visit at Scared Heart Udei of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi. Credit: David Igba
In one attack that attracted global condemnation in 2020, seminarian Michael Nnadi was brutally murdered after he was kidnapped alongside three others from Good Shepherd Major Seminary in the Diocese of Kaduna. Those behind the kidnapping confessed that they killed Nnadi because he would not stop preaching to them, fearlessly calling them to conversion.
After Nnadi’s murder, his companions who survived the kidnapping proceeded to St. Augustine Major Seminary in Jos in Nigeria’s Plateau state, where they courageously continued with their formation.
The tomb of seminarian Michael Nnadi, who was brutally murdered after he was kidnapped alongside three others from the Good Shepherd Major Seminary in the Catholic Diocese of Kaduna in 2020. Credit: Father Samuel Kanta Sakaba, rector of a Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna
As Christian persecution rages in Nigeria, seminary instructors in the country have shared with ACI Africa that there is an emerging spirituality in Nigerian seminaries that many may find difficult to grasp: the spirituality of martyrdom.
They say that in Nigeria, those who embark on priestly formation are continuously being made to understand that their calling now entails being ready to defend the faith to the point of death. More than ever before, the seminarians are being reminded that they should be ready to face persecution, including the possibility of being kidnapped and even killed.
Father Peter Hassan, rector of St. Augustine Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Jos, Plateau state, said that seminaries, just like the wider Nigerian society, have come to terms with “the imminence of death” for being Christian.
Father Peter Hassan, rector of St. Augustine Major Seminary in Jos, Nigeria, walks with an unnamed companion. Credit: Father Peter Hassan
“Nigerian Christians have been victims of violence of apocalyptic proportions for nearly half a century. I can say that we have learned to accept the reality of imminent death,” Hassan said in a Jan. 12 interview with ACI Africa.
He added: “Nevertheless, it is quite inspiring and comforting to see the many young men who are still ready to embrace a life that will certainly turn them into critically endangered species. Yet these same young men are willing to preach the gospel of peace and embrace the culture of dialogue for peaceful coexistence.”
Shortly after Nnadi’s kidnapping and killing, St. Augustine Major Seminary opened its doors to the three seminarians who survived the kidnapping.
Hassan told ACI Africa that the presence of the three former students of Good Shepherd Major Seminary was “a blessing” to the community of St. Augustine Major Seminary.
“Their presence in our seminary was a blessing to our seminarians, a wake-up call to the grim reality that not even the very young are spared by those mindless murderers,” Hassan said.
Back at Good Shepherd, seminarians have remained resilient, enrolling in large numbers even after the 2020 kidnapping and Nnadi’s murder.
Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna, Nigeria. Credit: Father Samuel Kanta Sakaba, rector of a Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna
In an interview with ACI Africa, Father Samuel Kanta Sakaba, the rector of Good Shepherd Major Seminary, said that instructors at the Catholic institution, which has a current enrollment of 265 seminarians, make it clear that being a priest in Nigeria presents the seminarians with the danger of being kidnapped or killed.
ACI Africa asked Sakaba whether or not the instructors discuss with the seminarians the risks they face, including that of being kidnapped, or even killed, to which the priest responded: “Yes, as formators, we have the duty to take our seminarians through practical experiences — both academic, spiritual, and physical experiences. We share this reality of persecution with them, but for them to understand, we connect the reality of Christian persecution in Nigeria to the experiences of Jesus. This way, we feel that it would be easier for them to not only have the strength to face what they are facing but to also see meaning in their suffering.”
“Suffering is only meaningful if it is linked with the pain of Jesus,” the priest said. “The prophet Isaiah reminds us that ‘by his wounds, we are healed.’ Jesus also teaches us that unless the grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it will remain a single grain, but that it is only when it falls and dies that it yields a rich harvest. Teachings such as these are the ones that deepen our resilience in the face of persecution.”
Seminarians and their instructors at St. Augustine Major Seminary in Jos, Nigeria. Credit: Father Peter Hassan
Sakaba spoke of the joy of those who look forward to “going back to God in a holy way.”
“Whatever happens, we will all go back to God. How joyful it is to go back to God in a holy way, in a way of sacrifice.” he said. “This holiness is accepting this cross, this pain. Jesus accepted the pain of Calvary, and that led him to his resurrection. Persecution purifies the individual for them to become the finished product for God. I believe that these attacks are God’s project, and no human being can stop God’s work.”
However, the rector clarified that those who enroll at the seminary do not go out seeking danger.
“People here don’t go out putting themselves in situations of risk,” he said. “But when situations such as these happen, the teachings of Jesus and his persecution give us courage to face whatever may come our way.”
Sakaba said that although priestly formation in Nigeria is embracing the “spirituality of martyrdom,” persecution in the West African country presents “a difficult reality.”
“It is difficult to get used to pain. It is difficult to get used to the issues of death … to get familiar with death,” he said. “No one chooses to go into danger just because other people are suffering; it is not part of our nature. But in a situation where you seem not to have an alternative, the grace of God kicks in to strengthen you to face the particular situation.”
Sakaba said that since the 2020 attack at Good Shepherd Major Seminary, the institution has had an air of uncertainty. He said that some of the kidnappers who were arrested in the incident have been released, a situation he said has plunged the major seminary into “fear of the unknown.”
“It hasn’t been easy for us since the release,” Sabaka told ACI Africa. “The community was thrown into confusion because of the unknown. We don’t know what will happen next. We don’t know when they will come next or what they will do to us. We don’t know who will be taken next.”
Seminarians at St. Augustine Major Seminary in Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria, during a Marian procession. Credit: Father Peter Hassan
In the face of that, however, Sabaka said the resilience of the seminary community has been admirable. “God has been supporting, encouraging, and leading us. His grace assisted us to continue to practice our faith,” he said.
The jihadist attacks, which continue unabated in communities surrounding the seminary, do not make the situation easier.
Church at the Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna, Nigeria. Credit: Father Samuel Kanta Sakaba, rector of Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna
“Every attack that happens outside our community reminds us of our own 2020 experience. We are shocked, and although we remain deeply wounded, we believe that God has been leading us,” he said.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
Joy was in my heart when I heard them sing: “Lets go to God’s House”.
This, in spite of the fact that for all intents and purposes the Nativity was canceled in the Holy land including Bethlehem. 🤔