Vatican to host historic Jordan exhibition on Christianity’s origins

Cairo, Egypt, Jan 13, 2018 / 04:02 pm (Aid to the Church in Need).- Marian Nabil Habib recently observed the first anniversary of what she refers to as “the martyrdom of my father.”

Nabil Habib was 48; he was among the 29 people who died Dec. 11, 2016, in a suicide attack claimed by ISIS. The targets were worshippers at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Coptic Church in Cairo, also known as El-Botroseya Church.

Marian, who is 15, tells her story, with some of the details of that dark day gleaned from the church’s security cameras:

“That day was a watershed in my life and the life of my family. I always feared that I would lose one of my family members and then it turned out to be my father, who was a good friend to me. I will never forget the details of that day.

“We live in an apartment in the compound of St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, where El-Botroseya Church is located. My father worked as a guard of the church. I celebrated my birthday two days before the attack and I exchanged laughs and jokes with my dad that day. Then, the day before the attack, my father did not seem normal. He came back repeatedly to our apartment to check on my younger brother, Fadi, who is two years-old.

“That Saturday evening, the suicide bomber had come to the church and asked dad about religious books, saying that he wanted to know more about Christianity; a deacon overheard the conversation and told the young man to come back the next morning at 10 am.

“On Sunday morning, as soon as my father saw the young man he recognized him; the bomber was quickly making his way to the women’s pews, looking confused. My father got on the phone with my uncle to tell him about the man, but quickly ended the call to give chase. Next, the suicide bomber blew himself up.

“Just a few minutes before the explosion, my father had asked me to go to our apartment and prepare a cup of tea for him. When I heard the explosion, I thought that the kettle had exploded. But soon there was thick smoke and bricks fell from the kitchen walls. I rushed outside and found people running in all directions, screaming hysterically. There was a scene of complete destruction, but I still I did not know what had happened.

“I asked about my father but nobody knew where he was. I continued looking for him; then, at the entrance of the church, I found my father lying on the ground and bleeding heavily from his head. I took off my jacket for his head to rest on. There were wounds across his entire body; his hand looked shattered; my hair got wet with his blood.

“He was still alive and, looking me in the eyes, he told me to take care of my younger sister and brother; and he gave me the keys to the church gate and to our apartment. I will always remember his smile right before he died.

“Before all this happened I had worried for a long time that I would lose something precious. Losing my dad put me in a state of shock for more than a month and a psychiatrist visited me. Finally, it was God’s mercy, his consolation, which helped me recover.

“I feel great comfort from God and I also got support from the Church, my friends, and many of people around us; there also has been great interest from people from other countries and international bodies that visit us to this day.

“I do not feel scared now – but I still long for my father and my little brother needs his hugs; we miss him very much. I do not want to leave my country and the place where my father served and lived his whole life. All my memories of my father are here.

“Despite the pain, my life has changed for better: I feel stronger than before and I care more about my studies than ever before – the future no longer frightens me. I have joined the church choir, which gives me inner peace, because it is one of the things that bring me closer to God.

“My message to all those who suffer, and who might read my words: do not be afraid. God is great and I ask everyone to pray for all people facing violence and hatred; we must pray for peace around the world.”

Engy Magdy writes for Aid to the Church in Need, an international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy See, providing assistance to the suffering and persecuted Church in more than 140 countries. www.churchinneed.org (USA); www.acnuk.org (UK); www.aidtochurch.org (AUS); www.acnireland.org (IRL); www.acn-aed-ca.org (CAN) www.acnmalta.org (Malta)

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CNA Staff, Jan 21, 2021 / 04:54 pm (CNA).- A Catholic priest in Burkina Faso who went missing Tuesday has been found dead in a forest, the local bishop announced Thursday.

“It is with deep sorrow that I bring to everyone’s attention that the lifeless body of Fr. Rodrigue Sanon was found on January 21, 2021 in the protected forest of Toumousseni, about 20 kilometres from Banfora,” Bishop Lucas Kalfa Sanou said in a statement, according to ACI Africa.

He called for prayers and said more information would be available at a later time.

“By the Mercy of God, may the soul of his servant Rodrigue Sanon rest in peace!” the bishop said.

Fr. Sanon, a priest of Notre Dame de Soubaganyedougou, disappeared Tuesday on his way to Banfora to meet with Bishop Sanou. The priest never arrived, and his car was found abandoned.

Over the last five years, Burkina Faso has been a hub for religious violence and Islamist militias, especially in the northeastern territories. The militants include the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, and Ansarul Islam.

According to a 2019 report from the U.S. State Department, 61% of Burkina Faso residents identify as Muslim and 23% identify as Christian.
The extremist attacks, which target both Christians and Muslims, have left over 1 million people displaced and almost 1,100 dead since 2015.

The bishops in Burkina Faso issued a statement in June, calling the situation “more worrying than ever.” They raised concerns about the increase in religious violence and called for more support from the authorities.

“The role of the Defense and Security Forces remains paramount,” said the bishops, adding that security forces in the country “must produce and guarantee a secure environment conducive to the conduct of the electoral process with the full participation of all citizens.”

In the June statement, the bishops said they are worried that the low levels of security are preventing priests from reaching their parishioners and asked the Blessed Mother to intercede for their efforts.

“For the Pastors in this part of Burkina Faso as elsewhere in the regions … it is a great suffering to no longer be able to reach the faithful in some places, or to see them fleeing from terrorist attacks without any guarantee of security,” they said.

“May Mary, Queen of Peace, accompany us on the path to true peace, a gift of God and the fruit of human efforts.”

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The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition cover the altar, just dedicated by the cardinal. The covering of the altar signifies that it is both the place of the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Lord’s table. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Sep 12, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

On Aug. 31, exactly 100 years after its dedication, the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant was reopened for worship on the hill of Kiryat Yearim, nine miles from Jerusalem. 

The church, which was closed for four years for restoration work, stands atop the hill overlooking the (Muslim) village of Abu Gosh. From the top, visitors can see Jerusalem.

The place, mentioned in the Bible as “Kiriath-Jearim,” has held an important role in the history of the Jewish people as it was here that the Ark of the Covenant rested after being recovered from the Philistines (see 1 Samuel 6). 

The ark contained the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments — God’s covenant with the Jewish people — were inscribed and was the sign of God’s presence among his people.

According to the Bible, it was hosted in the house of Abinadab, where it remained for about 20 years (see 1 Samuel 7:1-2) until King David brought it to Jerusalem.

For this reason, even today, the site is visited by many groups of Jews.

A Byzantine basilica was built on the top hill around the fifth century. The current church, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1920, stands on the remains of that building. It was consecrated in 1924 by the then-Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Luigi Barlassina, and dedicated to Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the current Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, recently came to the basilica to dedicate its new altar on the occasion of the reopening of the church. 

“This reopening is a moment of trust in the future, a desire to start anew, and this is what we need most at this time, when everything around us speaks of death and endings,” he told CNA after the celebration on Aug. 31.

“Climbing this mountain, blessed by the presence of the Lord,” he added, “invites us to have a broad and farsighted perspective on events and not to close ourselves off in the dramatic present moment.”

Hosting the event were the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, a French congregation founded in 1832 by Mother Emilie De Vialar, which owns and operates the church and surrounding property.

The complete details of how the land came to be acquired by the sisters are lost to history, but it centers on one of the order’s sisters who died in 1927. Sister Josephine Rumèbe, who is buried in the church, was reportedly endowed with special mystical gifts and managed to acquire the land on behalf of the sisters. The story goes that she had 5,000 francs at her disposal and sought the help of a clergyman for the purchase. To prevent a competing buyer from acquiring it, the cleric secured the entire hill for 20,372 francs. Miraculously, when Sister Josephine counted the gold coins hidden in her room, the amount matched exactly what she needed.

The dedication of the new altar in the basilica took place after the recitation of the creed and chanting of the litanies. The cardinal placed relics in the altar, including that of Mother Emilie De Vialar, who was canonized a saint in 1951. This was followed by the anointing of the altar with chrism oil, the incensing of the altar, the covering of the altar, and the lighting of the altar.

“The covenant of God with his people finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is no longer just the sign of God’s presence but God himself among us. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because she carried Christ himself in her womb,” said the cardinal in his homily, inviting the faithful, following the example of the Virgin Mary, to renew their trust in God as the Lord of history and active within history.

Upon entering the church — whose iconographic elements were created by artists from the Ave Center of the Focolare Movement — the eye is drawn to the golden flame emanating from the center of the apse.

A special decoration that, on one hand, evokes the biblical significance of fire, symbolizing the presence of God, and on the other, is connected to the history of this place and particularly to Sister Josephine’s vision of a “mountain of fire,” holds significance here.

When she was still a young postulant in France, during Eucharistic adoration, Sister Josephine had a vision of flames forming a mountain with Jesus above them instead of the host. The vision then vanished, and only 50 years later, at the time of laying the foundation stone of the church, it was revealed to her that the “mountain of fire” was indeed Kiryat Yearim, which she used to call “the Holy Mountain.”

Sister Valentina Sala, the current provincial of the congregation for the Holy Land, immediately felt a strong connection to this place. She recounted to CNA: “The first time I came here for a few weeks, a sister took me to Kiryat Yearim. I knelt at Sister Josephine’s tomb and prayed to return if that was God’s will.”

On the centenary of the church’s dedication, Sister Valentina also emphasized the significance of this place for her congregation, whose charism is to serve the needs of people through works of charity. 

“What is charity work? What people need today is not just health care or education; there is a hunger and thirst for God. We must be able to recognize this need, helping those who come here to listen to his voice. We need places where people can pause and rest with God,” she said.

When the construction of the church was nearly complete, Sister Josephine had a vision of the Virgin Mary, at the top of the church, facing Jerusalem with outstretched arms in a gesture of dispensing grace. A statue now stands above the church to recall that vision, facing away from those entering and directed toward Jerusalem. 

“This place, which evokes the covenant, invites us to realign ourselves with God and to be under this blessing,” Sister Valentina concluded.

This is also the meaning of the words she addressed to those present — the vast majority of local faithful from Jerusalem as well as from Galilee — at the end of the Mass.

“Sister Josephine had already seen you in various visions: ‘I saw a crowd rushing toward the basilica. I saw priests, sisters of our order, and then men and women of the world who were even more pleasing to God than all the others, holy souls shining like stars.’”

She continued: “And what if we are that vision? What if we are that future? Of course, we are! From now on, you will be the ones to bring life to this hill, to this covenant between God and his people. Come, rush, stay, feel at home. There is not only a newly renovated church to see but a Presence to discover: Take the time to dwell with the Lord. What could be more beautiful… Many graces await to be dispensed from here!”

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