Sabeen Rahil and Elias Johny Al Arja in Bethlehem. In the background behind them is the bell tower of the Church of the Nativity, which stands on the site where Jesus was born. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Sep 7, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA)… […]
Pope Francis meets with the bishops of the Arabian region on Aug. 28, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Aug 28, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis met Wednesday with the Latin-rite Catholic leaders of some of the Midd… […]
Two vehicles for the Spanish troop within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on the tense southern border of the country in August 2024. / Credit: Ramiz Dallah/Shutterstock
ACI MENA, Aug 9, 2024 / 12:25 pm (CNA).
In a stark de… […]
Thousands turned out for a Eucharistic procession followed by the holy liturgy at the St. Charbel Hermitage and the monastery of St. Maroun Annaya on July 22, 2024. / Credit: Marwan Semaan/ACI MENA
ACI MENA, Jul 24, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).
On Ju… […]
On Friday, June 7, 2024, the day of the feast of the Sacred Heart, the Catholic Church in Turkey was consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in St. John’s Cathedral, Izmir. / Credit: Nathalie Ritzmann
ACI MENA, Jun 10, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).
On Friday, June 7, the feast of the Sacred Heart, the Catholic Church in Turkey was consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in St. John’s Cathedral, Izmir.
Monsignor Marek Solczyński, apostolic nuncio to Turkey, presided over the ceremony and was surrounded by almost all the bishops of the country’s four Catholic communities — Latin, Armenian, Syriac, and Chaldean. Also present was Father James Buxton of Izmir’s Anglican Church.
Father Alessandro Amprino, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Izmir, had the idea for the consecration. He will be representing the Turkish Catholic Church in Quito, Ecuador, from Sept. 8–15 at the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress, the theme of which will be: “Fraternity to Heal the World: You Are All Brothers and Sisters (Mt 23:8).”
Ecuador was the first country to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1874, 150 years ago.
Amprino explained that when he saw the enthusiasm and current spiritual fruits of this consecration in Ecuador, his heart was filled with the wish to offer the same opportunity to the Church in Turkey. He proposed it to the CET (Turkish Episcopal Conference) as an initiative for the national Eucharistic year of the Catholic Church in Turkey, organized this year in conjunction with the Quito Congress.
Three events will take place at the national level, one for each diocese: a spiritual retreat for religious in Iskenderun, the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Cathedral of St. John the Apostle in Izmir (which just took place), and the conclusion of the national Eucharistic year in Istanbul.
As for the choice of the Izmir cathedral named after St. John, it was St. John the Apostle who laid his head against the heart of Jesus during the Last Supper.
The homily was given by Monsignor Martin Kmetec, archbishop of Izmir’s Roman Catholics, whose mandate as president of the CET was renewed the previous day.
After Communion, everyone knelt before the altar to adore the Eucharist, which was exposed there. The hymn “Pange Lingua” was sung, followed by silent adoration. Next, the litanies of the Sacred Heart were prayed.
Then, in unison with the whole assembly, the nuncio read the prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the celebration ended with a Eucharistic blessing.
This story was first published by ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, Lebanon, built the world’s largest rosary on the ocean. With the help of family and friends, his vision took shape and was launched on May 11, 2024, during the feast of Our Lady of the Seas. / Credit: Joe Abdel Sater
ACI MENA, May 16, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).
A Lebanese Catholic man has created a giant rosary that floats upon the Mediterranean waves.
Joe Abdel Sater, a swimming instructor in the seaside town of Bouar, built the world’s largest rosary on the ocean on May 11 — with the help of family and friends — on the feast of Our Lady of the Seas.
The idea came to Abdel Sater during his daily contemplation of the sea.
For six months, he perceived the outlining of rosary beads on the water’s surface. Compelled to make this vision a reality, he received blessings from the local parish priest, Father Ferez Tawk, and from the mayor. However, executing such an ambitious undertaking was no easy feat.
“For a month, I puzzled over what materials to use — wood or foam?” Abdel Sater recalled. “How could I secure the rosary’s shape against the shifting currents?” But, as he put it, “divine providence facilitated things.”
Stretching 100 meters (about 330 feet) across the water, the finished rosary is comprised of white plastic gallon jugs representing the Hail Mary beads and larger blue ones for the Our Father prayers. The cross is made of wood.
“I dove down and tied the beads with rope, anchoring them to the rocks below,” Abdel Sater explained to ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner. “So despite the changing tides, the rosary’s form remained intact.”
Outfitted with lights, the installation casts a luminous glow at night.
Though forced to temporarily move it ashore due to rough waters, Abdel Sater hopes to soon re-float his unprecedented creation, which he has submitted for inclusion into the Guinness Book of World Records.
For the Parish of Sts. Takla and John, the floating rosary provided a centerpiece for celebrating the feast of Our Lady of the Seas on May 11. As Tawk explained: “We gathered parishioners to offer a Mass giving thanks to Our Blessed Mother. This endeavor symbolizes our Eastern Catholic devotion to Mary.”
Reflecting on the profound symbolism, Tawk noted that “alone, rosary beads lose their meaning. As Catholic faithful, we’re those beads and our community binds us together through life’s crashing waves.”
“Without that communion, even the strongest believer can be swept away,” Tawk said. “But by walking together with Jesus as our anchor, we can withstand any storm and find redemption. Thus, we become like Mary, who stood firm in her faith under the cross, understanding that Jesus’ sacrifice is the beginning of salvation.”
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This article was originally published by ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Ongoing construction work on St. Charbel Maronite Church in Doha, Qatar, in April 2024. / Credit: Father Charbel Mhanna
ACI MENA, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Construction is nearing completion on the St. Charbel Maronite Church in Doha, Qata… […]
A family of religious Jews walks at the beginning of Armenian Quarter Street, the entry point to the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem in April 2024. Behind them stands the complex of the Tower of David Museum. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem… […]
Lara Al-Sayegh, a Catholic from Gaza, collapsed and died of heatstroke as she and her mother tried to leave Gaza and find safe haven in Egypt on April 24, 2024. The 19-year-old lived in northern Gaza and the family had already lost their father and husband when he died at Gaza’s Latin Holy Family Church due to a lack of adequate medical care. / Credit: Fady Al-Sayegh
ACI MENA, Apr 30, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).
Among the heartbreaking stories to emerge from the war in Gaza is the death of a young Catholic woman named Lara Al-Sayegh. The 19-year-old Gazan perished while fleeing with her mother from the northern Gaza Strip to the south in a desperate attempt to reach Egypt and find safe haven.
Midway through their arduous journey, Al-Sayegh succumbed to severe fatigue, lack of water, and fatal heatstroke. Tragically, her father had already been lost during the war when he died at Gaza’s Latin Holy Family Church due to a lack of adequate medical care.
In an exclusive interview with ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, Al-Sayegh’s brother, Fady Al-Sayegh, who has resided in Egypt since earlier this year, shared his pain at receiving the devastating news about his sister.
“It was an unexpected moment when I got the heartbreaking update through Father Iusuf Assad, the pastor of the Holy Family Latin Church in Gaza,” Fady recounted. “He sent me a condolence message. I asked, ‘Condolences for whom?’ His answer was, ‘It’s Lara, your sister.'”
“I couldn’t believe it…How could I believe it?” Fady said, his voice thick with grief. “I asked my brother Khalil, hoping against hope that the news was false. But the painful truth was inescapable. Just yesterday, it seems, Lara was here with us. We were talking, planning for a promising future together. I was waiting for her on the Egyptian side of the border. Everything we dreamed of was within our grasp, and suddenly…we lost all that we had, as if it had never been.”
Fady’s sorrow is compounded by the plans they had made. “We had hopes of attending university together, as Lara aspired to study journalism and media in order to give voice to the untold stories,” he said.
According to the testimony of Lara’s mother, Fady explained that on Tuesday, April 23, both Lara and her mother’s names were included on a list of those permitted to cross into Egypt from Gaza. They decided to leave the following day, heading to the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the south and remains under Israeli control.
“They were in a car driving them to a specific point in the south,” Fady explained. “From there, they had to walk on foot until reaching the Rafah Crossing into Egypt. Lara was walking briskly and quickly, but she suddenly stumbled and collapsed to the ground. Some people tried to revive her, thinking she had merely fainted due to the extreme heat. But the painful reality was that Lara had died.”
Their mother also fainted from the trauma and is now recovering. Fady noted with great sorrow that Lara was buried in southern Gaza, far from her church home, and her funeral has not yet been held.
Fady blamed some Arabic media outlets for ignoring the plight of Gaza’s small Christian minority amid their harsh living conditions, including killings, loss of property, displacement, and forced migration. The ancient Christian community there has endured continuous suffering and is on the brink of extinction due to migration, displacement, and now the war.
Fady also expressed hope that the world would work towards achieving justice and peace in the region. He called on churches around the globe to pray for Gaza, to be a voice for the oppressed, and to help raise awareness about the struggle of minority communities in the area.
Father Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, presides over the solemn Mass for the 1st Sunday of Advent, on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2023. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Dec 17, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA).
A few days before Father Francesco Patt… […]
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