Dear brothers and friends of the seminary,
it is for us a grace to share with you the joy and the amazement we experience as we witness the wonders that the Lord continues to work in the mission here in Holy Land and particularly in our seminary.
This year, six young men from Italy, Spain, Poland, and Israel have joined us to begin their journey towards the priesthood. Altogether we currently have 35 seminarians enrolled; they are moving forward with great courage, earnestly and zealously facing challenges such as that of learning new languages (especially Arabic), as well as the community life of the seminary, not to mention the study of philosophy and theology, both key elements to their preparation.
In the months of December and January, H.E. Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes honored us with his presence, as he came to teach a course of theology on the Sacrament of the Holy Orders. This was a unique occasion for our seminarians to draw from the experience of a person who was a direct collaborator of Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI; previously as vice-president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, then taking on the role given to him by Saint John Paul II of being in charge ad personam for the apostolate of the Neocatechumenal communities, and then as president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.
H.E. Card. Cordes with a group of seminarians, the prefect of studies, and the spiritual director.
Some seminarians are living a time of mission, which is an essential experience at the service of evangelization in various parts of the worlds, particularly here in the Middle East: Haifa and Eialt (Israel), in Jordan, in Egypt, in Bahrain, in Spain, in Ukraine, and in the Ivory Coast.
A few days ago we had the joy of welcoming the new Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Galilee, Mons. George Bakouni, in his first official visit to our seminary. The Archbishop, who has encouraged our work strongly underlining that we are “his allies” in the work of evangelization in the Galilee, reaffirmed the urgency for his diocese to form celibate priests from our seminary, with candidates willing to be sent in mission in the Middle East and in the whole world. Five seminarians belonging to the Greek-Catholic rite (coming from Galilee, Judea and Jordan), as well as two Maronites (coming from Lebanon and Israel) are being formed for this purpose.
The seminarians and the formators of the seminary with the Greek-Catholic Archbishop of the Galilee.
The priests that were formed in our seminary are living their ministries today in places where their presence is of providential support for the difficult lives of Christians in the Holy Land. Carlos is a parish-priest in Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city bordering Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. He’s working in a recently founded parish that has not yet undergone construction neither of the physical church nor that made of persons. Paolo and Leandro are vicars in Zababde and Ramallah, both cities in the Palestinian Territory. There, they are confronted by an environment riddled with social tensions.
Juan David, Cristian and Davide, as parish vicars in Jordan, are living through the pressing situation of taking in refugees that have been coming over from Iraq and Syria. Hundreds of brothers that have been harshly tried by the traumas of war, can be only comforted in drama they are living, by receiving the announcement of Jesus Christ’s love, who has died and risen also for each one of them.
Dearest friends, all this is being carried out by the grace of God, to whom you have also been a precious instrument with the support that you offer us. We trust in God’s providence and in your charity, given the difficult times that the church in the Middle East is living through…
With sincere gratitude we bless you and wish you a Holy Lent, rich of spiritual fruits
With fraternal affection in Christ,
the formators of the seminary,
fr. Francesco Giosuè Voltaggio
fr. Diego Sanchez Alcolea
fr. Germano Lori
fr. Antonio Martin Carrasco