The Archbishop, Mgr. Paul Cremona OP will lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land for young people this coming July. During a press conference given at the Archiepiscopal Curia on 7 April, the Archbishop said that his idea of leading a pilgrimage for young people came to him during the diocesan pilgrimage to the Holy Land that he led at the end of March 2008.

The Archbishop said: “A year ago I was in the Holy Land.  For me it was my first visit.  It was a strong experience of faith for me, especially on the Tomb of Christ.  I felt a special presence.  I have gone on many pilgrimages, but what I felt in the Holy Land was unique.”

“When I was in Jerusalem I was approached by a group of young females who noticed that I was a bishop since I was wearing my official episcopal signs. They told me that they were offering one year of their lives as an apostolic experience in the Holy Land, part of which would be a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  At that moment I got the idea to suggest offering a similar experience to our young people, a pilgrimage in which they will encounter Christ so that their faith may increase, since it is important to see and feel, and not only to listen to words.  I felt that through this experience they will receive strength to live closer to Christ.”

“Fr. Anthony Chircop OFM (Commissary of the Holy Land in Malta) was near me and I asked him whether there could be a possibility to organize such a pilgrimage for young people.  Fr. Chircop immediately said yes and shared my vision.  He promised me to try to make my wish come true.  Now this dream of a pilgrimage for young people in the Holy Land will be possible in July, thanks to God.”

The pilgrimage will be organized by the Holy Land Commissariat of the Franciscan Friars Minor between 5 and 13 July.  Among other places the pilgrims will visit Nazareth, Tabor, Mount Carmel, Capharnaum, Lake of Galilee, Jericho, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Fr. Anthony Chircop OFM said that the pilgrimage will be a strong experience of faith and also a grace, “since the pilgrimage is always very helpful to come into close contact with the Word of God.” “I know that there are many young people who would like to discover Jesus Christ and to make an experience of His life and I believe that the Holy Land can help young people to make such experience.”

Fr. Savio Vella SDB, Delegate of the Archbishop for Young People, said that the pilgrimage to the Holy Land is “another opportunity that the Archbishop is offering young people to make together an experience of a journey of faith.”  He also said: “This is another occasion, in which, together with our Archbishop, we will show how the Church appreciates the fact that young people are present in the Christian community and gives them space to express their identity in the Church which is always searching for its own renewal.  I would like to see young people in the forefront of such a renewal.”

Fr. Anthony said that some sponsors are offering to pay the price of the pilgrimage for those young people who would like to go, but have financial problems to pay all the expenses.

For more information regarding the pilgrimage please contact the Holy Land Commissariat (Tel: 2124225; email: comalt@ofm.org.mt), or the Diocesan Commission for Young People (Tel: 21484506; email: info@kdz.org.mt).