The Archbishop Mgr. Paul Cremona will lead a diocesan pilgrimage for young people to the Holy Land on 5-12 July 2009. The pilgrimage is being organized by the Holy Land Commissariat in Malta. Fr. Anthony Chircop OFM, the Holy Land Commissary responsible for the organization of the pilgrimage, had announced this event last year, on the occasion of the diocesan pilgrimage organized in April, and also led by the Archbishop. A total of 180 pilgrims took part.The pilgrimage will be catered in a special way to the needs of young people, who would like to visit the Holy Land under the expert guidance of the Franciscan friars, who live and work in this mission since 1219, and who are fully qualified to lead pilgrims. The aim is that of helping young people to appreciate more the Christian message in the Gospels with a personal contact with the land in which Jesus of Nazareth was born, lived, died and rose from the dead. The pilgrimage therefore has a purely pastoral experience. The young people will visit Nazareth, Cana of Galilee, the Lake of Galilee, Capharnaum, the Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Mount Tabor, Haifa, Mount Carmel, Ain Karem, Emmaus, Jericho, the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, with particular emphasis upon the Basilica of the Nativity (Bethlehem), the Mount of Olives, Cenaculum, Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem).
The presence of the Archbishop is a sign of the Church’s commitment to the evangelization of young people. The Archbishop will lead all the liturgical celebrations and give homilies during Mass in the various sanctuaries.
The pilgrimage is also a cultural experience to come to know the natural beauties of the Holy Land and its age-long history.
For further information and booking please contact:
Fr. Anthony Chircop ofmKummissarjat ta’ l-Art Imqaddsa
8 Triq Santa Lucija
Valletta VLT 1213
Tel: 21242254
E-mail: comalt@maltanet.net
