 31 Maggio 2022NEWSFLASH ANTIOCH: MAY 2022
As you can see, May was a very busy month- something we haven’t experienced these last couple of years. The first important factor is the (almost) end of the Covid-19 pandemic and people's desire to return to normal,
NEWSFLASH ANTIOCH: MAY 2022
As you can see, May was a very busy month- something we haven’t experienced these last couple of years. The first important factor is the (almost) end of the Covid-19 pandemic and people's desire to return to normal, despite the increasingly obvious economic crisis. Prices have doubled in a short time and the prices of many things have more than tripled! Gasoline went from 8.41TL 7 months ago to 25.01TL today! But we have begun to see the return of pilgrim groups especially from South America. During this month of May we have the daily recitation of the rosary.
May 1st. This time until May 9th is a sort of long ‘bridge’ of feasting after the end of the Fast.
We hosted an elderly Irishman here for a week. He had come to Antakya to get his teeth done but was kicked out of his hotel because he found the bill too high and did not want to pay. They brought him here. Today he leaves for Ireland in military uniform!
May 2nd. Ramadan is over and the Seker Bayram holiday begins. It’s a bit like Christian Christmas. The authorities receive seasons’ greetings in front of the Prefecture with an official speech by the Prefect of Hatay.
May 3th. Fr Francis and I bring greetings to the Mufti and we deliver the message of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue sent to Muslims throughout the world with the auspicious title: Christians and Muslims: Sharing joys and sorrows. It is very simple, but very human and current.
May 5th. Today is the birthday of the eldest daughter of our family collaborator, Kristin. She grew up in the church and still, 25 years later, she serves with love and fidelity.
May 10th. Two days see two groups of pilgrims. One of 16 from the USA and the other of 21 from Argentina.
May 11th. There is 2-day meeting of priests and pastoral workers with the Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia, Mons. Paolo Bizzeti, in Iskenderun. At last, after two years, we can celebrate the Chrism Mass.
May 12th. A group of Argentine pilgrims. They are led by a priest, Don Adrian Santarelli, originally from the Marches, and a very close friend of the Pope’s. We ask him to give a dedicated copy of the book about Antioch to the Holy Father, who he will soon be meeting.
May 13th. One of the city’s cultural associations holds a popular concert for its members in our garden for its “charming atmosphere of old Antioch".
May 15th. From today, after more than two years, we have opened the church to visitors again. It will be open every day from 3 to 5 pm. There was immediately a real invasion ... not only by individuals, but by various groups of Turks! The two posters with essential information in Turkish about the church and the place are very useful.
- A large group of 56 from Medellin, Colombia, comes to celebrate with a priest and a Jesuit.
May 16th. A French priest Abbe Philippe comes to spend a week in Antakya in our guesthouse. His bishop has entrusted him with the pastoral care of refugees and before starting he comes to have a brief respite in our city.
- The police ask to meet our community to warn them about various scams where money is extorted through phone calls purporting to come from police or magistrates. In recent years, I myself, have received two.
May 19th. After 8 days in our guesthouse, a German-Turkish delegation of Friendship and Dialogue from Kiel, leaves. They brought a message from the city administration and the various churches.
May 20th. This is the second group of veiled girls from Ankara who have come to visit our church. They are students who are preparing to teach the Islamic religion.
May 21st. An Argentinian group celebrates Mass.
May 22nd. The First Neocatechumenal Community has two days of Convivence in Seleucia (Samandag), near the old port of ancient Antioch and at the foot of the famous Musadag. (Forty Days of Musa Dagh is a novel by Franz Werfel about the resistance of the Armenians). It is the passage of the Our Father when we ask - Is God Really Your Father? Not just in words, but with concrete experiences! With baptism we become children of God, but do we live this sonship? There will be other catecheses on this theme until Thursday evening. We are in the final stages of the Way which aims to help and guide the brothers to live as "children of God". Father Francis was an excellent translator!
- Sunday Mass is presided over by our bishop, Mons Paolo Bizzeti. He baptizes 2 young people and also administers confirmations to another adult and to a lady baptized in a Protestant church and welcomed into the Catholic Church.
May 25th. A Mexican group comes with two priests. They visit our church only to make a prayer.
May 27th. The Neocatechumenal catechists leave. A week of "fire" awaits them in Istanbul for the same passage in the first community of St. Anthony.
May 31st. We end the month with the evening rosary. A small group has always participated in it. Summer has arrived early with temperatures reaching 36 degrees Celsius!
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