Benedict XVI will visit Cyprus in June. From June 4th through 6th, Benedict XVI will travel to Cyprus. The Mediterranean Island is preparing to welcome the Pope, who was invited by its President Dimitri …More
Benedict XVI will visit Cyprus in June.
From June 4th through 6th, Benedict XVI will travel to Cyprus. The Mediterranean Island is preparing to welcome the Pope, who was invited by its President Dimitri Christofias and the Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II. In a country where the Orthodox are the majority, the anticipation of the Holy Father's visit is all the greater in light of the ecumenical dimension. The Christian minority has 10 thousand faithful in the Maronite Church, who depend directly on the Holy See, and 30 thousand faithful of the Latin rite. Only a thousand of these are native Cypriots. The others are foreigners: some are people who permanently live on the Island (many Europeans), but the majority are temporary immigrant workers, especially from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India, but also from Cameroon, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The faithful of the Latin Church are under the authority of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Its Vicar is an Italian minor friar, Father Umberto Barato, who is also responsible for the Apostolic Nuncio that resides in Jerusalem. The Franciscans, who also are also present in the cities of Nicosia, Larnaca e Limassol, are in charge of three of the Island’s four Latin parishes. They are preparing to welcome the Pope in various ways. First with prayer, at the end of every Mass and during the daily Eucharist adoration, but also with organizational efforts: a central committee has been created that coordinates the activity of several commissions.
According to Father Barato, the pastoral dimension of this trip is a priority. There is great hope for the spiritual fruit of this visit, for the greater spiritual vitality of the Catholic Church in Cyprus, a church, he explained, that thanks to the immigrants is growing in numbers; contrary to what is currently happening in many Arab churches in the Middle East.
However, we must not forget that Benedict XVI, history’s first Pope to visit the Island, will come to a country divided by an invisible but nonetheless real wall separating the Republic of Cyprus- which has been part of the European Union since May 1st, 2004- from the northern part of the Island, which has been under Turkish occupation since the military interventions of 1974.
The Cyprus dispute is an old and difficult one, an issue also complicated by the alarming destruction of the immense cultural and Christian heritage of hundreds of destroyed and profaned churches in the northern occupied areas.
A crossroads for peoples in the past and present, currently a frequent tourist destination, rich in thousand-year-old archaeological remains that evoke the memories of ancient civilizations and mythological divinities, Cyprus was also a land of apostles. St. Paul came to the Island on his first missionary voyage: with Barnabas, who was born on the Island, Paul disembarked at Salamis. Crossing the entire island, they came to Paphos. This city as well as Nicosia, the capital, will be the two stops of the Pope’s visit, the apostle of …
From June 4th through 6th, Benedict XVI will travel to Cyprus. The Mediterranean Island is preparing to welcome the Pope, who was invited by its President Dimitri Christofias and the Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II. In a country where the Orthodox are the majority, the anticipation of the Holy Father's visit is all the greater in light of the ecumenical dimension. The Christian minority has 10 thousand faithful in the Maronite Church, who depend directly on the Holy See, and 30 thousand faithful of the Latin rite. Only a thousand of these are native Cypriots. The others are foreigners: some are people who permanently live on the Island (many Europeans), but the majority are temporary immigrant workers, especially from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India, but also from Cameroon, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The faithful of the Latin Church are under the authority of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Its Vicar is an Italian minor friar, Father Umberto Barato, who is also responsible for the Apostolic Nuncio that resides in Jerusalem. The Franciscans, who also are also present in the cities of Nicosia, Larnaca e Limassol, are in charge of three of the Island’s four Latin parishes. They are preparing to welcome the Pope in various ways. First with prayer, at the end of every Mass and during the daily Eucharist adoration, but also with organizational efforts: a central committee has been created that coordinates the activity of several commissions.
According to Father Barato, the pastoral dimension of this trip is a priority. There is great hope for the spiritual fruit of this visit, for the greater spiritual vitality of the Catholic Church in Cyprus, a church, he explained, that thanks to the immigrants is growing in numbers; contrary to what is currently happening in many Arab churches in the Middle East.
However, we must not forget that Benedict XVI, history’s first Pope to visit the Island, will come to a country divided by an invisible but nonetheless real wall separating the Republic of Cyprus- which has been part of the European Union since May 1st, 2004- from the northern part of the Island, which has been under Turkish occupation since the military interventions of 1974.
The Cyprus dispute is an old and difficult one, an issue also complicated by the alarming destruction of the immense cultural and Christian heritage of hundreds of destroyed and profaned churches in the northern occupied areas.
A crossroads for peoples in the past and present, currently a frequent tourist destination, rich in thousand-year-old archaeological remains that evoke the memories of ancient civilizations and mythological divinities, Cyprus was also a land of apostles. St. Paul came to the Island on his first missionary voyage: with Barnabas, who was born on the Island, Paul disembarked at Salamis. Crossing the entire island, they came to Paphos. This city as well as Nicosia, the capital, will be the two stops of the Pope’s visit, the apostle of …