Easter celebrations in the migrant communities

Indian Chaplaincy

From the Indian community, Father Tojy OFM, chaplain of the Indian Catholics reports:

On Holy Thursday, the Konkani and Malayalam speaking Indian Catholics commemorated the Lord’s Supper at Our Lady Woman of Valor Pastoral Center in Tel Aviv. The Konkani service began at 7.30 am and it was led by Fr. Dominic Mendonsa, OP and concelebrated by Fr. Jose Kumar SCJ and Fr. Floric Fernandes OFM Cap. There were about 500 people participated in this service. The Malayalam service began at 9.00 pm and it was led by Fr. Anto Chakiyath CMI. There were about 250 people participated in this service.

On Good Friday, the Konkani and Malayalam speaking Indian Catholics commemorated the Way of the Cross in the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem. The Konkani prayer service and the live way of the cross began at 9.00 am and it was led by Fr. Dominic Mendonsa, OP and concelebrated by Fr. Santhosh Lobo OFM Cap and Fr. Floric Fernandes OFM Cap. There were about 1500 people participated in this service. The Malayalam prayer service and the way of the cross began at 3.00 pm and it was led by Fr. Anto Chakiyath CMI and concelebrated by Fr. Joy Paul and Fr. Varghese Ambalathunkal. There were about 1200 people participated in this service.

On Holy Saturday night, April 15, 2017, the Konkani and Malayalam speaking Indian Catholics celebrated Easter. For the Konkani speaking Catholics Easter Vigil Masses were held in St. Saviour’s Church Jerusalem at 3.30 pm, in Beit Dani Hall Tel Aviv at 3.00 pm and in St. Joseph’s Church Haifa at 7.00 pm. In Jerusalem, the celebrant was Fr. Dominic Mendonsa OP and there were about 150 people participated in the celebration. In Tel Aviv, the main celebrant was Fr. Floric Fernandes OFM Cap and concelebrated by Fr. Lional Gosh OFM and Fr. Jose Kumar SCJ. There were about 2000 people participated the celebration. In Haifa, the celebrant was Fr. Santhosh Lobo OFM Cap. There were about 250 people participated in the celebration. For the Malayalam speaking Catholics Easter Vigil Mass was held in St. Peter’s Church Jaffa at 11.30 pm. The main celebrant was Fr. Anto Chakiyath CMI and concelebrated by Fr. Tojy Jose OFM. There were about 350 people participated in the celebration.

Filipino Chaplaincy

The Filipino community celebrated Holy Week and Easter in the various communities spread throughout the country with the main celebrations taking place in the Holy Family community in Nazareth, the Saint Joseph parish in Haifa, the Saint Anthony parish in Jaffa, the Good Shepherd and Saint Lorenzo Ruiz communities in Jerusalem, Saint Therese de Lisieux community in Rehovot and, of course, the Divine Mercy Filipino community at Our Lady Woman of Valor in Tel Aviv.

Sri Lankan Chaplaincy

From the Sri Lankan community, Sister Clarice reports:

On Holy Thursday, the celebration was held in Tel Aviv, about 120 people came for the service.

On Good Friday, we started way of the cross , at 7.30 in the morning and the stations of the cross were preached by Fr. Roshan Perera, and Brother Jude S.D.B . About 400 people participated in this event. In the afternoon at 13.30 we had a Good Friday service at Saint Peter in Ratisbonne in Jerusalem. The Seven Last Words of Jesus on the cross was preached by Fr. Roshan Perera T.O.R., Brother Jude and Brother Jerome, S.D.B.

The Easter vigil service was celebrated in Saint Anthony’s Church in Jaffa and the Easter Sunday mass was celebrated in both Haifa, at Saint Joseph’s Church and in Netanya.

Ge’ez Rite Chaplaincy

In the Ge’ez rite community, hundreds of faithful gathered for the long vigil mass that was held in the Latin Patriarchate Co-Cathedral. Father Medhin celebrated the liturgy with faithful from all over the country and in the presence of groups of pilgrims who had come from Eritrea, Ethiopia and from Canada.