First mass of Father Roman in Jerusalem

This mass was a triple celebration - Roman as a "fresh" priest among us in Jerusalem, Oscar as a "fresh" deacon after his ordination the day before, and David, Vicar of our communities among us alongside Apolinary and our regular priests.

The chapel was full and among us was a very special guest whose joy was even greater than ours - Oscar's mother, who had arrived from Italy to be with Oscar and with us all. Our choir played and sang and we all joined in the singing with our all our heart. Sinead sang the Psalm, a beautiful moment, and then Oscar read the Gospel for the first time as deacon. Father Apolinary preached in the spirit of the season between Easter and Pentecost. Roman presided at the prayer, assisted by Oscar, who served as deacon for the first time.

At the end of the prayer, Roman thanked one and all for the occasion to celebrate mass in Jerusalem and Oscar thanked all those who participated in his ordination and those who accompanied him in prayer. After the end of the mass, we gathered to enjoy the food and drink that had been prepared for the occasion.

After we were sated, the room was transferred into a temporary cinema. A film documenting Roman's priestly ordination in Abu Ghosh was screened to a room full of people. The producer, Giacomo, from the community of Koinonia John the Baptists, was there in great humility. The film was magnificent and we noticed that Roman was very moved especially by the part of the film that included filmed greetings from the members of the community, filmed at the reception after the ordination. Many wished Roman all the best for his mission as a priest.

This was a very special occasion. Thank you to Roman, to "our" fresh deacon Oscar and to David for yet another visit among us.