The meeting between the pope and a delegation from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem will take place at 11.30 am on 15 April in the Vatican. Mgr Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, will lead the group. The vicar for Hebrew-speaking Catholics explains the Church's mission to the Holy Land, which is "to bear witness to the unity of Christ even in a divided society."

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - "We are going to see the pope to bring him greetings from the Holy Land and present him the reality of our Church and community," said Fr David Neuhaus, vicar for the Hebrew-speaking community of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He spoke to AsiaNews ahead of the visit to Pope Francis in the Vatican by an official delegation from the Patriarchate on 15 April.

According to Fr Neuhaus, the Church in the Holy Land "is a very privileged Church, because it is present in all sections of society. Living in a highly divided country is also our vocation."

He stressed that a majority of the Patriarchate's Catholics is made up of Arab Palestinians and Jordanians, but that there are also new Hebrew-speaking communities within Jewish society.

"Our challenge and mission," he added, "is to live and bear witness to the unity of Christ even in a divided society. This is our duty and vocation, to show the world that unity, friendship and reconciliation are possible within the Church. "

The visit will be led by Mgr Fouad Twal, patriarch of Jerusalem. The delegation will also include Mgr Marcuzzo, auxiliary bishop of Israel; Mgr Shomali, auxiliary bishop of Jerusalem; Mgr Laham, auxiliary bishop of Jordan; and Fr David Neuhaus, vicar for the Hebrew-speaking community. Mgr Ilario Antoniazzi, the new archbishop of Tunis, will also be present.

In his Easter homily, the patriarch explained that the new evangelisation must "start from Jerusalem," thus, showing that "the Lord invited us here to bring the light of the faith in the centre of the Middle East, where Christianity was born, where every Christian was born."

On that occasion, Mgr Twal also invited the pope to visit the Holy Land, a wish already expressed on the day of Card Bergoglio's election to the papacy.

In the past hundred years, three of Pope Francis's predecessors visited the Holy Land: Pope Paul VI in 1964, Pope John Paul II in March 2000 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. (S.C.)

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