The celebration will take place at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, on the occasion of the Year of Saint Joseph.
Israel – Jerusalem (June 16, 2021 10:10 AM, Gaudium Press) Next June 27, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem will celebrate a Mass consecrating the Middle East to the Holy Family imploring God for his mercy and peace.
Peace Day for the East
According to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the “Peace Day for the East” will be launched by the Justice and Peace Episcopal Committee on the 130th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s Encyclical “Rerum Novarum.”
At the Committee’s request, on June 27, each country belonging to the Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the Middle East will celebrate a Holy Mass praying for peace.
Consecration of the Middle East to the Holy Family
The consecration will take place during a Mass celebrated in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. “We will bless an icon of the Holy Family with inlays of relics,” added Archbishop Pizzaballa.
The original icon presides the altar at the Church of St. Joseph in Nazareth. According to tradition, it was the location of the home of the holy carpenter.
Pilgrimage of the Icon of the Holy Family
Once blessed, the icon will go on a pilgrimage from Lebanon to the countries of the East. Finally, it will reach Rome at the end of the year of St. Joseph. On December 8, 2021, it will be blessed by Pope Francis during the celebration of the Day of Peace in the East and then return to the Holy Land.
Archbishop Pizzaballa concluded on a tone of hope: “All are invited to participate by their presence, and if not possible, through communion with us in prayer, each one from his or her Parish or convent of origin, imploring the mercy of God and his Peace in our beloved Middle East, where the Christian Faith is born and continues to live, despite the sufferings.” (EPC)
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