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Loyal Greetings on the Occasion of the Visit to Malta March-April 2010

 

 

Visit to Malta of His Beatitude, Patriarch Gregorios III
“Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” (Acts 27:26)
16-18 April 2010

In the year 60 AD, the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on Malta. The Apostle to the Nations preached the Gospel to the Maltese, instilling a faith which the islanders have kept ever since. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI, nineteen hundred and fifty years after the arrival of Saint Paul, went to Malta to commemorate the event of the providential apostolic shipwreck.
His Beatitude, Patriarch Gregorios III was pleased to accept an invitation from the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem to visit Malta in coincidence with the papal visitation. Accompanying His Beatitude were Archbishop Joseph Absi, titular Bishop of Tarsus and Archimandrite Mtanios Haddad, Patriarchal Apocrisary in Rome and Rector of the Patriarchal Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. In doing so, His Beatitude was mindful of the many links between Damascus, place of the apostle’s vision of the risen Lord and home of the Patriarchal See of Antioch, which celebrated the Year of Saint Paul in 2008-9, and the Maltese islands and Sicily, which Saint Paul also visited in the furtherance of his mission to the nations.

Friday 16 April
1325 Arrival at Luqa airport to be welcomed by representatives of the Grand Priory of the Maltese Islands (Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem) and taken to the Grand Hotel Excelsior, Floriana

1430 Meeting with directors of the Grand Priory

1615 Visit to the Co-Cathedral of Saint John of Valletta

1800 Concelebration with Archimandrite George Mifsud Montanaro, pastor of the Greek Catholic community in Malta, of the Divine Liturgy in the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of Damascus, (Theotokos Damaskinis) Valletta (For the homily preached on that occasion, see http://pgc-lb.org/english/News2_Malte_17-18april2010.html )The Patriarch presented a brochure about the church and the icon of Our Lady of Damascus in Syria.

2000 Reception and dinner at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, given by the Grand Priory of the Maltese Islands, of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem

 

Saturday 17 April

1030 Visit to the Archbishop of Malta, Paul Cremona O.P. at the former Major Seminary, Floriana

1045 Island tour organised by the Grand Priory of the Maltese Islands

1600 Visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellie?a with the Mayor of the town, Mr. Cutajar

1730 By sea to Saint Paul’s Island (Selmunett) where the Mayor invited His Beatitude to unveil a commemorative plaque on the occasion of his visit

1800 Visit to the Saint Paul’s Shipwreck Church, Valletta, commemorating the harmless snake’s emergence from the fire (Acts 28: 5)

2100 Reception given by the Grand Commandery of the Castello at Castle Lanzun, at Mensija, San Gwann

 

Sunday 18 April

0900 Departure from the Grand Hotel Excelsior for the Church of Saint Publius (Acts 28: 8), Floriana

1000 Holy Mass presided over by H. H. Pope Benedict XVI with Patriarch Gregorios III concelebrating at the altar, Floriana, Piazzale dei Granai.

1300 Lunch with Pope Benedict and Maltese bishops in the Nunciature

1430 Visit to the Wignacourt Museum and the Cave of Saint Paul, Rabat

1800 Viewing the sea-parade accompanying Pope Benedict’s visit to the youth of Malta

1900 Leave-taking from hosts, Count Dr. the Chev. J. R. Pace and other members of the Order in Valletta

2000 Departure for Valletta Airport

2100 Departure for Catania, where His Beatitude was welcomed by Professor Corrado Monaca, President of Movimento Azzurro

2200 Transfer to Ispica for overnight stay at the Palazzo Gambuzza Hotel

 

 

 

Visit to Sicily of His Beatitude Patriarch Gregorios III

19-21 April

 

Monday 19 April

1000 Meeting Bishop Antonio Staglian? of Noto

1200 Meeting the Mayor of Ispica, Piero Rustico

1315 Lunch with the Council of the Movimento Azzurro

1730 Attendance, as one of several expert speakers, at Movimento Azzurro’s International Conference on “How to overcome arrested development in the Mediterranean region” at the Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation

2000 Lecture by H.B. Patriarch Gregorios III entitled, “Business and politics need persons open to sharing,” with emphasis on the role of Christians in the dialogue of cultures and religions in the Middle East

2030 Supper

2130 Overnight stay in Ispica

 

Tuesday 20 April

1000 Visit to Santa Maria alla Cava, with its Byzantine frescos and visit to the archaeological sites of the Parco Forza, between Syracuse and Ragusa with welcome by school children

1100 Blessing at Ispica of the Saint Paul Mediterranean Oasis, with unveiling of two marble plaques by the Mayor of Ispica and Professor Monaca, commemorating H.B. Patriarch Gregorios III’s visit and the Movimento Azzurro

1800 Celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major with music and chants by the Coro Mater Dei

2030 Supper

2130 Overnight stay in Ispica

 

Wednesday 21 April

1030 Meetings with Paolo Urso, Bishop of Ragusa in the Bishop’s Palace and with the Provincial President, Giovanni Francesco Antoci in the Provincial Palace

1100 Meeting with the Prefect of Ragusa, Dr. Francesca Cannizzo and the provincial authorities, with speeches from Prefect and Patriarch and signing the Golden (distinguished visitors’ )Book

1300 Lunch at the Prefecture

1530 Visit to Ragusa/Ibla and to the shrine of Saint George

1900 Celebration of Vespers in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist presided over by Bishop Paolo Urso with a homily by His Beatitude

2045 Supper at Ibla with the Prefect, President and Bishop and His Beatitude’s delegation (who were present at all the above-mentioned visits)

2200 Final overnight stay at Ispica at the Palazzo Gambuzza Hotel

 

Thursday, 22 April

0930 Departure for Catania

1200 Departure for Rome

1315 Arrival in Rome

Notes by Patriarch Gregorios III

Translation from the French and Italian V.C.

 

 

 

Diverse iniziative in onore del Patriarca di Antiochia

Gregorio III Laham sulle orme di Paolo
ha incontrato il sindaco di Ispica

di Gessica Cavallo
Luned? 19 Aprile 2010 - 19:23

Ispica - Visita ufficiale questa mattina, nella stanza del sindaco di Ispica Piero Rustico, di Sua Beatitudine Gregorios III Laham, Patriarca di Antiochia (nella foto), di tutto l’Oriente, di Alessandria e di Gerusalemme della Chiesa Cattolica Greco-Melchita. Il patriarca, di ritorno da Malta dove ha partecipato all’incontro con Papa Benedetto XVI, ha voluto soffermarsi in Sicilia per visitare i cosidetti “luoghi paolini” ovvero i i posti in cui verosimilmente S. Paolo, dopo aver lasciato Malta, approd? e che oggi fanno parte della Diocesi di Noto.
Fra questi vi è anche Cava Ispica e forse l’antica chiesetta rupestre di S. Maria della Cava, dove Sua Beatitudine sarà accompagnato domani mattina. Una giornata intensa quella del Patriarca, che già nella prima mattinata è stato ricevuto dal vescovo della diocesi di Noto, Monsignor Antonio Staglian?, e che si è conclusa nella basilica della SS Annunziata, con una conferenza internazionale sulle tematiche dello sviluppo etico ed umano dell’area mediterranea. Per domani intanto, dopo la visita della chiesetta di S. Maria, dove si trovano pregevoli pitture di epoca bizantina, è prevista la visita all’Oasi Mediterraneo San Paolo del Movimento Azzurro e la posa di due cippi commemorativi; nel pomeriggio invece, sarà celebrata una Santa Messa con rito bizantino presso la Basilica di S. Maria Maggiore.
L’iniziativa altamente culturale è stato voluta dal Movimento Azzurro e in particolare dal Presidente nazionale Corrado Monaca ed ha ottenuto un cofinanziamento dal Comune di Ispica. “La visita ad Ispica di Sua Beatitudine Gregorios III Laham, ha commentato il primo cittadino, Piero Rustico - oltre che un momento storico per la città, è stata un’occasione unica per riflettere sulle tradizioni e sulle radici del patrimonio etnico e culturale della religione cattolica di tutte le regioni del Mediterraneo e per affrontare tante interessanti ed attuali tematiche che coinvolgono i popoli del Mediterraneo nei processi di scambio ed integrazione”.

Source : Il Giornale di Ragusa

 

 

Iniziativa voluta dal presidente del Movimento Azzurro Monaca

Ispica, visita del Patriarca
di Antiochia Gregorio III

di Giuseppina Franz?
Sabato 17 Aprile 2010 - 18:34

 

Ispica - Presentato il calendario di della visita di Sua Beatitudine Gregorios III Laham, Patriarca di Antiochia, di tutto l’Oriente, di Alessandria e di Gerusalemme della Chiesa Cattolica Greco-Melchita, nella provincia iblea, nella città di Ispica e nella città di Ragusa in particolare.
L’iniziativa altamente culturale è stato voluta dal Movimento Azzurro e in particolare dal Presidente nazionale Corrado Monaca ed ha ottenuto un cofinanziamento dal Comune di Ispica.
“Il Movimento Azzurro, ha spiegato Monaca, ha come partner il Patriarcato di Antiochia, Alessandria e di tutto l’Oriente. Essendo il Patriarca di Antiochia, Gregorio III Laham in questi giorni nell’isola di Malta per incontrare Papa Benedetto XVI durante la visita ai luoghi paolini lo abbiamo invitato a visitare la provincia di Ragusa, Ispica e gli altri comuni con i quali il suo patriarcato ha strutturato un rapporto di partenariato”. Questo il programma degli eventi: luned? mattina incontro del patriarca con il sindaco, luned? pomeriggio alle 17.30 conferenza internazionale sul tema “Per il superamento dello sviluppo bloccato nell’area mediterranea”, tema che chiama in causa il recente documento del’Episcopato Italiano. Ai lavori interverrano Mons. Giuseppe Abasi, Vicario Patriarcale a Damasco, Mons. Mtanios Haddad, rappresentate del Patriarcato Greco-Melchita presso la Santa Sede, Mons. Antonio Staglian? vescovo di Noto, Dante Fasciolo, Segretario Nazionale del Movimento Azzurro, il Rettore Paolo Scarafoni e il professore Michele Gallina dell’Università Europea di Roma, Immacolata Pannone della Direzione Generale per la Promozione e la Cooperazione Culturale del Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Giuseppe Navetta responsabile Sicilia Banca Prossima nonché Corrado Monaca e il primo cittadino ispicese Piero Rustico. La presenza del responsabile della Banca Prossima sarà l’occasione per fare il punto sui progetti per lo sviluppo del Terzo Settore già avviati dal Movimento Azzurro nella diocesi di Noto, tre dei quali ad Ispica (Oasi Solemar, Oasi Mediterraneo, Oasi Natura)
Giorno 20 Aprile prossimo, alle ore 10, si svolgerà la visita presso la Cava e la chiesetta di S. Maria in cui si trovano pregevoli pitture di epoca bizantina, momento al quale prenderanno parte anche le scolaresche ispicesi; alle ore 12 la visita all’Oasi Mediterraneo San Paolo del Movimento Azzurro e la posa di due cippi commemorativi; alle ore 18 sarà celebrata una Santa Messa con rito bizantino presso la Basilica di S. Maria Maggiore animata con musiche e canti propri del rito bizantino preparati dal Coro Mater Dei. Il programma continuerà il 21 aprile con l’incontro del patriarca con il vescovo di Ragusa Mons. Paolo Urso, poi con l’incontro in prefettura con il prefetto Francesca Cannizzo e tutte le autorità provinciali e la visita a Ibla; infine la sera alle 19 nella cattedrale di San Giovanni vespri solenni guidati dal Patriarca Gregorio III e da Mons. Urso.

Source : Il Giornale di Ragusa

 

 

His Beatitude in Malte

17-18 april 2010

The Grand Prior of Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, His Excellency Doctor Joseph Pace invite His Beatitude in his quality as Spiritual Protector of the Order

and

on the occasion of the Apostolic Visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

 

 

Homily

(Church of Our Lady of Damascus, Valletta, Aprile 16, 2010)

 
المسيح قام! حقا قام!
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

 

Dear brothers and sisters,

In this Easter time, and on the occasion of the Apostolic Visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict the sixteenth, our beloved Holy Father, it is my pleasure and my honour to bring greetings to Malta from Damascus, the city of Saint Paul. Here, the Apostle came arriving from Syria; here, he was the first to preach the Gospel of Christ, on his way to Rome, where he was to give testimony of his faith anf of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

After the three-month stay of Saint Paul in Malta, mentionned in chapter 28 of the Acts of the Apostles, between the Middle East and Rome, we have a continuous history of relations between the Middle East countries of Syria and Lebanon with this country. We have the relations of the language, with so many Arabic elements in your national language.

The most beautiful link between Damascus and Malta is the precious icon of Our Lady of Damascus, the "Theotokos Damaskini", venerated in this church of Valletta. In Damascus, too, we have a Melkite Greek Catholic parish with a beautiful church under the patronage, precisely, of Our Lady of Damascus, where we can find a copy of your icon, which was brought here by the Knights of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known now as the Sovereign Order of Malta.

For many years, the guardian and custos of the icon was the beloved Papàs Vito Borgia, now retired in his native Sicily. I am sure that you will be glad to know that I have just appointed him an Archimandrite of the Patriarchate of Antioch.

His successor, your present parish priest, recently appointed by His Grace the Archbishop of Malta, is the Right Reverend Archimandrite Monsignor George Mifsud Montanaro, my friend and today my concelebrant, who was appointed a Protonotary Apostolic by the Venerable Pope John Paul II, and also is a Conventual Chaplain of the Sovereign Order of Malta. I wish him a fruitful ministry among the Greek Catholic faithful of this country.
And, since he was ordained a priest of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Saint John of Acre, in the Holy Land, fourty years ago, on December 20, 1969, as well as to express the great esteem of the whole Melkite Greek Catholic Church, today I give him the Patriarchal Cross of Jerusalem. He is worthy of it, indeed!

In Syria, in Lebanon and in Malta, we share our common faith in Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord and Saviour.
Saint Paul is our common teacher, after Jesus. The Jubilee Year of Saint Paul, 2008-2009, was a very wonderful occasion to deeper and deeper understand the whole teaching of the Apostle, so close to the teaching of Jesus. In fact, the "Gospel of Paul" is the result of his personal experience of the Gospel of Jesus.

We intend to emphasize the presence of Saint Paul in Damascus, the city of his baptism and of his first preachings, through the foundation of a museum about the Apostle, installed in our Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate.

In front of the icon of Our Lady of Damascus, we pray for peace in the Middle East, a lasting peace, which is so necessary for the future human generations. We pray, especially, for a real solution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, for an end of that conclict, after 62 years, to give the young generations more space for love, for good news and for hope.

We pray, also, for us to keep a strong faith and for its preservation, to allow the Christian presence in the Holy Land and in the whole Middle East to continue, because we have to give testimony of our faith in front of and among our Moslem and other non-Christian fellow citizens.

The Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, invoked and venerated both in Damascus and in Malta, will certainly unite us, to put the Holy Gospel in practice in our lives, in our society and in our world, to be able to face the big challenges that we all have to live with – Patriarchs, Bishops, Priests, Knights, lay leaders, fathers and mothers – and to transmit the deposit of our faith, in which we grew in the past, to our children, to our successors, to the new generations, with a new look and a new strength.

 + Gregorios III

 Patriarch of Antioch and all the East,

of Alexandria and of Jerusalem

 

 

To the Maltese members of the
Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem

 (April 17, 2010)

 
المسيح قام! حقا قام!
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

 

  If I am here today with you, dear Maltese members of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, it is, first, because your Grand Prior, His Excellency Doctor Joseph Pace, did invite me, in my quality as Spiritual Protector of the Order; and, second, because, on the occasion of the Apostolic Visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, I considered I had to bring greetings to Malta from Damascus, the city of the baptism of Saint Paul, the Apostle who came to Malta from Syria in his way to Sicily and Rome.

Around the Mediterranean Sea, there is a circle of cultures, of civilizations and faiths, with its main origin in the Greek culture, which Alexander the Great did spread in the whole Middle East, then was baptized through our Fathers in the Faith, especially the Cappadocian Fathers, and later, with the coming  of Islam, was translated into Arabic through our ancestors, the Chistians of the Middle East, and so, we, the Christians of the Arab countries, we are a part of the Arabic civilization.

Later on, when Islam arrived to Spain, the Arabs brought their legacy of the Greek culture with them and allow Latin and Germanic Europe to enlarge and deepen contacts with the Greek culture, the Eastern Christian culture and the Arabic Islamic culture.

This is a wonderful circle of culture and civilization which is, also, an invitation to continue, in the cities and countries of the Mediterranean area , the circle of dialogue, of cooperation and of solidarity.
So we have, Ladies and Gentlemen, a common responsibility to be straight and strong in our Christian faith and to promote a really human being, in deep relation with God and with his and our brothers ans sisters, with their own lives and cultures, so as to avoid any clash of civilizations, by promoting, instead, the encounter, exchange and dialogue of cultures and religions.

This is why I have created centers called "Al-Liqaa" – an Arabic word which means "encounter" – in Egypt and in Syria, and now I am building a new and bigger one in Lebanon; here I have a few leaflets about that project.

In such a prospect, we consider that the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem and its members have a very special task: to continue this communion between East and West through the many services – the "diakonia" – that the Order is offering and giving in several countries of the world, to help human beings in need.
Here, I should like also to mention the project of hospital that I am building in Khabab, in a very poor area of Southern Syria, which is the "Arabia" where, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the recently converted Paul stayed after he ran away from Damascus.

In fact, Lazarus, the poor man of the Gospel (different from the brother of Martha and Mary, the friend of Jesus, who is the Patron of our Order), is always at the door of rich people, waiting for their love and help.
So, we have a common mission of faith and at the same time a social mission, which is based upon our holy faith.

To conclude, let me thank all the Knights and Dames of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Malta for all the services they are giving to fulfil their mission and to help us to fulfil ours, that is to continue and strengthen the Christian presence in the Middle East.

+ Gregorios III
Patriarch of Antioch and all the East,
of Alexandria and of Jerusalem 

 

 

Melkite Patriarch Gregorios III visits the Grand Magistery of the Sovereign Order of Malta

 

 

 

 

Rome, 27 April 2010
The Middle East peace process and the migration of Eastern Christians were the focus of the talks today at the Grand Magistery between the Grand Chancellor Jean-Pierre Mazery and the Patriarch of the Catholic Greeks Gregory III Laham. The 76 year-old Patriarch, who lives in Damascus, expressed his appreciation for the Order of Malta’s work in the Middle East and hoped for its cooperation in the patriarchate’s healthcare activities in Syria.
Also recalled on this occasion was Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing’s visit last October to Beirut and his meeting with the leaders of the 17 Lebanese religious communities, attended by the same Patriarch.
The Order’s Prelate, Msgr. Angelo Acerbi and Ambassador Alberto Leoncini Batoli participated in the talks.

Source: http://www.orderofmalta.org/news/en/535/melkite-patriarch-gregoire-iii-visits-the-grand-magistery