Fr. Jean-Luc Eckert has lived in the Assumptionist community in Jerusalem for many years. There he has been welcoming the many pilgrims who arrive to recall Peter's denial and repentance at this site considered by some experts to be the former site of the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest at the time of Jesus. He has also had numerous encounters with various Christian communities in Israel and Palestine and has tasted first-hand the warm welcome of the inhabitants of this land, both suffering and luminous. Here he shared with us some of his discoveries.

The seven schools run by the Oblate Sisters of the Assumption in France spent the last year preparing a colorful spectacle to mark the bicentennial of the birth of their founder, Emmanuel d'Alzon. The show includes two parts, the first a dramatic presentation of the life of Emmanuel d'Alzon in five acts and the second a musical tour of the countries where the sisters are located. The entire presentation is entitled, "Emmanuel d'Alzon: A Man with a heart on fire."

Dedication Ceremony for the Statue of Venerable Emmanuel d’Alzon
Assumption College. October 23, 2010

This beautiful sculpture in front of the central place of learning on our campus, the library, already named after the founder of the Assumptionists, portrays d’Alzon the teacher: Thinking back to our visit, this past May, to Nimes and the original “Assumption College high school”, I can well imagine him, 150 years ago, sitting in front of the school, surrounded by his students, as we see it here. Well, he wouldn’t have had any female students at that school. It was for boys only. But he always thought of teaching in the “most absolute sense of the word” (as he called it), not just as “school education”, so that the many works of charity he did, e.g. the girls’ shelter he founded in 1836, can also be seen as educational endeavors. D’Alzon with a boy and a girl – that stands, I think, for the entire spectrum of pedagogical activities initiated by the French nobleman turned priest. He actually saw education itself as a “work of charity” and as one of those works “through which we shall seek to extend the reign of our Lord”, as he wrote in 1855.

Bishop Louis-Armel Pelâtre is an Assumptionist bishop. Since 1992, he has been Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul in Turkey.  As such, he is a member of the Special Synod for the Near East, held in Rome from 10 to 24 of October.  He kindly shared with us some of his impressions.

What has been your experience of this Synod?

It’s wonderful to be able to experience the Church in all of its diversity and the many different ways in which the faith is lived. Yet despite this diversity it is possible to discover the unity of our Near Eastern experience, especially in contrast with the Church of the West. Having taken part in various Synods, I’ve been struck that this one has a very specific character. It is the entire episcopate of the Near East that has gathered around the Pope and not just a number of delegates. Together they are focusing on the theme: “Communion and Witness”. This is Benedict XVI’s first initiative of this kind; nothing like this has ever occurred. And that is particularly significant in the context of the situation today in the Near East: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, war in Iraq, and the emigration of Near Eastern Christians.