Assumption College in Worcester, MA is very happy to be able to take a contingent of students and other members of the Assumption community to World Youth Day this summer in Madrid, Spain, August 16-21st. This will provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our students not only to attend World Youth Day, but also to gain a much broader, global perspective of the Assumption family and the Catholic Church.

(Last week we posted an article by Brother Milad Yacoub, a young Egyptian Assumptionist entitled "Christian and Arab -- Is It Possible to be Both?" In the present interview Brother Milad shares several observations on his country, the current political situation, and his own dreams.)

Question 1: Br. Milad, you are an Egyptian Christian who is now living in France. Do you still have family members in Egypt and how often are you able to visit? 

My two parents live in Cairo, Egypt, 15 minutes away from the pyramids. My brother and his wife, expecting their second baby, are back in Egypt after several years spent in Qatar. I am always in contact with my family via phone and Internet and I go back there every two years.

by Brother Milad Yacoub, A.A.
(Many Christians, in Europe or elsewhere, are often confused about the Middle East. So it is that many believe that if a person is an Arab, he must also be Muslim by religion, or vice versa, that if someone is Muslim, he must be an Arab. Br. Milad, an Assumptionist of Egyptian background, helps us to see things more clearly.)

Is it possible to be both a Christian and an Arab? Yes. Many Christians throughout the world are surprised to hear this. And yet, there are millions of us Christians who read the Bible in Arabic. What’s more, we also address God as “Allah.”

In a recent article in AMERICA, Drew Christiansen, S.J., the editor in chief of America, reflects on the powerful spiritual encounter one experiences in visiting the church of St. Peter in Gallicantu in Jerusalem. This site is believed to be Caiaphas’ palace and where Jesus’ trial and Peter’s denial took place.

The current church is of special significance to the Assumptionists, as it was built by Fr. Etienne Boubet, A.A. in 1920s and was magnificently renovated by Fr. Robert Fortin, A.A. between 1994 and 1997. Pilgrims from around the world who visit St. Peter’s are profoundly touched by its biblical importance and the beautiful art which calls them to repentance, contrition and conversion. As the author states, “St. Peter Gallicantu is special among holy places because step by step it offers so many opportunities to enter into Christ’s passion…”