- Fr. Jean Daniel, you have been in Jerusalem for several months. Could you tell us how you see our presence there within the framework of the Assumptionist « Mission d’Orient” (Near Eastern Mission)?

- Let me underline what you say: I have only lived in Jerusalem several months. Since 1973 I have taken about 60 groups of pilgrims there. But it’s one thing to bring a group of pilgrims and another thing altogether to live there.

To answer your question, I would say that Jerusalem holds a unique place within the « Mission d’Orient », because it is at the very source of this mission. Ah, yes! The creation in Jerusalem of a Maronite seminary to train young seminarians whom Fr. d’Alzon received at his collège in Nîmes after the massacres of Christians in the Lebanese hills in 1860 was supposed to be our first foundation in the Near East. Fr. d’Alzon had been informed of the possibility of buying the Cenacle and had obtained the agreement of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and of Cardinal Barnabo, Prefect of the Propaganda Fidei in Rome. Filled with enthusiasm, Fr. d’Alzon even thought of buying the Tomb of the Virgin as a foundation site for the Religious of the Assumption!

He had hoped to pursue this project when he came to Rome in May 1862 with a group of pilgrims for the canonization of Japanese martyrs. But a number of Roman churchmen turned his attention from Jerusalem to Istanbul in order to establish there a seminary to form the clergy of the Bulgarian Church in union with Rome. Fr. d’Alzon, who didn’t wish to be taken as fickle, wanted to be sure that this was really the will of the pope. This is the context in which the now famous blessing of Pius IX took place during an audience on June 3, 1862, « I bless your works in the East and the West. ».

It would be 20 years later that Jerusalem would come back into the picture; in 1882, Fr. Picard, Fr. d’Alzon’s successor, brought thousands of pilgrims for the first ‘pilgrimage of repentance.’ This pilgrimage, renewed year after year, is in fact the reason why the Assumptionists are in Jerusalem. In order to receive these pilgrims the Assumptionists built the large hotel complex of Notre-Dame de France. Soon thereafter, the community would begin welcoming young student religious who, under the supervision of Fr. Joseph Germer-Durand, would undertake archaeological excavations as of 1887 on the grounds of St.-Peter-in-Gallicantu. They would also edit numerous scholarly publications which the Institute of Byzantine Studies inherited and maintains to this day. After World War I, the Assumptionists were completely focused on welcoming pilgrims, even if a few students would spend time there for specialized studies in Scripture. It is this mission of welcome that the community of St. Peter-in-Gallicantu continues to this day.

- Are you saying that your mission does not consist first of all, as it does for our other communities in Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, Romania and Greece, in working for Christian unity?

- As I mentioned, the mission of the community in Jerusalem is focused entirely on pilgrims; however, precisely for that reason, Jerusalem offers pilgrims, more than any other of our communities, the opportunity of discovering the diversity of the Christian churches, some of which have been present there since the very beginnings of Christianity. Ecumenism begins with knowing each other. Every Assumptionist who accompanies pilgrims to the Holy Land should be concerned with making these churches known and with foreseeing meetings with them. There is no problem whatsoever in attending a Eucharistic celebration at the Melkite Patriarchate and in so doing to help pilgrims discover the Byzantine liturgy and the reality of a Catholic church that ordains married men. Instead of being scandalized at the divisions one discovers at the Holy Sepulcher, it is better to help our pilgrims see the wealth of this diversity and the desire of all Christians in the world to be present in Jerusalem, for the most part by small national communities. You see that this concern should be that of every Assumptionist who accompanies pilgrims and not that solely of those who live at St. Peter-in-Gallicantu.

- In what exactly, then, does your welcome of pilgrims at St. Peter-in-Gallicantu consist?

- The central welcome that we offer is to pilgrims who come to recall three key moments of Christ’s Passion: his appearance before the High Priest, his death sentence delivered by the Sanhedrin, and the triple denial of Peter, who, at the cock’s crow (Gallicantu), poured out tears of repentance. Several hundred  arrive daily and they are usually accompanied by guides and priests/pastors, so they don’t ask us to give them a tour of the site. It does happen, however, that at times we are asked to hear confessions or to speak to groups about the situation in the country. Since my arrival I have been asking myself how we might better serve these pilgrims, whether they arrive individually or in groups, to have a prayerful experience while here. In this regard, I have been inspired by what the Franciscans do at many sites and I have put together a pamphlet, translated into various languages and offered free of charge to pilgrims, so that they might have some relevant Scripture passages and prayers with them throughout their visit with us.

The next type of welcome has to do with pilgrims who request to stay with us for a time, however long. We cannot ensure that there will be meals, but there is a kitchen at their disposal. What used to be the farm, belonging to Notre-Dame de France, where chicken, pigs, sheep, and cows were raised, has been transformed into a cottage/cabin with 48 beds to accommodate groups of young people mostly. This  sort of welcome allows us a more lengthy contact and many of these guests become friends of the community, both of us Assumptionists and the Oblates of the Assumption who assist us in this ministry of welcome, in the store, and in the church.

A third type of welcome, for Assumptionists as well as others, is that for students who come on sabbatical for a few months, a semester, or a year.

Finally, since my arrival, given my long experience as a retreat-master, I have been offering a monthly retreat for a group of about 20, which includes the holy places of Jerusalem. The Assumptionist magazine Le Pèlerin (The Pilgrim), in its January 12 issue, informed its readers about this; Prions en Eglise (Living with Christ, the French edition) should be doing the same. I dream of bringing preachers for retreats in English, Spanish, Italian, etc.…

There is no lack of projects; it’ll just take time to get them all off the ground. For example, before I arrived, there had been plans to set up a second site, outdoors, for the celebration of Mass so as not to prevent other pilgrims from visiting the church and the crypt while there is a celebration going on.

Our community is not isolated within our compound. We’re in contact with other religious communities and are called upon to be of service from time to time, depending on each one’s ability. Our two communities, Assumptionists and Oblates, make up part of the « Mission d’Orient », each with their own charism, shaped throughout the ages, to which we try to remain faithful and without neglecting creativity.

We’d be happy to welcome you. “Next year in Jerusalem”!