By Monika Faes
On Saturday, Oct 18, nearly two hundred young people from across Israel, from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Nazareth, and Galilee gathered for the Youth Festival organized by the St. James Vicariate for Hebrew-Speaking Catholics in cooperation with the Youth Ministry Team of the Galilee.
Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking participants came together for a full day of prayer, music, workshops, and encounter, united by their shared love for Jesus Christ.
The festival opened with a prayer and greeting led by Fr Piotr Zelazko, Patriarchal Vicar for the St. James Vicariate for Hebrew-Speaking Catholics, together with Fr Ramez Twal, Chaplain of the Youth in Galilee.
Their words of blessing invited the youth to start the day with open hearts, united in faith, joy, and the desire to grow together as one Church.
The monastery courtyard was transformed into a joyful sea of color. Young people painted flowerpots with messages of peace, sang songs of praise, created bracelets of hope, and wrote their personal prayers on a “Wall of Sentences of Hope.”
Amid the sound of guitars and laughter, there was also silence: moments of deep reflection, confession, and worship.
A Cardinal’s Message of Courage and Faith
The highlight of the day was the arrival of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Bishop Rafic Nahra, Patriarchal Vicar for Israel, who joined the youth in the courtyard under a bright autumn sky, hearing confessions and celebrating Holy Mass.
In his homily, the Cardinal spoke with warmth and realism about what it means to be believers in the Holy Land today.
“Christian faith is not merely a religion,” the Cardinal said. “It is a way of life, a way of being life. It is not only what we do, but how we do it, how we express what we have in our hearts.”
He praised the young people’s courage for organizing such a meeting “when everything was saying the opposite,” recalling that the decision to hold the festival was taken during a time of deep discouragement.
“Now everyone is talking about peace and reconciliation,” he added, “but you already believed that something new could begin. I want to express my appreciation for your courage.”
The Cardinal encouraged the youth not to listen to the voices of doubt or division, but to the voice of Jesus, who prays “that they may all be one.”
A Festival of Hope in Difficult Times
Throughout the day, groups moved between creative stations, shared meals, and moments of music and worship.
Conversations in Hebrew, Arabic, and English blended naturally. The festival embodied what the Church in the Holy Land so often strives for: communion beyond language, background, or community lines.
Fr Piotr Zelazko, Patriarchal Vicar for the St James Vicariate for Hebrew-Speaking Catholics, said that “it might be the only place in the world where the Church prays in Hebrew and in Arabic together.”
“We will try to continue to spread the message of unity to the entire Holy Land,” added the Vicar.
“We cannot keep love for ourselves,” Cardinal Pizzaballa reminded the youth. “Love, when kept, becomes possession and dies. Love flourishes when it becomes donation. We are happy not because things are easy, but because we can give what we have received. Something so great that the power of evil cannot prevail against it: Jesus Christ.”
As evening fell, the youth gathered again for adoration and worship. The courtyard glowed with lights, and the sound of hundreds of voices singing together rose into the night.
Fr Benedetto Di Bitonto and his fellow musicians led the worship concert. A moving moment in which voices rose together in Hebrew, Arabic, and English, echoing the unity and joy that had filled the entire day.
The Cardinal’s words summed up the spirit of the day. “Maybe you do not understand it now, but these are the small signs we need. Here, in this land often known for division and exclusion, there is still a small remnant able to make the difference.”
A Small Remnant, a Great Mission
The Youth Festival of Deir Rafat was not only an event but also a testimony: that the young Church in Israel, small, diverse, and multilingual, remains united, alive, and creative.
With courage, music, and faith, these two hundred young people showed that unity is possible, that joy is stronger than fear, and that the Gospel continues to inspire hearts to hope.
“We are not here by chance,” the Cardinal said earlier. “We are here out of providence. Jesus wants us, His Church, His community. To belong to Him means to stay, to keep the channel open to Him.”
In Deir Rafat, that channel was wide open, and through it flowed the quiet strength of a faith that will not give up. – Vatican News
