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HOLY SEPULCHER THURSDAY, JANUARY 9,1964 HOLY LAND SUPPLEMENT Pope’s Mass Brings Peace To Long-Troubled Basilica JERUSA EM, Jordan (NC)~ The , erful, peaceful manner In • :h Pope Paul VI offered Mi.jd (Jan. 4) at the site of Christ’s Resurrection, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Old Jerusalem, was like an act of atonement for the centuries of strife disrupting the sacredness of the shrine. For the basilica, intended as a hallowed monument to the Resurreciion, has itself never been completely resur rected, although there has been a greater unity of effort in re cent years among the principal religious communities sharing the basilica: Catholics, repre sented by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, Greek Orthodox and Armenians. The basilica is also shared by the Copts and Syrians, but unanimous consent of only the first three communities is re quired for any changes affecting ity THE BASILICA WAS built by Constantine the Great and con secrated in the year 336. When first seen by the crusaders in the eleventh century, it had un dergone 700 years of disaster and reconstruction. There had been desecrations by the Ro mans, Persians, Arabs, Sara cens, Tartars, and Turks. Most of the present basilica dates only from 1810, when the church was rebuilt by the Greek Orthodox after a devastating fire broke out in its upper gallery on Oct. 12, 1808. The fire destroyed the crusaders’ chapel over the Holy Tomb, the great dome of the rotunda and damaged the stone columns supporting the dome. THE BASILICA disintegrated steadily and was in precarious condition following a severe earthquake in 1927. British military engineers installed steel girders and makeshift braces to prevent it from col lapsing. In 1948 a mortar bomb struck the main dome of the church, directly over the Tomb of Christ, piercing the church’s outer wall but causing only minor damage to the interior. The tomb itself is a space only seven feet long by five feet wide. Three people at most can stand in die space to the right where, three feet above the floor, a piece of marble covers the tomb. IN NOVEMBER, 1949, a fire that burned for 28 hours de stroyed the outer covering of the basilica dome. Two months later heavy rains damaged the interior of th e basilica, which AT BASILICA Pray er By Pope Paul JERUSALEM, Jordan (NC)— Following is the prayer for Christian unity made by Pope Paul VI at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher (Jan. 4): 0 Lord Jesus, our Redeemer, awaken in us the desire and the confidence in Your forgiveness, strengthen the resolve of our conversion and of our fidelity, grant us to feel the certainty and to taste the sweetness of Your mercy, 0 Lord Jesus, our Redeemer and Teacher, give us the strength to forgive others in order that we may truly be forgiven by You. 0 LORD Jesus, our Redeemer and Shepherd, instill in us the capacity to love as You would wish that, following Your example and with the help of Your grace, we may love You and all our bret hren in You. O Lord Jesus, our Redeemer and peace, who have made known to us Your supreme desire that all may be one, grant the fulfill ment of that same desire which we have made our own prayer; that all of us may be one. O Lord Jesus, our Redeemer and our Mediator, intercede before the Heavenly Father in behalf of our prayers, which we address to Him in the Holy Spirit. BRETHERN and children, let us pray. Omnipotent and eter nal God, who have revealed Your glory to all men in Christ, pre serve the works of Your mercy, so that the Church spread over the whole world may perserve with strong faith in the confess ion of Your name. 0 omnipotent and eternal God, consolation of the sorrowful, strength of the afflicated, may the prayers of all who suffer tribulations reach You, in order that all may experience Your mercy in their necessities. Omnipotent and eternal God, who wills not the death but always the life of sinners, propitiously grant our prayers and free them from the pursuit of error, joining them to Your holy Church, to the praise and glory of Your name. jm m*' was left unprotected following the fire. Besides the natural disasters affecting the basilica, there have been “incidents” between the communities sharing it. IN OCTOBER, 1951, Greek Orthodox officials attempted to stop French pilgrims from tak ing pictures in front of the basilica, and in May, 1952, monks of the Armenian and Greek rites tried to bar a Ca tholic procession from entering the church. In 1955 a seven-man com mission of Catholic architects and engineers recommended a sweeping renovation of the basilica. The initial phase of restoring the basilica was agreed to in February, 1958, by representatives of the Ca tholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian communities. The agreement provided for the erection of scaffolding in the basilica’s south transept, which contains the Stone of Unction, traditionally believed to be the place where the body of Christ was prepared for burial. THE SCAFFOLDING was completed in 1959 at a cost of $12,900, which was paid by the three religious communities sharing the basilica. Actual repair work on the basilica was not started until July 3, 1961. Before it was undertaken, a detailed inventory was made of all movable objects at or near the Stone of Unction. The objects, including icons, lamps, chains and candle snuffers, were drawn up on a list show ing to which religious com munity each belongs, and photo graphs were taken depicting the position of the various objects. RESTORATION PLANS in cluded construction of a system o f reinforced concrete tie- beams to be anchored in the facade to give added support to the arches and to brace the passageway running along the wall of the south transept. Architects have said they hope to remove sometime in 1964 the scaffolding and steel but tresses that have shored up the basilica since 1927. A spokesman for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land has stated that work on the basilica, which has been going on at “a turtle’s pace” for a long time, has been speed ed up recently, but it “will take years” before the basilica is fully renovated. ESCAPE FROM ROME f i u ? Ct c ° f P0pe PaUl VI ° n his arrival in * e Hol y Land was to offer Mass in the f hC u° l l SepuIcher ’ erected on ±e site of Christ’s burial and Resurrection. As he IZtfruT basilica thron S s of applauding people closed in about him. Police cleared a path for the Pontiff to his waiting automobile. PILGRIMAGE ENCOURAGES Anglicans Express Hope For Growing Church Ties LONDON (NC)—Anglican Arch bishop Michael Ramsey of Canterbury on the eve of Pope Paul Vi's pilgrimage, an nounced the setting up of an Anglican commission on Roman Catholic relations. Its con stitution and the way it will set about its task still are being worked out but a spokesman explained the aim was to provide a general basis for unity endeavor. “At a time when the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch are meeting in Jerusalem,” the Archbishop said, “Angli cans everywhere will give thanks for the first official contact between Rome and Con stantinople since the Council of Florence in the fifteenth century and will intensify their prayers for unity of all Chris tian people, remembering not least our warm and growing friendship with Reformed churches in this country and elsewhere. The Church of England has maintained con tact with Constantinople since the sixteenth century. In the present century both Arch bishop Lang and Archbishop Fisher visited the Ecumenical Patriarch and one of my earlier visits abroad after my enthronement was to the Ecu menical Patriarch. “WITH THE VATICAN, the Archbishops of Canterbury and Pope Meets Man Saved During War MEGIDDO, Israel (NC)--One of the first people to welcome Pope Paul VI to Israel was a former resident of Rome who with his father was enabled to escape Mussolini’s harsh anti- Semitic laws with the Pontiff’s r T iilee E Gan ^ ? F PR1M ^ G J: Wben p °Pe Paul VI stopped at Tabgha, Israel, by the Sea of ^hfsite wh? he Vl8ited 8 ^ led Church of the Primacy. It is builtover a rock on ^ r °» according to tra ition, Christ named Peter to head His Church. aid when he was still an official of the Papal Secretariat of State. Meir Mendes, deputy director of the Israeli Ministry of Re ligious Affairs, stood on the windswept border between Is rael and Jordan to welcome the Pope a$ he crossed from Jen- nin to the Taanach Gate; “MY FATHER WAS a profes sor and doctor at the University of Rome,” Mendes recounted. “When the anti-Semitic laws were passed in 1939, he was greatly disturbed and decided to take the family to the British mandate of Palestine.” But admission to Palestine was not easily obtained, Men des said, so his father, Dr, Guido Mendes, turned for help to the Vatican. Dr. Mendes had been a medical consultant for various Vatican institutions and he contacted Eugene Cardinal Tisserant, now Dean of the College of Cardinals, who as sured him of help. THE NEWLY ELECTED Pope Pius XII gave orders to assist the Jewish family. The task of handling the affair fell to Msgr. Giovanni Montini, who contact ed the British government. Through his efforts in the name of Pope Pius, the Mendes fami ly was granted permission to emigrate to Palestine. “We have all the letters in our family archives,” Mendes said. “We have never forgotten the Vatican assistance,*' York had established a liaison since Archbishop Fisher's visit to Rome, even before the opening of the Vatican council. The Anglican churches continue to help forward in every way they can the friendship of Eastern and Western Chris tendom. ’The Church of England while adhering to its doctrine as a church reformed as well as catholic has already taken the initiative in informal friendly discussions of the theological questions with Roman Ca tholics, both in this country and on the continent.” IT IS IN ORDER to continue these initiatives—especially in view of any opportunities the Vatican council may bring— that Archbishop Ramsey has de cided to establish the new com- SHRINE Church At Grotto Nears Completion NAZARETH, Israel (NC) tiny grotto of the Annunciation where Pope Paul VI offered Mass is now crowned by the fourth and largest church. The new structure, now near ing completion, was begun as a special project to the Blessed Virgin during the 1954 Marian Year proclaimed by Pope Pius XII. DONATIONS POURED in from all parts of the world for construction of the multimillion dollar church which rises 165 feet above the white rock plat form of a Galilean hill. Many of the gifts came from the United States, including $5,000 from Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York. The church consists of two stories, one of Which ishum underground. The underground church houses the archeological remains found during the de molition of the church built by the crusaders in the 12th century and other excavations. The lower church also houses the small chapel or grotto where Pope Paul offered Mass. It was part of an earlier Byzantine church, built in the fourth century, and contains a pillar marking the site where Thanks King AMMAN, Jordan- Following Is the text of the telegram sent by Pope Paul VI to King Hus sein of Jordan (Jan. 5): We r e p e a t our heartfelt thanks to Your Majesty for your cordial personal welcome and for the many kindnesses shown us during our personal welcome and for the many kindnesses shown us during our pilgrimage to the Holy Land, while we in voke upon your person, upon your family and upon all the beloved people of the Kingdom of Jordan the richest graces and favors of Almighty God. the Angel Gabriel is believed to have stood when he an nounced to Mary that she was to be the Mother of God. THE PRESENT STILL un finished structure replaces a church hastily built by the Franciscans in 1730. They re ceived permission from the rul ing Turks to rebuild the more magnificent church which was constructed by the crusaders in the 12th century, but which suf fered ruin and pillage in the following centuries. A provision of the permiss ion to rebuild the church was that it be done hurriedly. It was built in seven months and covered only a third of the area ot tne crusaders’ church. THE CHURCH OF the cru saders was begun soon after their capture of Jerusalem in 1100. They actually rebuilt a basilica which dated back to 360. In its renovated state the church became the cathedral of Galilee until the defeat of the crusaders and their departure in 1291. The spot of the Annunciation has been venerated by Chris tians throughout the centuries. Its great event is marked with special reverence as Catholics pray the Creed at Mass and bow their heads or kneel when they say “and the Word was made Flesh.” THE SITE OF THE An nunciation also marks the origin of the ”Hail Mary” recited daily by many Catholics. It was here that the Angel Gabriel approached Mary with these words; “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women.” Mary’s final reply to the angel is commemorated in the Angelus; “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me accord ing to thy word.” LAST SUPPER SITE Prayerful Pope Enters ‘Upper Room’ Of Christ mission. Members have not yet been appointed but the chair man is the Rev. Dr. John Kelly, principal of St. Edmund Hall at Oxford University. The commission will be at tached to the Church of Eng land’s council on foreign re lations of which Bishop Faulknew Alison of Winchester is chairman. CANON BERNARD Pawley is presently in Rome as the personal representative of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York at the Vatican’s Sec retariat for Promoting Chris tian Unity. Apparently the new commission will take furthers steps and deal more formally with the work already being done in the interests of unity md closer understanding. JERUSALEM, Israel (NC)— A flood of sacred memories swept through the mind of Pope Paul VI as he entered the “up per room” or Cenacle during his visit here. This is traditionally regard ed as marking the spot where Christ instituted the Eucharist with the words; ‘This is my body. . . This is my Blood.” JUST ONE MONTH earlier Pope Paul had promulgated the new constitution on the liturgy which is aimed at making the sacredness and beauty of the Eucharist more meaningful tc Catholics throughout the world. The Cenacle also served as the site where Christ enuncia ted two great principles of His new way of life; peace and cha rity. THESE TWO IDEAS have served as key points of papal messages throughout the Christian era as Christ’s vi cars prescribed remedies for the maladies of mankind. They were the key thoughts in the first Christmas message of Pope Paul. It was in the Cenacle that Christ told his Apostles as they were gathered around the table at the Last Supper; “PEACE I LEAVE you. My peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.” After His Resurrection,- Christ again entered the same room through locked doors and His first words to the fright ened Disciples were; “Peace be with you.” IN SETTING FORTH His doc trine of charity, Christ told His Disciples in the Cenacle at the Last Supper; ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. . . . ‘ ‘BY THIS WILL all men know that you are my Disciples, if you have love for one another.” The Cenacle was also the setting for Christ’s prayer for unity which has become the motto of the ecumenical move ment sweeping Christian bodies throughout the world. The pray er was quoted by Pope Paul in his Christmas message as he explained that one reason for visiting the Holy Land was to pray for Christian unity. CHRIST’S PRAYER in the Cenacle was; ‘That all may be one, even as Thou, Father, in me and I in Thee; That they also may be one in us.” But the Pontiff’s sacred me mories as he prayed in the Cenacle must have been tinged with sorrow as he recalled the checked history of the holy sh rine, which has not been in Christian hands for more than five centuries. THE CENACLE was used as a general gathering place for Christians in the first days af ter Christ's Ascension. It was here that the Holy Ghost desc ended on the Apostles on Pente cost. It came to be used as a church and was spared destruc tion when Roman Emperor Titus practically leveled Jeru salem in 69-70 A. D. At the time of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (347) it was known as the "upper church of the Apos tles” — “upper” because it was situated on Mount Sion, and therefore higher than the Basi lica of the Holy Sepulcher. It was also the episcopal church until 335. UNDER ARCHBISHOP John II of Jerusalem (386-417) a splen did basilica, “the Holy Sion,” was erected on the site of the primitive Cenacle. This was destroyed by the Persians in 614. It was partially restored between 631 an 634, and des troyed again by the Saracens in 966. After their arrival in 1099, the crusaders rebuilt the edifice and named it “St. Mary of Mount Sion” in memory of the adjacent sanctary dedicat ed to the “Dormidon” or Fall ing Asleep of Our Lady. THE FRANCISCANS obtained charge of the shrine in 1342 at the direcdon of Pope Cle ment VI and with the permiss ion of the sultan of Jerusalem. However the reigning sultan ex pelled the Franciscans in 1551. and the Moslems split up the church in various ways, making a mosque out of the “upper room.” During the 1948 Pales tine war the Cenacle was wres ted from the Moslems and fell into Israeli hands. During the last century and a half that the Moslems held the shrine, Catholics, represented by the Franciscans, visited the Cenacle twice a year; on Holy Thursday and Pentecost, in me mory of the Last Supper and the Descent of the Holy Ghost. However, during the last 30 years they were prevented from kneeling, later from singing hymns, or praying in the upper room. MASS WAS OFFERED furd- vely on rare occasions during Moslem tenure of the shrine. The privilege was given to a few visidng dignitaries after the Moslem custodians had made what they insisted were “cosdy” arrangements. Today the Cenacle is in the charge of the Israeli ministry for religious affairs. Pilgrims, who ask for the privilege, are given entry to the shrine and may pray there. POPE PAUL VI kneels to kiss the Rock of the Agony, embed ded in the floor of a church at the Garden of Gathsemane.