HOLY LAND: Missionary workshop, a space for encounter, reflection and the renewal of the missionary vocation

In the year marking the 100th anniversary of the Pontifical Mission Societies, the Church in the Holy Land gathered for a Missionary Workshop dedicated to reflecting on what it means to be a missionary today. In a land where peoples, cultures, traditions and different experiences meet every day, missionary vocation calls for an attitude of listening, discernment and openness to the needs of the present. The Pontifical Mission Societies in the Holy Land, through its Committee, brought together nearly 50 participants from Galilee, Nazareth, Jerusalem and other communities. Lay people, young people, religious men and women came together for a time of encounter, reflection and renewal of their missionary vocation within the Church of the Holy Land.

The workshop aimed to strengthen missionary animation and renew the commitment to serving the Church and the people of the Holy Land.

Three voices offered complementary perspectives on the meaning of mission today.

His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, invited participants to reflect on the new forms of poverty emerging today and on the real needs of society. Mission, he stressed, cannot simply consist in continuing to do what has always been done. It requires discernment about where the Church is called to be present today: accompanying, forming, welcoming and becoming a meaningful presence among people.

Fr. Francesco Ielpo, OFM, Custos of the Holy Land, placed communion at the heart of mission, recalling Jesus’ prayer: “That all may be one.” In a Holy Land marked by diversity, he highlighted the importance of dialogue, closeness and fraternity. Mission begins with encounter, listening and service, and finds in Jesus the source that unites believers and sends them forth to build fraternity.

Sr. Gabriela Penka, VMAS, focused attention on the concrete challenges facing the Church today, particularly the presence and pastoral care of migrants and asylum seekers. Missionary service, she recalled, begins with attentiveness to the people and realities that surround us.

The workshop, however, was more than a series of talks. It became an opportunity to meet as Church, share experiences, listen to one another and rediscover that, despite different situations and charisms, all are called to walk together.

For the Committee, the workshop represented a valuable annual opportunity to pause, listen, discern and renew the missionary commitment in the Holy Land. In this centenary year, the gathering also became a reminder of the missionary journey received and of the responsibility to carry it forward.

Mission, ultimately, does not begin only with what we do. It begins when we open our eyes to recognize the person before us, listen to what they need, and allow Jesus to show us how to be present.