Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Prayer by Pope Benedict XVI - Vespers, Upper Basilica of the Annunciation

Reuters Thu May 14, 3:35 PM ET

Pope Benedict (C) celebrates mass in the Church of the Annunciation in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth May 14, 2009. The Church, built over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches in the town where Jesus grew up, contains a grotto in which, tradition says, the Virgin Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that she would give birth to the Son of God.REUTERS/Jonathan Nackstrand/Pool (ISRAEL POLITICS RELIGION SOCIETY)
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Pope Benedict XVI in Israel, is an excellent multimedia site dedicated to Pope Benedict's trip to Israel:

Pope Benedict XVI in Israel
14 May 2009

It is profoundly moving for me to be present with you today in the very place where the Word of God was made flesh and came to dwell among us.


Pope celebrates Vespers in the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth (Photo: Reuters)

Brother Bishops,
Father Custos,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is profoundly moving for me to be present with you today in the very place where the Word of God was made flesh and came to dwell among us. How fitting that we should gather here to sing the Evening Prayer of the Church, giving praise and thanks to God for the marvels he has done for us! I thank Archbishop Sayah for his words of welcome and through him I greet all the members of the Maronite community here in the Holy Land. I greet the priests, religious, members of ecclesial movements and pastoral workers from all over Galilee. Once again I pay tribute to the care shown by the Friars of the Custody, over many centuries, in maintaining holy places such as this. I greet the Latin Patriarch Emeritus, His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, who for more than twenty years presided over his flock in these lands. I greet the faithful of the Latin Patriarchate and their current Patriarch, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, as well as the members of the Greek-Melkite community, represented here by Archbishop Elias Chacour. And in this place where Jesus himself grew to maturity and learned the Hebrew tongue, I greet the Hebrew-speaking Christians, a reminder to us of the Jewish roots of our faith.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 8:33 PM