Holy Land pilgrimage

Archbishop Paul Cremona and Archbishop emeritus Joseph Mercieca left Malta last night heading a contingent of 168, the majority of them youths, on a seven-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

The idea of holding a pilgrimage for young people to the Holy Land had been brewing for over a year. It was Mgr Cremona himself who thought about it while on his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land as Archbishop in Easter 2008. The pilgrimage was originally open to youths between the ages of 18 and 30 but it was later extended to 35 years. The last few seats were then opened to everyone.

The group will be visiting Mount Tabor, Tabgha, Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, Cana, Jericho, Ein Karem and Emmaus, among other places.

According to Fr Twanny Chircop, Commissioner of the Holy Land and organiser of this trip, the most memorable moments will be the visit to the house of Our Lady in Nazareth, the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the renewal of the baptismal promises in the Jordan River and the adoration in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Besides Fr Chircop, the youths will be accompanied by Franciscan friars Fr Marcello Ghirlando, Fr Ġwann Abela and Fr Noel Muscat.

Graziella Vella, 26, and her brother Simon, 24, were among the first to book this trip.

"As a Catholic I have always wished to visit the Holy Land. Through this pilgrimage, I hope I will better understand the Bible and learn more about the life of Jesus," Ms Vella said.

Amanda Darmanin, 28, wanted to experience something different from the usual holiday destinations. "I always believed that it would be interesting to visit the Holy Land, so I grabbed this opportunity. I like to get a taste of different cultures and traditions and, besides, I think this pilgrimage will help me understand more the Word of God."