On Saturday, April 6th, 2024, H.B. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over a Mass at the Church of Mary of Magdalene in Majdal on the Lake of Tiberias, in celebration of the Saint who first proclaimed the Gospel. Concelebrating was Mgr. Bolous Marcuzzo, and Mgr. Boutros Bourkhir, as well as several priests, sisters, and the faithful.
Fr. Juan Solana, director of the Magdala project, welcomed H.B. the Cardinal and all the attendees, on the Octave of Easter, which coincided with the 10th Anniversary of the consecration of the church of Magdala. The Mass was offered for the intention of Mr. Samir Abu Nassar, one of the benefactors of the church and the project.
In his homily, Card. Pizzaballa, expressed how Christians ought to live their faith from St. Mary of Magdala amidst challenges and hardships, making it an integral part of our life, saying: “It is a way of being in life, it is a criterion behind the choices to be made, it is a way of looking at reality, it is the capacity for a free gaze on the world…And we all wonder how to hold together these two elements that seem to be in contradiction to each other, how to make unity in our lives and in our communities between what we celebrate, the Easter of resurrection, and life, marked by so much pain and death”.
The Ancient town of Magdala began in the Hellenistic period. The town was buried until 2009. It is here where Jesus likely taught the multitudes and healed the afflicted, including Mary Magdalene.
