Taybeh, is a Palestinian Christian village, located in the center of the West Bank, 30 km from Jerusalem. From its elevation (920m) and location between biblical Samaria and Judea, it overlooks the desert wilderness, the Jordan Valley, Jericho, and the Dead Sea.
Archeological evidence suggests that Taybeh dates to the new Stone Age and has deep Canaanite roots. It is mentioned multiple times in the Old Testament as Ofra, and in the New Testament, as Ephraim, which is the village in which Jesus chose to stay with His disciples after he raised Lazarus from the dead.
Taybeh’s 1,500 inhabitants are intensely proud of their Christian heritage, folklore, and culture. Today, Taybeh is the only Christian village in Palestine with a 100% Christian population.
The History of the Parish
The Latin parish was established in 1860 after the faithful of Taybeh requested the presence of a priest. Hence the Patriarchate sent Fr. Philippe Uhlenbrock, a German priest, to serve the faithful there, and during his stay, a small church and a rector were built.
In 1888, Fr. Charles De Foucauld, who Pope Francis canonized as a saint in 2022, visited the Taybeh parish as a pilgrim and returned to it in 1897, where he spent 8 days in prayer and meditation. Later, many of his spiritual writings were found, adding a new spiritual depth to the Taybeh parish. And in 1962, 84 missionaries who followed the spirituality of the Saint, came to spend a month in the parish and encouraged the priests to renovate the room where the Saint had stayed, to act as a treasure for later generations.
For years, many priests served the parish of Taybeh both on a spiritual level and infrastructurally, by expanding its facilities and school building, as the number of faithful grew. Among them was Fr. Johnny Sansour (1946-2021), a native of Beit Jala, who took charge of the parish of Taybeh from 1973 until 1989, he elevated the school to become a secondary school. He also worked to promote the Taybeh village as a religious tourist destination with the help of the Malta Order, which attracted many pilgrims to the area.
a Procession led in Taybeh by Patriarch Beltritti
The Patriarchate Schools
- In 1869 the Latin Patriarchate established a second school in Taybeh. This school was divided into two parts, one for boys and one for girls.
- In 1966 the “two schools” became co-educational.
- In 1978, it became a secondary school, facilitating the enrollment of many students from the neighboring villages.
The school has two floor levels, a yard, and playgrounds for basketball, volleyball, and handball. It comprises all the stages of learning, from kindergarten through secondary, offering both literary and scientific streams. It has a modern library that contains at least fifteen hundred books in both English and Arabic languages.
the Patriarchate school students visit the Patriarchate 'Beit Afram Elderly House' in Taybeh
The legacy continues
Indeed, after the Nakba in 1948, many faithful immigrated from Taybeh, yet it remained in their hearts, as they have not cut contact with the parish, and continue to be a helping hand by their show of generosity.
Fr. Bashar Fawadleh is the current parish priest of Taybeh, who has been serving the parish since 2021 and continues to preserve its unique identity and cultural and religious presence.
His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, will visit the Latin parish of Taybeh from June 1st until the 3rd. Stay tuned for day-by-day pictures of the visit, through our Facebook page: the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
