On Sunday, May 4, 2025, Msgr. Rafiq Nahra, Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Galilee, presided over the traditional Marian Procession of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, accompanied by Msgr. Boulos Marcuzzo, Msgr. Ilario Antoniazzi, and Msgr. Youssef Matta, Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth, and all Galilee for the Greek Catholics, Archbishop Moussa El-Hage, The Maronite Archbishop of Haifa and the Holy Land, as well as Fr. Koubrianos, the parish priest of Haifa, along with several priests, seminarians, members of various religious orders, and the faithful.
The procession began from the courtyard of the Latin Monastery in Haifa and ascended to the Stella Maris Monastery on Mount Carmel, the shrine of the Prophet Elijah.
The long procession was accompanied by hymns and prayers on the intention of a just and true peace in the Holy Land. The faithful also remembered the late Pope Francis in their prayers and lifted their voices in prayer for the cardinals gathered in the Vatican in preparation for the papal conclave to elect a new pope for the Catholic Church and the world.
History of the Procession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Stella Maris
On December 17, 1914, Turkish soldiers ordered the Carmelite friars residing in the Monastery of Mount Carmel to evacuate within three hours. The friars were granted permission to take whatever they could carry until sunset.
The statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was transported in the monastery’s cart and placed on the high altar of the Latin Parish Church in “Hamra Square,” known today as Paris Square, where it remained until the end of World War I.
On the first Sunday after Easter in 1919, as recorded by Friar Francis Lampe, who served as prior of the Carmel Monastery from 1919 to 1935, the statue was returned to the monastery in a grand procession. It was a massive public demonstration of thanksgiving to Our Lady of Mount Carmel for preserving the safety of the town’s people during the war.
Due to the great participation and impact of the procession on the people, it was decided to make it an annual event. Over the years, it has grown into a major national religious event, drawing Christians from all over the country.
More recently, the date of the procession was set to the second Sunday after Easter. The statue used in the current procession is an exact replica of the original one carried in 1919, designed by Carmelite Friar Luigi Poggi. It is placed on a decorated cart and carried through the streets of the city from the Latin Parish Church, accompanied by thousands of faithful. Upon its arrival at the monastery, the Latin Patriarch bestows his blessing upon the participants.
