Cyprus Prepares to Welcome Pope
(03 Jun 10 – RV) Right now at Holy Cross Catholic Parish, dozens of people are cleaning, setting up flowers, and putting up banners awaiting the Pope’s arrival in Cyprus.
The Parish is run by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, whose monastery next door houses the Apostolic Nunciature to Cyprus.
It is here the Holy Father will be staying during his three-day journey to Cyprus. It is in the middle of the Buffer Zone, which separates the island into two sections. Just a few meters from here is the Turkish-occupied part of the island, the self-proclaimed Republic of Northern Cyrpus.
The work of the parishioners is being watched from the UN Garrison across the street. Soldiers are wandering around, and watch from the rooftops. A reminder that Cyprus is one of the world’s frozen conflicts.
Pope Benedict will visit the island’s small Catholic Community, including the Maronite Cathedral just around the corner from Holy Cross. Many of the parishioners here are refugees from the 1974 Turkish invasion.
Another focus of the Pope’s visit is Ecumenism. He has been invited by the Orthodox Archbishop, His Beatitude Chrysostomos the Second. Before going to Nicosia, he will have an ecumenical prayer meeting in Paphos, the site of Paul’s missionary journey to Cyrpus.
The meeting will be held in a small Church at the site of the Pillar of St. Paul, where the Apostle was scourged during his visit. The Church, amongst the ruins of a much larger basilica, hosts the town’s small non-Orthodox community. Every week, Catholic and Anglican services are held in the building, and other Protestants meet there on occasion.
The highlight of the trip is on Sunday, when Pope Benedict will publish the Instrumentum Laboris for October’s special Middle East meeting of the Synod of Bishops. The Mass will bring bishops from all over the area as they prepare to discuss the future of the Church in the region.
The Holy Father’s visit is the first for a Pope to the island. The people of Cyprus are hoping it will be a memorable one.
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