Date: 7.10.2005
Source: Custody of the Holy Land

“Let us all rejoice in the Lord and the Solemnity of the Serafic Father, St. Francis, with us rejoice the angels and praise in the chorus the Son of God". So begins the entrance antiphon of the Mass that is being celebrated today in the church of St. Savior’s in Jerusalem’s Old City. And indeed it has been a great two joyous days for the Franciscan fraternity of St. Savior’s Monastery. Yesterday in fact, the traditional celebration of the Transitus of St. Francis, the Serafic Father – the transit of St. Francis from this earthly life – was held preceded by solemn First Vespers. During the Vespers 20 students of the Franciscan Seminary of St. Savior’s renewed their religious vows. The Father custodian of the Holy Land gave the homily after the short reading from Vespers, in which he invited all the faithful, but especially the friars, to follow the example of St. Francis by entrusting themselves to the Lord without conditions. After the celebration, was held, by now, the traditional party of the seminaries of Jerusalem. They gave a salute to the 3 responsible for the seminaries: Father Nicolas Marquez for the Franciscans, Don William Somali for the Seminary of the Latin Patriarch and Don Francis Preston for the Salesian Seminary Ratisbonne.

Q This morning then, in the Church of St. Savior’s the solemn Holy Mass took place in honor of the Serafic Father St. Francis. This year the main celebrant was an especially invited guest, the newly ordained bishop, His Excellency, Mons. Maroun Lahham, former rector of the patriarchal seminary and now Bishop of Tunisia. Another most welcome presence was that of His Excellency Mons. Fouad Twal, recently nominated coadjutant bishop of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. According to a very old tradition the homily was given by a Dominican priest, Father Krzyzstof Sonek, that remembered the bond of friendship between St. Dominic and St. Francis and he invited those present to be witnesses of the beauty of the friendship between us and Christ, according to the example of St. Francis.

HOMILY of Fr. Krzyzstof Sonek, op [LINK]