ASIA/SYRIA - Franciscan march in the footsteps of Saint Paul

Damascus (Agenzia Fides) – They have walked, prayed, passed through dangers, and shared the joys and difficulties of their trip, following in the footsteps of Saint Paul, to learn from him how to be authentic apostles. This has been the extraordinary experience of the youth from various Middle Eastern countries who, accompanied by Franciscan religious, recently did the “Franciscan March” in Syria, in the footsteps of Saint Paul.
As Agenzia Fides was informed by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, the theme for the march was: “Paul, from persecutor to apostle in Jesus Christ.”
“Like St. Paul, [this phrase] was to guide us so that we could get to know, love and follow our God,” said Fr. Firas Lutfi, OFM, Vocational Animator for Syria. The march was an initiative to help youth to enter into a deeper vocational discernment, through the experience, the prayer, reading of the Bible, the daily contact with other religious men and women.
“And we, the young people of Syria, the country where the greatest event in the life of St. Paul took place – being called on the road to Damascus – , could not fail to walk reflecting on the importance of this event, also in reference to our personal stories,” the participants said.
In order to enter into Paul’s thought, it is necessary to start from Damascus, because Damascus represents the moment of his first illumination. That is why the Franciscan march began from Damascus and later in the North: Ghassanieh, Yacubieh and Knayeh, places that recall the origins of the Apostolic Church in Syria, only a few kilometers away from the city of Antioch (another Pauline site in Turkey).
Organizers noted that the participation of young people this year was significant, both due to the large number of them and their different origins (Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt). The "many national colors” of the participants offered an element of richness and exchange of cultural gifts.
To celebrate the jubilee year of St. Paul, Mons. Giuseppe Nazzaro, Apostolic Vicar of Syria, granted the participants in the March a plenary indulgence, offering the youth another reason to rejoice and a little “piece of Paradise.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 26/9/2008)