Israeli soldiers stand in front of photos in the Hall
of Names at the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem. The museum
exhibits original artifacts, testimonies and photographs of the Holocaust.
Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the memorial during his visit to the Holy
Land.
CNS PHOTO/DEBBIE HILL
Knights of Holy Sepulcher help
cover costs of Holy Land trip
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Equestrian Order of the
Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, established in 1847 by Pope Pius IX, to support
the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and other Catholics living in the
Holy Land, has given about $325,000 to Pope Benedict and the same amount
to Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem to help cover the expenses
of the pope’s May 8-15 visit.
The order has about 24,000 members in 32 countries. Members propose other
Catholics for membership and, with the local bishop’s approval,
they are invested in the order. Thirty-six members live in the Oakland
Diocese.
Each member pledges to pray each day for the good of the Church, especially
in the Holy Land and to support the Church there so it does not become
a museum, but remains a living Church.
Since the year 2000, members of the order have given almost $65 million
to support parishes and schools and other institutions such as St. Joseph’s
Hospital in Jerusalem and Bethlehem University, which is run by the Christian
Brothers.
About half of the students enrolled in Catholic schools in the region
are Christian, said U.S. Cardinal John P. Foley, grand master of the order.
All schools in Israel, including Catholic schools, receive government
funding, he said, but that is not the case in Palestine and Jordan, which
is one of the reasons why so many schools in those areas receive funding
from the Holy Sepulcher order.
The order also assists with tuition, because “we do not want any
Catholic child to be deprived of a Catholic education because their families
can’t afford it,” he said.
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