Many families from Nazareth, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Jericho, will take part in a Symposium on February 7th, in Nazareth, at the Basilica of the Annunciation and the Shrine of the Family. This meeting, chaired by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod, on: "Family call and mission within the Church and the contemporary world" A reality in the Holy Land, will be marked by different moments and a variety of interventions on biblical and pastoral topics as well as by testimonies, all intended to explore the challenges and the potential of the reality of the family in this place where the Holy Family of Nazareth lived. The Speakers will include teachers of the "Studium Biblicum Franciscanum" in Jerusalem, Christian spouses, the bishop responsible for family ministry. Time will also be allotted for all participants to ask questions or speak about their experiences. The day will end before the grotto of Nazareth, with the celebration of Holy Mass, presided by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Cardinal Baldisseri will speak about the synodal path leading to the XIV General Assembly of the Synod next October. After his arrival, on the evening of February 6th, the Secretary General will be received by the custodian of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Guardian, the Rector and the local community in Nazareth, where there will be a fraternal meeting with the families. This encounter will be followed by the inauguration of "Casa Nova," an ancient Franciscan house created to accommodate the pilgrims, which, after having been renovated, will once again offer them accommodation. On the day of the symposium, February 8th, the Cardinal will preside over a solemn Mass, during which he will ordain deacon and priests three brothers of the Custody of the Holy Land.
