"They came in their thousands"
Published in the International Herald Tribune- Ha'aretz 24 March, 2000
The eighth International Eucharist Congress in 1893 was the last time Catholics came here in droves – until last week. That event was also fraught with political drama, write Michael Aran and Dr Moshe Mossek.
It's a fair bet that no one reading this article will be able to remember back to the last really big Catholic event in the Holy Land. Before Pope Paul VI's brief 1964 visit, one has to go back all the way to 1893. An opportunity to further and counter European influences, and chance to solidify a claim on Jerusalem, a time to celebrate a papal anniversary – the Eighth International Eucharist Congress was all that and more.
It was the first time a significant Catholic congress had ever been held outside Europe. Here's a way to put this week's papal visit into perspective: The congress attracted scarcely more than 1,000 delegates, a far cry from the vast numbers of pilgrims that have made their way here this week.
In 1893, Pope Leo XIII was to celebrate 15 years of papacy. His Holiness's advisers saw the anniversary as an opportunity fraught with potential: a Eucharist Congress in Jerusalem would be a handsome anniversary celebration, and a congress dealing with Catholic issues in the Holy Land would be a welcome way of demonstrating a strong Catholic presence – papal supremacy – in Jerusalem.
In addition, the Eucharist Congress was intended to foster and brace Catholic pilgrimages to the Holy Land; the congress would strengthen the standing of the Vatican against rival churches that were increasing their stronghold in Jerusalem at that time. Last but not least, the congress would serve to strengthen ties with the Catholic Church in the East, branches of which had a semi-autonomous status and even in those days conducted their services in the vernacular – Arabic.
The British consul in Jerusalem, John Dickson, saw signs of incipient trouble in the scheduled congress. On December 22, 1892 he briefed the British Foreign Office.
"Any disturbance resulting from the meeting of an assembly as the above mentioned, presided over by a French archbishop, who would enjoy the personal as well as the political protection of France, would necessarily involve interference other than that of the local authorities, and the consequences would be difficult to predict."
But, plans continued, and two specially chartered steamers from Marseilles and Naples, 'Le Poitou' and 'La ville de Dresde' arrived at Jaffa in May 1893. The pilgrimage, headed by Cardinal Langenieux, the archbishop of Rheims, set off for Jerusalem on a specially decorated train. The pilgrims were met by the French consul, and the Latin Patriarch, the chief Catholic representative in the Holy Land. This was the first "media event" for the new rail service since its inception in 1892, less than one year before.
Despite the British Consul's misgivings, perfect order prevailed in the town during the whole time of the congress, which was held in the Franciscan Monastery of San Salvatore, adjacent to the New Gate in the Old City. Some of the pilgrims were housed in the neighbouring (and still functioning) Casa Nova Hospice; both buildings are located near the present Jerusalem Municipality.
Eliezer Ben Yehudah, reviver of the modern Hebrew language and editor of the Hebrew language newspaper Hatzvi , covered the event. He put it this way:
"Tonight, electric light will illuminate the specially erected marquee at Notre Dame de France (Notre Dame, located just outside the New Gate was founded in 1890. Then, as now, this was a hostel for Catholic pilgrims.) Lo! They brought electric-making machines with them from France. Behold! One corner of Jerusalem will be illuminated by the electricity; and when will all the streets of our city be thus lit? And the consuls of France, Austria and Spain, they being the Catholic consuls, went thither to greet His Excellency. All were attired in the most sumptuous dress and each was announced by their very own Qawass (an Ottoman herald of important personages)."
During the first days of the congress, the pilgrims celebrated Mass in the Church of St. Anne, then gathered at the Garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of Olives and entered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in a solemn procession. The pilgrims visited Bethlehem en masse for High Mass at the Church of the Nativity. In the second week, several Eucharistic meetings were held at Notre Dame and at the Monastery of San Salvatore. Indulgences were meted out by Cardinal Langenieux during both weeks of the congress.
After the event, C.W. Hallward, acting British consul, wrote the following in a brief to the British Foreign Office:
"There were a series of reunions presided over by the cardinal who opened the proceedings. The meetings were attended by 27 bishops, along with French priests to the number of about 250 and many local ecclesiastics; the meetings were open to the public who attended in considerable numbers. The proceedings were conducted in French and consisted chiefly of a series of addresses from various members of the congress on subjects of ecclesiastical interest. All allusions to politics appear to have been carefully avoided, and I do not think that nay special political significance can be attached to the congress, except that it served to emphasize the fact that France exercises a general protection over the interests of the Roman Catholic Church"
In reaction to the congress, the Times of June 12, 1893 stated:
"The Eucharistic Congress recently held at Jerusalem has once more attracted attention to the policy of the Vatican in the East. While the convocation of the Congress is in great part due to the desire of
Leo XIII to bring about a rapprochement with a view to ultimate union between Western Catholicism and the Churches of the East, the diplomacy of the Holy See has at the same time taken advantage of the occasion to further French interest, thereby rendering signal service to the Government of the Republic…The representatives of certain powers at Constantinople were therefore well advised in calling the attention of the Porte [the Sultan] to this gathering and pointing out the possibility of its assuming political significance. They were informed in reply that the Ottoman government will take care that nothing be done to affect the rights and privileges of the powers or of the religious and charitable institutions in Jerusalem…."
The Franciscans, known as the custodians of the Holy Land and the only Christian presence in the Holy Land since Crusader times, from seven centuries earlier until the appointment of the first Latin
Patriarch by the Pope in 1847,decided that the Canali, the head of the Franciscan Order in Rome, would personally visit the Holy Land. The move was specifically targeted to balance out growing French influence.
Reactions to the congress in publications of the Greek Orthodox and Russian Churches were negative, and by no means resonant with the spirit of Christian brotherhood.
In his brief to the Quai d'Orsay in the wake of the Congress, French consul Ledoux reported that the other consuls had shown great interest in the event. He noted that the antagonism of other parties in Jerusalem was avoided by not dispatch units from the French fleet in Bei9rut. The consul lavishly praised the success of the congress in strengthening the status and standing of France and, not surprisingly, recommended that his consular staff be decorated.
From those days until the visit of Pope Paul VI to Jerusalem in 1964, the city saw no other Catholic event of comparable magnitude. In the sermon he delivered at the Church of St. Anne, Pope Paul alluded to the congress, reminding his listeners that the Eighth Eucharis Congress was a milestone in Christian harmony.
The tradition of Eucharist Congresses continues. On October 13, 1997, Time Magazine reported "Bob Dylan and the Pope will appear on the same bill at the 46th World Eucharist Congress in Italy.
The times, they are a-changin'? Maybe.
This is a very interesting blog.
השבמחק