Middle East: Franciscans launch emergency projects in Egypt, Syria, Gaza

The Franciscan Custodians of the Holy Land, in collaboration with the pro Terra Sancta Association have launched a series of new initiatives of solidarity in Syria, Gaza and Egypt.

In Syria, the Custodians have opened four new aid centres offering shelter to some 200 people and caring for about 4,000 people daily. Every month they help some 50 displaced families to find shelter. The 11 friars still in Syria are working in Aleppo, Damascus, Lattakiah and Knayeh.

In Gaza the Christian parish has only 250 Catholics. The pro Terra Sancta Association plans to provide economic aid for Christian families and children in Gaza to buy medicines, other necessities, sudden arising needs, and economic support to ensure school attendance. Special projects included support for centres for disabled persons in Gaza and in particular in the Latin parish of Gaza City.

In Egypt the Franciscan Custodians have reopened a large Monastery of Musky, formerly the home of an important Latin parish in Cairo which had been left almost empty following the Egyptian revolution in 1952. It is run by the Centre for Eastern Christian Studies, with the patrimony of its library and highly appreciated activity of assistance for study and research, providing a cultural service to the local Christians and Muslims. The friars in Cairo, besides assistance with studies on the Christian communities in the Middle East, also care for people in need in the poor outlying district of Musky, in particular providing basic needs for children of large families, daily food and urgent medical care.

For more informartion on the Franciscan Custodians of the Holy Land see: www.custodia.org/default.asp?id=307

Source: Fides