(Terrasanctablog)(ATS) Heeding Pope Francis’ words not to forget the elderly, Franciscan Friars in the Holy Land hosted 100 senior citizens from Bethlehem at the Christmas party, along with the parish priest and many othersMore than one hundred senior citizens attended the Christmas party at the Antonian Charitable Society of Bethlehem.
They had a splendid day, with singing, dancing, a first-class meal and the traditional Christmas bingo. Also present were the new Bethlehem parish priest, Nerwan Al Banna, the Gianelline Sisters and the nurses who each day take care of the elderly and the ill at the center, along with numerous friends and volunteers.
These senior citizens are frequently alone, abandoned and without resources, but due to the support of the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land and ATS pro Terra Sancta through many friends and donors they are able to live in a dignified manner and peacefully enjoy this stage of their life.
In a land that frequently places them at the margins of society, the Bethlehem parish priest, while serving the elderly at the tables of the day-care center, noted that “we Franciscans are here to be with these people, with those most in need, the most impoverished. It is in their midst that we carry out our mission”.Click here to make a donation to help the Franciscan Foundation continue its great work.