(FMC) The Shrine of St. Peter in Jaffa: a natural beauty overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The tower of the church, overlooking the harbor, for centuries has been the beacon for pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.
Biblical Christian tradition names Jaffa as the location of various episodes of Peter’s apostolate: the resurrection of Tabitha, the hospitality given to Simon the Tanner, where Peter also had the famous vision of the sheet let down from heaven, containing all kinds of animals, both pure and impure.
From here, he departed for Caesarea in order to welcome into the Church the Roman centurion Cornelius, who was the first among the pagans to convert with his whole family. From Jaffa, the prophet Jonah set sail for Tarshish, and on this same beach, the fish, according to local tradition, spat him out.
The church of St. Peter, where daily masses in different languages are held for a lively local congregation, was built in 1654 on a medieval fortress. In the eighteenth century, it was destroyed twice and the present structure dates back to 1894.
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