Above the city wall

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 The sky was nice and blue yesterday around 4 pm, and the wind brisk. 

The Vatican flag was easy to see, flying atop St. Saviour's (Franciscan)  Monastery in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City.

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(A sky for SkyWatch Friday.)

New on Facebook: News.va (i.e. Vatican) !

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The statue of Peter at Capernaum quoting Matthew 16:18:
"Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church."

Following all the grand ceremonies for the beginning of the Church's Year of Faith and the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council has become very easy.
The Vatican just opened a Facebook page called News.va English ! 

They describe it thus:

News.va is a service provided by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, in cooperation with the media offices of the Holy See, including, Fides News Agency, L'Osservatore Romano, the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican Information Service, Vatican Radio, the Vatican Television Center (CTV) and the Internet Office of the Holy See. . . .

If you prefer not to "like" the Facebook page, you can get your Vatican news at http://www.news.va/en instead.

Of course, what we  best remember and appreciate from the Second Vatican Council is Nostra Aetate, the document which revolutionized the Catholic Church's approach to Jews and Judaism and opened the way for dialogue and some mutual respect.
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Foreign flags fly over the French Hospital

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In the previous post we went inside Jerusalem's French Hospital St. Louis.
Today I want to tell you, for ABC Wednesday, that foreign flags fly over the French Hospital!
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There's the flag of the Vatican.
Enlarge the photo if you don't believe me.

See the tricoleur above St. Louis? It was flown for le 14 juillet, France's Bastille Day.
And sometimes (or so the guides like to tell) you can even see our very own Israeli flag up there.

I'm pretty sure that the French Hospital is the only Vatican property in Jerusalem whose food is certified kosher by the rabbinate.
Jews and Muslims as well as Christians are hospitalized in this hostel for chronically- or terminal-ill patients, so the kosher certificate is important.

Six Sisters of Joseph runs the hospital together with 25 foreign volunteers and 60 staff.
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Sr. Hannah, an Israeli Arab, was very kind in guiding our group from Yad Ben-Zvi.
She even let us see the panoramic view from the roof.

Fortunately we hit the roof AFTER 16.00 hours.

In back of the laundry on the roof you can see another Vatican territory, that of the huge Notre Dame de Jerusalem.
(More about that pilgrim house under my label "Notre Dame.")
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Turning to the south you see the New Gate into the Old City.
The photo below is from 2009, when the tracks for the new light rail were still not complete.
This month the trams are making test runs along the tracks. Progress!

UPDATE Feb. 2014: An excellent little video about the hospice just came out.
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Bastille Day at the French Hospital

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Walking up Sultan Suleiman St. (also now know as Paratroopers Way), I wondered why the hospital was flying a French flag today.
Aha, it must be July 14, Bastille Day, le 14 juillet!
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Normally the French Hospital St. Louis flys the Vatican flag.
The dedicated nun-nurses and volunteers care for terminally ill patients, whether Christian, Muslim, or Jewish.
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But for a funny story about this hospice, see the beginning of an article by Aviva Bar-Am.
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yes

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Y is for yes at ABC Wednesday today.

Yes started broadcasting in 2000, breaking the cable monopoly in Israel which had lasted more than a decade and ushering in digital broadcasting technology.
Yes is the sole satellite television provider (DBS) in Israel and has 570,000 subscribers (in a country whose population is just over 7 million).

The first two photos show the roof of St. Louis French Hospital, right next to Notre Dame de Jerusalem.

That is Vatican territory (see the flag?).

Sometimes I wonder if the devout Catholics there have a direct channel from Heaven, with all their satellite dishes. I hope the reception is good. :)

Some 65% of Israeli households own subscriptions to multi-channel cable television or satellite service providers.

The photo above shows one of many yes dishes in a Bedouin village in the Negev desert. Darajat village must have its water trucked in and they are not yet connected to the national electric grid. Which shows you that TVs can work even from generators.

The cats in my village seem to like this spot on my next-door neighbor's roof.

You suppose they have a little television up there and watch cat cartoons?

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My TV news comes only through the Internet, on my notebook computer. No television set for me.

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The Pope is saved

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Where are the Swiss Guard boys when you need them?!

(Photo by Pete Souza, July 10, 2009)

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Some 15,000 visitors came to Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem last night and all went peacefully, thank God.

But not so at the Vatican!

(My photo from the Papal Mass in Jerusalem, May 2009)

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At about 10 p.m. Rome time, as the procession of clergy was entering St. Peter's Basilica, an "unstable" woman jumped the barricade and rushed toward Pope Benedict.

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Before being swarmed by plainclothes bodyguards (not the Swiss Guard), the Jerusalem Post says "She grabbed the pope's vestments as she was taken down, with Benedict seemingly falling on top of her."

Cardinal Roger Etchegaraywas also knocked down in the commotion and was taken to hospital with a broken leg.

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Strange. As the live transmission of the Midnight Mass began, I remember praying over my computer, "Please Pope Baruch, don't fall. Don't let anyone attack you. Be safe!"

(It is the old Jewish Mother syndrome. We worry.)

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Suddenly the Vaticano CTV webcast went blank and my heart skipped a beat.

But it soon resumed, showing the Pope already at the altar. I wondered why he looked sad. Sad on Christmas Eve?

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Only two hours later, when the nice Mass was ended, did I hear about the incident on Israel radio news.
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The woman in the red hooded sweatshirt can be seen as she was caught on this video.

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Good for you, Your Holiness, for picking yourself up and continuing to lead your people in the praise of God. Sei gesund und stark, Pope Baruch.

Merry Christmas to you and all.

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UPDATE: CNS (Catholic News Service blog) just published more details, including this shocking item:

"Vatican sources confirmed that the woman was the same person who attempted to rush the pope at Midnight Mass last year, but was tackled by guards before she could reach the pontiff."

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CNS also posts a good amateur video of the woman filmed from right behind her.

You think she will try again next year?? Oi veh!

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Rome and Jerusalem

Today is the Vatican's 80th birthday.
Yes, really, only 80 years old. It is an official holiday there today. Vatican City became a sovereign state on February 11, 1929 after an agreement between Pope Pius XI and Mussolini led to the signing of the Lateran Treaties.
Enlarge this photo of the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center and you see the Vatican flag flying. Imagine, stepping into Vatican territory in the middle of Jerusalem!
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Notre Dame received its first pilgrims in 1888. The building's history is at their website.
I found this paragraph the most interesting:
"Large groups of pilgrims began coming to the Holy Land in 1882 under the direction of French Assumptionists. . . . Notre Dame de France Pilgrim Center met the requirements for the new types of large pilgrimages in which 500 pilgrims would arrive and depart at the same time on special ships equipped with chapels. At Notre Dame de France, the pilgrims found accommodations commensurate with their numbers. The Assumptionists assisted them spiritually and served as guides as they visited the Holy Places."
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So, happy birthday Vatican City.
Hey bloggers, have you checked out the Vatican's new dedicated channel on YouTube? Click here and see daily videos of what Pope Benedict is up to.