Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel join Pope Leo at weekly General Audience

By Fabrizio Peloni

Fourteen thousand faithful from every part of the world took part on Wednesday in Pope Leo XIV’s General Audience. After filling the Paul VI Hall, a small number were accommodated in the Petriano Courtyard and the rest inside St. Peter’s Basilica.

Particularly significant was the presence of 35 faithful from the Saint James Community for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel.

“We are going home to be visible signs of hope,” said Fr. Piotr Zelazko, Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Hebrew-speaking Catholics. 

He explained that the group is in Rome “on a Jubilee pilgrimage representing the seven communities that are part of the Vicariate, and of this beautiful Church of Jerusalem.”

“Our daily hope,” said the Polish-born priest, “is to build bridges between the Jewish world and the Catholic one, praying for the liberation of the hostages, as well as for an end to the suffering in Gaza and for all the victims of the conflict in the Holy Land.”

He highlighted the centrality of forgiveness. “We always seek to be with anyone who is living in pain, because a mother’s tears have no flag, and we as Christians must offer a light for everyone,” he said.

Italian-born Fr. Benedetto Di Bitonto, parish priest of Sts. Simeon and Anna, told Vatican News, “In these days, far from the devastation of the last two years and in the heart of Christendom, our faithful feel the freedom to express their faith and live it together with so many other Catholics who have come from all over the world.”

Young people from “Giorgio La Pira” Youth Work

Other visible signs of hope in the Paul VI Hall were the 150 young people of the international camp promoted by the “Giorgio La Pira” Youth Work.

“To the Pope, all together—regardless of their religion, culture, and nationality—they bore witness that with will and concrete commitment, peace is a real possibility,” said Gabriele Pecchioli, the group’s president. “They are living a human experience inspired by the very timely thought of the ‘holy mayor,’ and they are tackling the great questions of dialogue for peace in the Mediterranean.”

The young people are being hosted from August 10 to 21 at the Villaggio La Vela in Castiglione della Pescaia, which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary.

They are university-age youths from Italy, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine, and other countries of the Mediterranean area.

Among them, Elia Granchi, on his first experience, says he is struck “by the unconditional welcome, without barriers, that we breathe every day among ourselves; in daily sharing, peace is built.”

Altar servers from Malta

Several Maltese altar servers from Gozo also greeted the Pope. They are between 13 and 16 years old and are part of the third of six groups who, during the summer, assist with the liturgical animation of the Masses celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica, renewing a tradition that has been repeated for 60 years.

Since 1965, with the Second Vatican Council not yet concluded, young altar servers have arrived in the Vatican every summer from Malta.

Two paintings as gifts

Michal Libant, founder and head of the Dismas community, active in spiritual assistance in Slovak prisons, gave Pope Leo XIV a painting made by a lifer from Leopoldov.

“God does not act only outside. God wants to change people even in prison,” explains Mr. Libant, underscoring how “even to these people the heavenly Father gives the possibility of coming home.”

Eva Vukina, a young Croatian artist, also presented one of her own paintings, entitled Habemus Papam. “On 8 May, the day of Pope Leo XIV’s election, I made it in four hours, and I felt I was depicting how the Holy Spirit acts in the Church,” explains the young woman, who attended the audience accompanied by Sr. Matija Pačar.

The Franciscan Sister of Christ the King shared, “In her works I see heaven; they are an act of faith and joy; they are the fruit of her prayer.”