On 16th March 2008, His Eminence Ivan Cardinal Dias presided over Palm Sunday celebrations at the Holy Family Cathedral in Kuwait City which began with the Blessing of the Palms at 6:00 p.m., at the Grotto, followed by a concelebrated Holy Mass in the Cathedral.
This was His Eminence's first visit to Kuwait as Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. In his present capacity as head of the congregation, he supervises almost 40% of the world's Catholic dioceses.
His Eminence was on a short tour of the Arabian Gulf states. His historic visit to Qatar on 14th March 2008 was marked by the consecration of the first Catholic church (Our Lady of the Rosary) in the region.
*******************
WELCOME ADDRESS BY H.L. BISHOP CAMILLO BALLIN, MCCI,
VICAR APOSTOLIC OF KUWAIT
*******************
"Your Eminence,
It is a joy for us all to welcome you today to our Cathedral in Kuwait. As you may notice, our church is small but our hearts are big and we welcome you whole-heartedly. We thank you for coming. We see in your visit a special affection that you have for us. God reward you and give you courage and strength.
Your Eminence, we are around 350,000 Catholics in Kuwait. Our Vicariate is made up of many communities: Indians, Filipinos, Bengalis, Sri-Lankans, Koreans, Pakistanis, Arab nationals and Europeans. In spite of our differences in nationality, language and culture, we make up one Church under the authority of the Holy Father Benedict XVI who wanted you to share with him the responsibility of the Church in the Gulf. The Bishop of Arabia and I are happy to collaborate with you for the good of our faithful. His Grace the Nuncio also has his role to achieve this purpose.
Since the three years that I am with the faithful of Kuwait, I can say that our people are a great encouragement for us. Their thirst for knowing the Word of God and their deep personal participation in the Liturgy are a big help for us in our apostolate and to support them in being witnesses for Jesus Christ wherever they work or live. Your Eminence, we ask for your prayers for this Church so that we may always continue to be united. We also ask you to convey our warmest greetings to the Holy Father with our fervent hope to see him here in Kuwait one day, in sha’ Allah.
Thank you once again for your visit and for your love. May the Virgin Mary protect you in your mission and intercede for peace in our neighboring country and all over the world. God bless you and be with you always."
*******************
LITURGY OF THE WORD
(Readings for Palm Sunday)
*******************
| First Reading: |
Isaiah 50:4-7 |
| Resp. Psalm: |
Ps 22
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? |
| Second Reading: |
Philippians 2:6-11 |
Gospel
Acclamation: |
Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.
|
| Gospel: |
Mt 27:11-54 |
-- Photographs by Wilson Saldanha
