Syria, Aleppo: provide a hot meal

Dear friends in Christ,

May the Lord give you his peace,

greetings from Aleppo. In these days our parish of St. Francis Of Assisi is experiencing intense days, both for the occasion of the feast of our patron saint, and for the important changes we have experienced. In fact, recently we celebrated a mass of thanksgiving for the service carried out in the last eight years by Fr Ibrahim Alsabagh, and we greeted him by wishing him a fruitful service in the parish of Nazareth, as it was here in Aleppo. We also celebrated a welcoming Mass, in which the parish community welcomed us, the new Friars of the Franciscan community: me, the new parish priest and Fr Khoukaz Mesrob, a young friar who has just been ordained a priest, as deputy parish priest.

In this regard I would like to introduce myself briefly: My Name Is Bahatat Elia Karakach, born in 1976 in Aleppo, where I grew up in a Christian family of Armenian origin. This parish which today Divine Providence entrusts to my pastoral care is a reality very dear to me. In fact, here I spent the most beautiful years of my adolescence and youth, here I grew up in the faith and here, in 2007 I made solemn vows in the Order of Friars Minor, and in 2008 I had the grace of priestly ordination. From 2010 to 2016 I held the position of Master of postulants of the custody of the Holy Land, and then until 2021 I served as pastor of the Latin community of Damascus, the Syrian capital, while in the last year I served in the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches in Vatican City.

With this simple letter I intend to express, on behalf of all of us Friars of Aleppo and of the entire community we serve, a thank you and appreciation for the exceptional closeness you have shown over the past years to our suffering people, both with your friendship and prayer and with material assistance. With your solicitude our people have been able to survive the most severe trials, and they will always be grateful to you.

For my part, I would like to emphasize my personal willingness and that of all of us Friars, to continue to collaborate with you for the good of the poorest. My predecessor spared nothing to guarantee the poor spiritual and material goods, according to the need of each one. We intend to proceed along the same lines, guaranteeing the continuity of all the good already done and trying to respond to the needs and signs of the Times that are constantly changing.

Therefore we count on the divine grace that never fails and on your precious friendship.

May the Lord bless your life and grant you peace and Grace.

Aleppo, Padre Bahjat Karakach, OFM