Bishop of Allentown heading to Israel for 10-day pilgrimage as part of delegation By Ron Devlin Bishop John O. Barres will pray for peace when he celebrates daily Mass during a 10-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will bring to the Holy Land the intentions of the people of the Diocese of Allentown, who join me in prayer for peace and reconciliation in this troubled part of the world, the bishop said Tuesday. The Mass mysteriously connects, through grace, the people of the Holy Land and the people of the Allentown Diocese. Barres leaves today from Newark International Airport in New Jersey for Tel Aviv in Israel as part of a delegation of 18-member delegation from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Led by Iowa Bishop Richard Pates, the pilgrimage follows in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who prayed for peace during a visit to the Holy Land in May. Barres, 53, whos been bishop for five years, will be a concelebrant of Mass at holy sites in Jerusalem, Galilee, Nazareth and Bethlehem. As a successor of the apostles, it is a powerful moment for me to walk where Jesus walked, preached, died and rose again, he said. It will be a powerful journey. The delegation of U.S. bishops will meet with ecumenical leaders, leading Rabbis and high level political figures in Israel. Initially, Barres said, there was a possibility of meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That meeting is in doubt, he said, given the situation in Gaza. The pilgrimage has been planned before the recent strife, he said, but the bishops are keenly aware of the plight of victims of terrorism and war. Catholic Relief Services of Baltimore, which has missions throughout the Middle East, is co-sponsoring the pilgrimage with the Conference of Catholic Bishops. Barres was installed as the fourth bishop of Allentown by Justin Cardinal Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena in Allentown on July 30, 2009. Pope John Paul II named Barres a Chaplain to His Holiness in July 2000. Pope Benedict XVI named him a Prelate of Honor in November 2005. I consider myself a servant to every person in the geographic area around Allentown, he said. In the words of St. John Paul II, I will celebrate Mass on the altar of the world.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 09:45:07 +0000
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