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(Milan/e.p.) - An ecumenical delegation of Indian bishops and priests has wrapped up a visit to the Holy Land aimed at forging closer ties between the State of Israel and the Christian community in India and promoting pilgrimages and tourism.

Led by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Mumbai, and Ernakulam–Angamally Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry, the delegation’s four-day visit from February 26th-March 1st included prayers at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher and the celebration of the Eucharist in a Franciscan monastery close to the Cenacle.

The tour, which was sponsored by Israeli ministry of tourism, also comprised leaders from the Syrian Orthodox and Lutheran Churches of India.

During their visit, the delegation met the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, as well as Bishops William Shomali and Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, respectively Auxiliary Bishops in Jerusalem and Nazareth.

Father Pizzaballa briefed the visiting delegation about the different Christian communities that co-exist together with other communities and the present state of Christian faithful in the Holy Land. Also discussed were the growing groups of Christian pilgrims from India, and how the Custody of the Holy Land and Israeli ministry of tourism can help Indians make more spiritual and fruitful pilgrimages.

Bishop Marcuzzo, Patriarchal Vicar for Israel, and Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah received the delegation at the Vicariate of Nazareth on Thursday, March 1st. The Indian delegation was also accompanied by Mrs. Hanna Bendcowsky, one of the leaders of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian relations.

According to UCAN news, nearly 150 Indian Catholics braved rain and freezing temperature to attend a thanksgiving Mass by visiting cardinals and prelates from India at Jerusalem's St. Saviour Church.

"It is very special to have our cardinals and priests here and be able to attend a Mass with them," said Aloysious Leone, a Catholic from southern India. Leone and women in traditional Indian dress asked Archbishop Mari Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum for his blessing.

Only 5 years ago did Catholic migrants from India begin arriving in Israel to look for better employment opportunities. Most of them are from the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Tamil Nadu, as well as Maharastra and Gujarat. Today there are estimated to be around 10,000 Indians in Israel, 6,000 of whom are Catholics of the Syro-Malabar rite. Many of them work as carers for the elderly or physically disabled.

A large community of Indian Catholics, more than 2,000 faithful, reside mainly in the cities of Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Rameh, Tiberias and Haifa, where they work in different sectors of housekeeping.

Also approximately 70,000 Jews of Indian origin live in Israel and are Israeli citizens, many arriving in the country in the fifties and sixties. They were followed more recently by non-Jewish Indians, mostly Hindus and Jains, who began to migrate to Israel for better business opportunities.

© www.terrasnta.net - march 8, 2012