Fr NIKODEMUS SCHNABEL, osb Vicar for migrants and asylum seekers - Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem “What is Jerusalem? Jerusalem is a local and universal Church and both need one another”. Fr. Nikodemus Schnabel was appointed a year ago to deal with migrants and asylum seekers as patriarchal vicar. Fr NIKODEMUS SCHNABEL, osb Vicar for migrants and asylum seekers - Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem “I’d never expected this intensity. We’re speaking about many sisters and brothers at the margins, invisible, from many different countries, from different rites”. The world of Catholic migrants is often hidden. Fr. Nikodemus guides us to discover this reality rich in humanity and challenges. Fr NIKODEMUS SCHNABEL, osb Vicar for migrants and asylum seekers - Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem "If we talk about numbers, they are said to be about 80,000 people, I guess maybe even 100,000. They don't live in the places where Christians usually live, but they are scattered all over the country." Fr NIKODEMUS SCHNABEL, osb Vicar for migrants and asylum seekers - Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem "The challenges are many and varied. For example, in Indian chaplaincy there are various communities. Kolkani Indians live a lot outside the home and have a lot of hourly flexibility, while Malayalam Indians stay with their families and have very rigid schedules." Another problem is that of precariousness, mainly related to the duration of visas and residence permits. On average, a large part of the Christian migrant community changes every five years. Fr NIKODEMUS SCHNABEL, osb Vicar for migrants and asylum seekers - Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem "I am here for the non-permanent residents. I am here to give them a home away from their home. Another vocation I have is to create a safe place. The Church has to be a safe place, especially for these people who are not at home here and every day feel that they are not welcome: this is your home, you are welcome here. It is good that you are my sister, my brother, because we have the same Baptism." Not only home, but also gyms, parks, sheds: these are all places where migrant communities scattered around the Holy Land gather to celebrate together, sometimes on Tuesdays at 10 p.m., sometimes on Saturdays at noon... Fr NIKODEMUS SCHNABEL, osb Vicar for migrants and asylum seekers - Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem "We try to get the life of the Church to these people. But above all there is a need for us to go and meet our people ourselves: we have about 40 places where we celebrate Mass, from Kyriat Shmona in the north to Eilat in the south." According to recent statistics, migrants make up about 45 percent of the Catholic faithful in the Holy Land. They are certainly the present of this Church, one of its faces, but can they also be the future? Fr NIKODEMUS SCHNABEL, osb Vicar for migrants and asylum seekers - Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem "I'm sure the numbers will increase, because Israel is always making new agreements with different countries, needs more and more people in caregiving, agriculture and construction. But I don't think migrants are the near future of the Church of the Holy Land. They will be a permanent reality, but they are people who stay five years, 10 years, maybe 20..." The responsibility Fr. Nikodemus has received is not an easy one, but it has already enriched his faith and also his vocation as a Benedictine monk: Fr NIKODEMUS SCHNABEL, osb Vicar for migrants and asylum seekers - Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem "It is not typical for monks to do this kind of work, but in our tradition we have different ways of being monks. What I'm doing is living the 'pastoral' way of being a monk, and I think that's okay!" Read More