Under the mantle of Our Lady Woman of Valor: welcoming migrants in Israel
Copyright Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Thomas Charrière
The pastoral center Our Lady Woman of Valor was opened in Tel Aviv by the St. James Vicariate for Hebrew-speaking Catholics of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in March 2014. It is a place of welcome for Catholic migrants of diverse origins who are in Israel for business purposes or as asylum seekers. They require pastoral care in Hebrew and consideration of the specific issues that these communities are facing. The Center is one of the projects that the Order of the Holy Sepulchre supports with particular attention and generosity.
Before the Our Lady Woman of Valor Centre
Tel Aviv-Jaffa is the largest city in Israel, the center of social and commercial life and therefore attracts many residents. These include tens of thousands of Catholics: Beyond those with Israeli citizenship, many are foreign workers, migrants and asylum seekers. In 2009, a group of Filipino Catholics rented a room in the south of Tel Aviv creating a center which they named "Divine Mercy". However, conditions were far from suitable and between 2009 and 2014, the center was forced to relocate three times, the last being to an air-raid shelter, as the community grew in numbers.
The history of the Centre
In March 2014, the Catholic Church, thanks to the support and generosity of many benefactors, including the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, was able to buy a building in the south of Tel Aviv (33 Shivat Zion Street) to build the Our Lady Woman of Value Pastoral Center. The property was renovated and in 2014 a church, a chapel, a meeting room and two apartments were built, one for the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres who come from the Philippines and one for the Sisters of Perpetual Help who come from Sri Lanka.
The Centre is run by the St James Vicariate for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel, whose patriarchal vicar and coordinator for the pastoral care of migrants is Father David Neuhaus. Currently, the parish priest and director of Our Lady Woman of Value Pastoral Center is Father Michael "Mako" Grospe from the Philippines.