Cyprus’ Catholic minority awaits pope with ‘great joy’

Worshippers at the Maronite Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace in Nicosia’s walled Old City are abuzz with excitement over Pope Francis’ visit to Cyprus starting Thursday.

It is a harbinger of hope for the roughly 7,000 adherents to the ancient Eastern Catholic faith on the divided Mediterranean island, particularly for those hailing from crisis-ridden countries nearby.

“I feel great joy, like many who are looking forward to receiving the pope,” the Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus Selim Sfeir told AFP.

The two-day papal visit will be the second to the majority-Greek Orthodox Republic of Cyprus since Pope Benedict came in 2010, and is eagerly awaited by the estimated 25,000 Catholics in the country of one million.

Maronites first migrated to Cyprus centuries ago from Syria and Lebanon and, like other communities on the island, they suffered from its recent turbulent history.

Cyprus was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded the island’s northern third in response to a coup sponsored by the military junta then ruling Greece.

The north was later declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Ankara and considered occupied territory by EU-member the Republic of Cyprus.

Many Maronites left their traditional homes in the north. A replica of a Medieval Maronite holy cross found in one such village, Karpaseia, and made by the Cyprus Institute, is to be gifted to the pontiff.

“We hope that the pope’s visit will create a new opening in the Cypriot crisis,” said Neophitou Christofou, a Cypriot Maronite descended from Lebanese adherents to the faith.

“There are many Greek, Turkish and Maronite Cypriots who lost their lands because of the war.

“They should regain their rights, and Cypriots should live together as one people.”

– ‘Lives lost at sea’ –
Archbishop Sfeir said Pope Francis’ visit “bears a humanitarian character par excellence”.

In a video message on Saturday, the pontiff stressed the plight of migrants, after announcing a day earlier that he would arrange for the relocation of some asylum seekers to Italy.

The pope spoke of those who “have been fleeing from war and poverty, landing on the shores of the continent and elsewhere, and encountering not hospitality but hostility and even exploitation.

“They are our brothers and sisters. How many have lost their lives at sea!”

His message bore particular resonance on the island, which claims the largest number of first-time asylum seekers in Europe.

Pope Francis will hold an ecumenical prayer for migrants at Nicosia’s Holy Cross Church located at the UN patrolled buffer zone that divides the island.

Aside from the Maronites and a small but ancient Latin community, the remainder of the Catholic minority is made up largely of workers from the Philippines and South Asia as well as African migrants.

Rhose, a Filipina nanny who has lived in Cyprus for 18 years, told AFP: “I already asked my employer to allow me to go and visit on December 3” when the pope hold a mass service at a football stadium.

“I’m happy to see him.”

Ik Onyigbko, a 40-year-old Nigerian refugee, said: “Of course I’ll go to see the pope, I’m waiting for that.”

But he voiced concern he could make it amid the Covid pandemic, which will require visitors to the mass to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test result.

Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Cyprus Jerzy Kraj said up to 7,000 people would attend the service, adding that “we want the stadium to become a cathedral under the open sky”.

– ‘Glimmer of hope’ –
Cyprus has long been home to many people from nearby Lebanon, and more have arrived amid that country’s severe economic meltdown of recent years.

The pope, just days ago, had a Vatican audience with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose government has been torn by infighting and paralysed for months.

“Lebanon is a country, a message, and also a promise to strive for,” the pope said at the end of their meeting.

Sfeir said there had been a major uptick in Lebanese flights booked to Cyprus since the pope confirmed his visit.

“The Lebanese love the pope,” the archbishop said.

Maroun Azar, a Lebanese Maronite who settled in coastal Larnaca recently, said: “The pope’s visit means a lot, particularly at this phase.

“As Lebanese nationals, we need a glimmer of hope or a signal that the future will be better for us and our children.”

He hoped Pope Francis would visit Lebanon like John Paul II did in 1997, a trip Azar said “was like a miracle”.

“Lebanon needs a miracle now.”

Agence France-Presse

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