Church, hotel to be part of new International Family Center in Nazareth
April 17, 2013
During his 2009 apostolic journey to the Holy Land, Pope Benedict blessed the first stone of an International Family Center that would be built in Nazareth. “Let us pray that the Center will promote strong family life in this region, offer support and assistance to families everywhere, and encourage them in their irreplaceable mission to society,” he said.
At a press conference four years later, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family traced the development of the Center from 1997, when Blessed John Paul II first suggested its creation, to the present day.
“It will be a center for spirituality of the family, for formation in parental and family life, of pastoral care for workers, of preparation for the new evangelization, and activities founded in the ecclesial and social subjectivity of the family,” said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia. “And it will be a material support to families in need, especially in the Holy Land, through [an] international fund raising project.”
The work of the Center has been entrusted to the charismatic Catholic movement Rinnovamento nello Spirito Santo (Renewal in the Holy Spirit).
Vatican Radio reported that the Center, according to Rinnovamento nello Spirito Santo’s president,
will be divided into two buildings on a one hectare area. Once fully operational it will consist of a 500 seat auditorium, a diocesan pastoral centre, meeting and study rooms, a 500 seat church, lodging for a residential community, a 100 room hotel with restaurant designed to accommodate families, a play area and outdoor children's entertainment areas, and exterior passages, car parks, and leisure areas. The total cost of the work will be approximately 12 million euro, and the property will always belong to the Holy See.
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Further information:
- International Family Centre in Nazareth: sign of encouragement for families around the world (Vatican Radio)
- Pope Benedict XVI: Homily at Nazareth (5/14/09)
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