Prime Minister Netanyahu: "We welcome the arrival of Pope Francis to the Land of Israel, the Holy Land. His visit here is an opportunity to show the world the true Israel, the advanced, modern and tolerant Israel, in effect, the only country in the Middle East that ensures complete freedom of worship to those of all faiths, guards the holy places and ensures the rights of all – Jews, Muslims, Christians, everybody."
President Peres: "I was moved by the message I received today by Pope Francis when his plane traveled across the Israeli sky. The State of Israel greets him with love and appreciation as a Pope who builds bridges of peace and brotherhood between all religions."
His Holiness Pope Francis visited Israel on May 25-26, 2014, marking the 50th anniversary of the historic visit of Pope Paul VI. He was warmly welcomed by President Peres and PM Netanyahu, Chief Rabbis of Israel and different religious leaders, city mayors, judges, scholars, and the larger community from the city and from the countryside. He paid a visit to various sites in Jerusalem. In his speech, he assured of his continued prayers for the institutions and the citizens of the State of Israel; and likewise of his “constant prayer for peace and security, tranquility, prosperity and - the most beautiful of all – fraternity”.
Prime Minister Benjamin presenting Pope Francis with a 1698 drawing of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher by Cornelis de Bruijn at Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center
Copyright: GPO/Avi Ohayon
The fourth Pope to visit the Holy Land, His Holiness Pope Francis visited these ancient monumental places in Jerusalem: Mount Scopus, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Notre Dame Cathedral, The Temple Mount, The Western Wall, Mount Herzl, Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, Heichal Shlomo, Beit HaNassi (President's Residence), Gethsemane, and Mount Zion. On Mt. Herzl, Pope Francis made an unscheduled visit to the Victims of Acts of Terror Memorial at the request of PM Netanyahu, who showed him the plaque in memory of the victims of the two terrorist attacks in Buenos Aires.
Pope Francis with Pres Peres & PM Netanyahu at memorial for victims of terror, Mt. Herzl
Copyright: GPO/Avi Ohayon
President Shimon Peres, welcomed His Holiness to the President's Residence in Jerusalem, where they conducted a working meeting; blessed children suffering from cancer; planted a tree in the garden; and delivered speeches in Hebrew and Italian. During his speech, President Peres accepted the invitation of Pope Francis to visit the Vatican for a joint prayer for peace and said, "Your visit to the Holy Land is an important opportunity for a joint prayer to God in Heaven for peace. It is a moving event with the power to motivate the religious leaders into joining forces to enable moral ethics and scientific innovations to enable each person to free themselves from despair, poverty and violence. Faith and science have the power to reveal the hidden strengths within people, the treasures of the land, and the innovation stemming from research centers. All this can bring blessings to our lives. We would be honored to offer such a prayer either in our home or yours in accordance with your kind offer."
“I welcome the encounters between the religious authorities and the political world that can serve to highlight the spiritual, moral, and common foundations that connect them,” he added.
Pope Francis, in his reciprocal speech at the Presidential Residence, said “There is likewise need for a firm rejection of all that is opposed to the cultivation of peace and respectful relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. We think of recourse to violence and terrorism, all forms of discrimination on the basis of race or religion, attempts to impose one’s own point of view at the expense of the rights of others, anti-Semitism in all its possible expressions, and signs of intolerance directed against individuals or places of worship, be they Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.”
Pope Francis blessed the city: “May Jerusalem be truly the City of Peace! May her identity and her sacred character, her universal religious and cultural significance shine forth as a treasure for all mankind!”
Pope Francis receives a menorah from the Chief Rabbis of Israel
Copyright: GPO/Haim Zach
The Pope’s visit to Yad Vashem took place in the Hall of Remembrance, where he participated in a memorial ceremony, greeted six Holocaust survivors, delivered an address and signed the Yad Vashem Guest Book. During the memorial ceremony, the Pope rekindled the Eternal Flame and laid a wreath in memory of the victims of the Shoah. At the conclusion of the visit, he was presented with a replica of a Holocaust-era painting. In his remarks at Yad Vashem, the Pope stressed the momentous place of the Shoah in human experience, noting the boundless and incommensurate tragedy of the Holocaust. He called for promoting education for human values, and for building a world without anti-Semitism in all its forms, and without expressions of hostility, discrimination and intolerance.
During his courtesy visit to the Chief Rabbis of Israel, the Pope said, “The progress made in recent decades in the relationship between Jews and Catholics has been a genuine gift of God, but one which would not have come about without the efforts of so many courageous and generous people, Jews and Christians alike.”