Establishing a youth center at the Latin Parish of Beit Jala, Palestine

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1 LATIN PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM PROJECT PROPOSAL Establishing a youth center at the Latin Parish of Beit Jala, Palestine GA 092/17 General Administration Project Development Office March 2017

2 Establishing a youth center at the Latin Parish of Beit Jala, Palestine The World Tells us to Seek Success, Power and Money; God Tells us to seek Humility, Service and Love (H.H. Pope Francis) THE LATIN PATRIARCHATE The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (LPJ) was restored in 1847, and since then is promoting the best interests of the local communities it serves. Today, the Patriarchal Diocese oversees about 150,000 faithful in four countries, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Cyprus, covering a rich tapestry of cultures, languages, religions and traditions. Serving all with special emphasis on the support and care of indigenous Holy Land Christians remains the enduring mission of the Mother Church, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. INTRODUCTION Beit Jala is a small town near Bethlehem and its inhabitants do not exceed ten thousand: 70% are Christians and the rest are Muslims. With Bethlehem and Beit Sahour, Beit Jala forms a triangle where many Christians live. It is believed that the name Beit Jala is derived from the Syriac word Calla that means collection of stones. While others think that it is derived from another word, which is Gyliwa that means happiness. This name is mentioned in the holy Bible. History tells us that people began to live in Beit Jala when Christianity began to extend widely. Saint Nicola, in the 5th century, spent all his life in a small cave where a church has been built recently. Saint Theodosius came to Beit Jala, for prayer only, and settled near a place called Kathisma or Qadismo well that lies in Jerusalem-Bethlehem road. The Latin Patriarchate School was the first school founded in the town in Initially, it was for boys and 2 years later it welcomed girls. The Orthodox Patriarchate established another school for girls in The Anglican Church had its own school with a special interest in teaching languages. In 1936 the Diocesan Seminary was transferred to Beit Jala from Jerusalem where it was established in The school was a primary school until Thereafter it serves as a secondary school with all educational stages: English, French, laboratory for physics, chemistry and biology, religious activities, physical training festivals. The Rosary Sisters congregation came to serve the parish in The scouts were founded in Saint Vincent Association founded in Legion de Marie founded in Ladies of Our Lady of the Annunciation founded in ESTABLISHING A YOUTH CENTER AT THE LATIN PARISH OF BEIT JALA, PALESTINE

3 LOCATION/DEMOGRAPHICS Total Population of Beit Jala: 12,570 Total number of Christians: 8,000 Total number of Latin Christians: 2,000 PROJECT DESCRIPTION After examining the needs of the Parish in Beit Jala, the Latin Patriarchate, with the support of the parish priest, is intending to construct a new building for the parishioners and the community of Beit Jala, in general. The project includes building a 2-floor building that will contain several rooms and halls in order to host different events and activities for the parishioners. Beit Jala parish strives to serve and enrich the lives of its parishioners and the people in the community by providing them a place to meet and conduct their weekly activities. Currently, there is no proper and suitable place for the youth activities, the Catholic scouts, the Legion of Mary, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and other church communities to gather and meet. The new Youth Center will be divided into two floors as follows: 1. The first floor includes a center for the following objectives: Provide a well-resourced place to conduct all youth related activities; Provide a suitable place for general gatherings; Offer the Catholic Scouts of Beit Jala a suitable indoor place, to carry out their main events and trainings during the afternoons; Establish an elderly care center in the hall during the morning hours to support the elderly by providing them a place to meet, carry out activities together, and to enjoy a hot meal; A small canteen for the scouts and youth to have access to balanced food in reasonable prices during activity days especially on the weekends; Storage room for storing the scout equipment. 2. The second floor includes: Two meeting rooms for the scout leaders and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in order to conduct their meetings and everyday activities; A courtroom with private entrance: the Latin Patriarchate is intending to establish a new courtroom for the Latin Ecclesiastical Court in Beit Jala. The reason behind launching a new extension for the Ecclesiastical court in Bethlehem district comes from the fact that Christians from the West Bank find difficulties to enter Jerusalem when they have appointments at the court without special permits from the Israeli authorities. This will help in supporting the people there and make it easier for them to attend court sessions. ESTABLISHING A YOUTH CENTER AT THE LATIN PARISH OF BEIT JALA, PALESTINE 3

4 BENEFICIARIES Scouts, youth, church communities and societies, elderly people and faithful will be directly benefited from the new project. It will provide them all with a safe and welcoming environment to conduct all their activities, gatherings and meetings. Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem that strives to provide the best for its people and to allow the continuity of the LPJ biblical mission in serving its communities in the Holy Land. DURATION The technical team have prepared all the necessary detail designs and budgets for this project. The completion of work will require 6 months from starting date. The work will be managed and supervised by the Latin Patriarchate Engineering Department, and will comply with all LPJ internal contracting and supervision procedures. More details are available upon request. ESTIMATED BUDGET The total estimate cost for this project is: USD 156,684 For further details and the financial study, please contact the Project Development Office: Charles-Edouard Guilbert-Roed, cegr@lpj.org. 4 ESTABLISHING A YOUTH CENTER AT THE LATIN PARISH OF BEIT JALA, PALESTINE

5 DESIGN PLANS ESTABLISHING A YOUTH CENTER AT THE LATIN PARISH OF BEIT JALA, PALESTINE 5

6 6 ESTABLISHING A YOUTH CENTER AT THE LATIN PARISH OF BEIT JALA, PALESTINE

7 ESTABLISHING A YOUTH CENTER AT THE LATIN PARISH OF BEIT JALA, PALESTINE 7

8 PHOTOS Photos of the place where the construction of the Youth Center will take place: 8 ESTABLISHING A YOUTH CENTER AT THE LATIN PARISH OF BEIT JALA, PALESTINE

9 LATIN PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM Rev. Fr. Imad Twal General Administrator General Administration Office Jaffa Gate, P.O. Box Jerusalem Tel ceo@lpj.org