On Saturday, November 8th, 2025, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over the Holy Mass at the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish in Tabgha, marking the traditional celebration of the feast that recalls this Gospel miracle. The celebration gathered faithful from different parishes of Galilee, Benedictine monks, and priests of the Patriarchate.
The Mass, hosted by the Benedictine community, was concelebrated Msgr. Rafiq Nahra, Patriarchal Vicar of Galilee, Msgr. Bolous-Marcuzzo, and Abbot Nikodemus C. Schnabel, OSB; attended by Mr. Charbel Yaqoub, Director of Pilgrimage of the Latin Patriarchate, together with many pilgrims and local faithful.
In his homily, His Beatitude reflected on the passage from the Gospel of John, which focuses on the Eucharist—Jesus Christ giving Himself as the bread of life. “To have bread is to stay alive, especially in difficult times,” the Patriarch said. “If you assume you can be the source of life for yourself, you will only reap death. But if you recognize that Jesus is the true source of life, then what you build in Him remains. We have seen in the war how many who relied on their own strength sowed destruction, while God continues to bring life through our fragility.”
H.B. Cardinal Pizzaballa invited the faithful to rediscover the Eucharistic dimension of Christian life: “Everything should pass through the hands of Jesus. Adam and Eve took the fruit for themselves, but Jesus offered Himself to the people. The Eucharist has two dimensions—the celebration of the Mass, which is the source, and the life we live outside the church. Our parishes and communities are called to become Eucharistic—to receive life from Jesus and share it with others.”
In the face of fear and uncertainty, the Patriarch encouraged openness and communion rather than isolation: “In difficult times we can be tempted to close ourselves off, like Adam and Eve who hid in the garden. But the Gospel calls us to open ourselves out of love. The Christian difference is that we begin to say ‘you’ before ‘me,’ and we walk together.”
At the end of the celebration, His Beatitude blessed the newly renovated Julius-Itzel-Haus (Beit Magadan), a retreat house adjacent to the sanctuary. The renovation was made possible through the support of the Itzel Foundation and Aid to the Church in Need (ACN International).
The completely refurbished building now includes eight residential units, each with a private entrance, and a common room on the upper floor overlooking the church and the Sea of Galilee. The facility will host small groups seeking silence and renewal—disabled guests, local youth, pastoral workers, priests, and members of religious orders.
As Abbot Nikodemus explained, “We want to provide pastoral care for pastoral carers. This house will be a place of rest and prayer in ‘quiet Tabgha.’”
The annual feast of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, celebrated traditionally on the second Saturday of November, continues to unite clergy and faithful from across Galilee in thanksgiving and fraternity—a living sign of the Eucharist made visible in the life of the Church.
