PALESTINE – The Taybeh-based Beit Afram Retreat House, managed by the Latin Patriarchate, has been fully retrofitted in recent months, providing a suitable and comfortable environment for residents. All of this could not have been possible without the help and support of the Knights of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher, who financed various equipment essential to the well-being of the house.

In Taybeh, the only Christian village in Palestine with a 100% Christian population, Beit Afram, or “house of Ephraim,” (Ephraim is the biblical name of Taybeh) is one of the few establishments for the elderly dependent in Palestine. Thanks to Fr. Raed Abu Sahlieh, parish priest of Taybeh at the time, the retirement home was created in 2005 and it accommodated five elderly people. Today it is a quality institution managed administratively and financially by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem but held daily by the community of “Filhos de Maria”, of Brazilian origin. This community aims to bring the merciful love of the Father to those who suffer physically, socially, psychologically and spiritually. The four members of this community in Taybeh, who for the most part have paramedical skills, are surrounded by a team of professionals to provide residents with the best possible assistance in health care, and to facilitate the actions of the community everyday life.

The support in Beit Afram wants to be close to each resident and takes into account the spirituality of each. To fill the days of those people who sometimes no longer have their family around them, relaxing moments with songs, dances and games are regularly offered. The team of volunteers and employees also encourages older people to engage in social interactions with various groups such as schools, youth and church movements.

The place was in urgent need of new medical and computer equipment, and to renew the furniture of the rooms and offices for the well-being of residents and staff. The new equipment will provide everyone with a healthier and safer environment. Families have also appreciated these improvements that give their parents and loved ones more comfort and well-being.

Each of us is the result of a thought of God.

Each of us is willed Each of us is loved.

Each of us is necessary.

     (H.H. Pope Benedict XVI)