Graduation at the Schmidt-Schule in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM - On May 31st, 2022, Mgr Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, Bishop Emeritus of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, attended the graduation ceremony of the Schmidt-Schule, which each year invites the Latin Patriarchate to participate in the ceremony.
The Schmidt-Schule, located in Jerusalem, is a secular, private school founded in 1886, which welcomes approximately 500 students each year. Most of them are Muslims, and all of them speak Arabic as their mother tongue. At the school, which is fully bilingual, they learn German from their first year of school.
For the 2022 graduation, which fell on the day of the end of the month of Mary, Mgr Marcuzzo articulated his speech not only around the interreligious fraternity encouraged by the Pope, but also around the feast of the Visitation, and in particular around the biblical quotation "the baby in my womb leaped for joy" (Luke 1:44). "Everyone today, especially young people, needs to find something within themselves, something that should "leap within" and drive them forward each day of their lives. A passion, in other words; because without passion to guide us, our lives become empty, without interest," he explains.
Also speaking at the ceremony were the two principals of the school, Ms. Suzy Mauge and Ms. Eva Schönemann; Ms. Sarah Bernardy, business manager; Mr. Mahmoud Muna, parent representative; Dr. Matthias Vogt, secretary-general of the DVHL (Deutscher Verein vom Heiligen Lande, "German Society for the Holy Land"); and Dr. Michaela Richter, chairperson of the school board.
Pictures: Sami Wakileh
