More than 50 years of joy
Love and sharing at the Effetà Institute of Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM – Imagined in 1964, and inaugurated in 1971, the Effetà Paul VI Institute officially celebrated, on June 7th, 2022, and in the presence of Mgr Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, its golden jubilee.
The pandemic will have delayed it by one year. Yesterday, the Effetà Paul VI Institute, located in the city of Bethlehem, officially marked its fifty-year anniversary with a Mass presided by Patriarch Pizzaballa, followed by a reception during which the journey of the Institute was briefly retraced.
The Effetà Paul VI Institute came to light in 1964, when Pope Paul VI – called “the Pope with a big heart” by Greek Patriarch Athenagoras I – visited the Holy Land. During his pilgrimage, noticing the presence of many deaf-mute children in Palestine who were not receiving the proper aid required, he decided to have an institution established especially for them.
In order to fulfill Paul VI's wish, Sr. Irma Zorzanello, Superior General of the Congregation of the Sister Teachers of St. Dorothy Daughters of the Sacred Hearts (in the Holy Land since 1927) wrote to Pope Paul VI to offer him a piece of land owned by the Congregation with a building then under construction at the beginning of what is now known as Paul VI Street in Bethlehem.
This news was originally published on the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem official website. Please click here to read the full text.
