Archbishop Samir Nassar closed his June 24-30 visit from Damascus, Syria, to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis by celebrating the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul with Archbishop Bernard Hebda June 29 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.
Archbishop Nassar leads the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Damascus, which has a partnership with the archdiocese that began in 2017 built on faith, relationships, prayer and deepening the understanding of Eastern and Latin rite churches.
The bond is strong: The archdiocese’s patron is St. Paul. The saint began his life in the Church and his great evangelizing mission in Damascus.
“That’s why we’re particularly delighted to have the archbishop of Damascus here tonight with us,” Archbishop Hebda said in his homily at the 5 p.m. Mass. “It was on the road to Damascus that Paul had the experience of the risen Christ. ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ It was in Damascus that Paul would have been baptized. It’s in Damascus that he would have begun his beautiful ministry. We’re indebted to Archbishop Nassar and to all of his predecessors who bring us that connection to that community in Damascus.”
A six-month pilgrimage that began in January in the archdiocese with an icon of the Martyrs of Damascus and a relic of one of the martyrs ended at the Cathedral and those items were on display near the altar. Beside them was a reliquary and relic of St. Paul.
Archbishop Hebda noted the great suffering in war-torn Syria, and the role martyrs have played in building up the Church.
“The archbishop (Nassar) could tell us … that it’s through suffering that the Church is made strong,” Archbishop Hebda said. “Not just at the time of Paul, but today, for sure. I always enjoy getting notes from the archbishop. No matter what difficulty I’m having, it pales in comparison to what the archbishop is able to explain. I remember one Christmas he wrote, ‘All is beautiful here in Damascus. We lost our windows to an explosion. There was a bomb.’”
But people must stand with one another with the same confidence St. Peter and St. Paul had, “knowing that when we do what it is that the Lord asks from us, that he indeed brings us blessings, that he sends his angels,” the archbishop said. “Even if it means at some point we give our lives for the faith, we know that we can be assured of life everlasting with Peter and Paul and all the saints and angels in heaven.”
At the end of Mass, Archbishop Nassar thanked the archbishop and the archdiocese for the partnership, “to stay close to us, to pray for us, to be with us.”
Archbishop Nassar told the congregation he is retiring from active ministry this year, and he sought prayers, “for me and for our new archbishop who is coming this year, to carry this cross.”
