On Thursday, August 8, 2024, Bishop William Shomali, Latin Patriarchal Vicar General, celebrated the ceremonial Mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Tla’ Al-Ali for the investiture of Fr. Manuel Bader as a knight of the Holy Sepulcher.
The Holy Mass was concelebrated by Acting Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan Fr. Jihad Shweihat, Bishop Maroun Lahham, Spiritual Guide of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jordan Fr. Ashraf Nimri, and parish priest Fr. Dr. Rif’at Bader. In attendance were Regional Director of the Rosary Sisters Madeleine Dababneh, a group of priests, deacons and nuns, a number of knights and ladies of the Holy Sepulcher, and a crowd of believers.
At the outset of the Holy Mass, Fr. Rif’at Bader welcomed Bishop Shomali and the attendees. Then, Knight of the Holy Sepulcher Mr. Majdi Bader, gave an introductory address about the nature of serving as knight of the Holy Sepulcher.
After reading verses of the Holy Bible (John 3: 13-17), Bishop Shomali expressed in his homily the pleasure at presiding at the Fr. Manuel Bader’s investiture as a new knight of the Holy Sepulcher in his capacity as one of the priests of the Latin Patriarchate, and as a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher Society, besides joining a group of Jordanian knights, who in turn are part of a global community of more than 30,000 knights united by their love for the Holy Land and service to the faithful community there.
He pointed out that the title of Knight of the Holy Sepulcher bears the name of “Tomb of Salvation”, which is given to those who live the virtue of love or charity, and carry out projects towards the Holy Land, that serve the faithful there spiritually, educationally and humanely. He added that from this perspective, Fr. Manuel Bader will carry the Holy Land Cross as an official emblem throughout his life, and will be decorated with a white shoulder robe printed with the Holy Land Cross.
Later, the investiture ceremony began with the hymn of invocation of the Holy Spirit. Then Fr. Bashir Bader read the decree issued by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, in which Father Manuel Bader is granted the right to wear the insignia and medals relevant to his new title as knight of the Holy Sepulcher. Later, Bishop Shomali announced the investiture saying, “Your Eminence Fr. Manuel, by the authority granted to me, I establish and declare you as a knight of the Holy Sepulcher of our Lord Jesus, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
In his address of appreciation, the new knight of the of the Holy Sepulcher said, “I am wholeheartedly grateful to God who inspired and accompanied me throughou my life, and chose me to serve His Church, for the priest, according to St. Paul, is chosen by God from among the people and for the people.” He continued: “We are all born with five senses that help us succeed in our daily lives, namely sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. But people of magnanimity have a sixth sense, which is the sens of doing good and loving Jerusalem, which stems from the strong faith of this city.”
