“How to do it? How to provide them valid reasons not to leave? The answer was higher education,” he explained, which is the main purpose of the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land (FFHL).
“American Catholics have responded so generously! We have an average of about 45-50 college scholarships every year. We have given over 650 scholarships, and 95% of them secured professional employment. They are the future of Christianity!” Vasko said.
FFHL also supports the “Boys Home” for troubled boys in Bethlehem and the Magnificat Institute, the school of music of the Custody where Christian, Muslim, and Hebrew children and teachers work together. It also support the Children without Borders program to promote sports among children, both Christians and Muslims.
After more than 37 years serving in the Holy Land, Vasko said, “my life has been so fruitful, so special, and I’m so thankful for the vocation that the Lord gave me and honored that the Lord chose me to do these works for him. He is the one who does it all; I’m just a spokesman. It’s a very unusual story, but it’s the story the Lord had wanted and prepared for me for a long time.”
Another Franciscan from the U.S. who found her way to Jerusalem is Sister Naomi Zimmermann.
Originally from Connecticut, Zimmermann, 58, met the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist as a teenager when they were a fairly new community. (Their motherhouse is in Meriden, Connecticut, and they now have nine houses in the U.S.)
She has now been a religious sister for 30 years. “I joined a youth group and I went some weekends to work with the sisters, which meant cleaning out the chicken coop, taking care of the animals, helping them in the field,” she recounted. “I was happy when I was with them; they were joyful, and when I was trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with my life it made sense to at least ‘look and see’ if I was called to a religious life with them.”
From the beginning, the founders of the congregation, Mother Rosemae Pender and Mother Shaun Vergauwen, desired a presence in the Holy Land, where the Church has its roots.
Zimmermann responded with a “yes” to a request for availability. She was too young at that time and still in formation, but the mother general encouraged her desire and sent her to the Holy Land from time to time, when needed, until there was the opportunity to move to Jerusalem permanently and help as a teacher in a family center run by the sisters.
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Zimmermann currently works for the Christian Information Center in Jerusalem, whose aim is to provide information on Christianity and on the Holy Land to pilgrims and tourists.
“Our charism is about looking at the problems of the world, taking what’s in the world and trying to redeem it. Being a teacher prepared me in a way to be able to answer the question the pilgrims have,” she explained to CNA. “Many people want to know how to get places, but there’s someone who wants to discuss problems that brought them here. It’s a call to be here, and I feel like my education and my background, my time with the community, it’s all preparation for however I am supposed to be taking this bit of humanity, this bit of land, this bit of turmoil and trying to be a support.”
Unlike their community in the U.S, in Jerusalem the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist are currently only two. “We wake up, we have Mass together with the friars, go home to have breakfast together — we make sure we sit down even if it’s 10 minutes before we both run in our directions — we share the responsibilities, like laundry or common cooking,” Zimmerman shared. “We put a big emphasis on community. We are people who are really trying to live the dynamic of Trinitarian life. It’s not always easy but it’s beautiful! Furthermore, we live on a compound with other religious communities so it brightens our community life in a sense.”
The Fransiscan sister said that “adoration is also important for us. And also to have fun together, especially during this time of war. We have to be aware of what’s going on, so we’ve been watching the news together and we discuss it. But we also relax and have fun: We sing, we play games, we take care of the garden.”
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