A brief respite on a rainy day. As they do every year on Dec. 26, Franciscan friars arrive at the cave - owned by the Greek Orthodox Church - where the martyrdom of St. Stephen is commemorated. We are at the foot of the place where, in Jesus' time, stood the Temple of Jerusalem. In front there is the Cedron Valley; on the opposite side there is the basilica of Gethsemane. A cross indicates the place where tradition places the martyrdom of St. Stephen. Br SINIŠA SREBRENOVIĆ, ofm Guardian Convent of Gethsemane - Jerusalem "We can see a part of the old road, the one that went up. That is why we say that this can be the place where this happened. As we read in the Acts of the Apostles, they took him outside the walls of Jerusalem and there they stoned him." In the presence of a small crowd of faithful, Franciscans celebrated Vespers on St. Stephen's Day. Br SINIŠA SREBRENOVIĆ, ofm Guardian Convent of Gethsemane - Jerusalem "We here in Jerusalem, the Mother Church, celebrate it as a solemnity, because we are in the exact place, where this happened. In our prayers we say, HIC! Here, here this happened." St. Stephen is considered the first deacon and the first martyr of the Church. The Acts of the Apostles tell that he was chosen by the early Church in Jerusalem as a deacon to help the apostles in their ministry. Stephen gave his testimony about Jesus before the Sanhedrin and was stoned to death as he was considered a blasphemer. The vespers liturgy was led by the friars of the nearby Gethsemane community. In his homily, Br. Siniša spoke of the "slap in the face" of the liturgy on this day, "to awaken us from a Christmas that has become only a tree, decorations and lights, at the risk of forgetting the protagonist of the feast." Stephen's testimony, however, points precisely to the protagonist, "for whom he was willing to give his life." Br SINIŠA SREBRENOVIĆ, ofm Guardian Convent of Gethsemane - Jerusalem "The message Stephen leaves for each of us is to persevere to the end! Let us not forget that our faith does not begin and end only with the Child Jesus, but we follow him to the cross. This is what Stephen's martyrdom teaches us: we give our lives for what we believe in."