The congregation of the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo runs the German Hospice in Jerusalem. This community is the spiritual heart of the German-speaking community living in the Holy City. It is also a reference point for many local Christian families, whose youngest children are housed in the kindergarten attached to the convent; and finally, for German-speaking pilgrims, who stay here. On 23 September, while inaugurating the new heating system, a state-of-the-art work realised thanks to the contribution of the German government, with great delicacy, the sisters were able to create a moment of sharing. A moment to dream together about the future, without giving up, to thank the German embassy for the closeness offered to them every day and to complete this ambitious project. But also to be with their Benedictine brothers, and so many friends who participate, in one way or another, in the life of the German-speaking community. Sister Daniela Gabor Superior Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, Jerusalem We are grateful to those who have been involved in our project. Starting with the German Embassy. Which strongly recommended it to the German government. We are very grateful to those who supported us so that we could succeed in this very complicated project. What remains today is, above all, our prayer for peace in the Holy Land and the hope that one day, hopefully soon, we can have our guests here again, to enjoy the atmosphere of our home. Steffen Seibert Ambassador of Germany to Israel For me, as ambassador of Germany, the sisters and everything they do here is really something to be proud of. For 125 years they have shown a sense of Christian love, caring for the sick, caring for survivors of the Shoah, caring for Palestinian children who come to the kindergarten every day and caring for pilgrims and people who come to visit this fascinating city. I think they are living proof of what Christianity is. And the connection with Germany here is obviously very strong. They speak German. The way they cook is German. The way they prepare Christmas is German. So it is clear that I and all of us have a very strong bond with them. At this moment, the entire Holy Land is covered by a blanket of pain, injustice and death. The German ambassador reminds us that despite the shame of the First and Second World Wars, the abomination of the holocaust and the many heinous religious wars that have shaken Europe, it is precisely the experience of the old continent that shows us that it is possible to overcome centuries-old, seemingly irremediable conflicts. Steffen Seibert Ambassador of Germany to Israel As politicians and diplomats, we must do everything we can to stop this, to bring the peoples of the region back to a peaceful way of relating to each other. Right now, these are very dark days, very dark indeed. I mean, Europe perhaps can teach us one thing, that it is possible to make peace after centuries and centuries of war between nations. Horrible things happened in Europe. Christians were killing each other. Protestants against Catholics. And now we could not even imagine that happening again in Europe. Certainly not in the heart of Europe. So I think this is something that perhaps could, I say could, also serve as a lesson to the people of the Holy Land, where yes, the hostility and experiences of suffering are very deep on both sides. The new air-conditioning system was blessed by Abbot Nicodemus, from the Mount Zion monastery. He developed a profound liturgical reflection on the meaning of man and technology as a possibility to love others and to be, more fully and freely, that image of God that we already are. Against the tendency to destroy and violate the sacredness of human life. Fr Nikodemus Schnabel, OSB Abbot of the Dormition in Jerusalem We are surrounded by this ocean of suffering. That is what I see as the main problem, dehumanisation. If we look closely, the discourse of war says ‘no, the others are not human’, ‘the others are like animals’. So for me it is very important to say, ‘now let's celebrate others’, ‘the dignity of all of us humans’, because every human being is recreating the image of God, of the Creator who gave us the possibility to be creative, to really change things, to improve. Fr Nikodemus Schnabel, OSB Abbot of the Dormition in Jerusalem For me today, it is a very important sign that the sisters believe in the future, especially in this time of war, a time of destruction, of despair, as if in front of a black wall. But for me, it was wonderful to see that the sisters said, ‘yes’, we invest in the future because we believe there will be a future.