Catholics and Orthodox Christians make a pilgrimage to Mount Athos

Vatican News The Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia (with jurisdiction over the territories of Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain), Bishop Aldo Berardi, and the Greek Catholic Metropolitan of Kuwait and Baghdad, Archbishop Ghattas Hazim (of the Patriarchate of Antioch), jointly led a pilgrimage to Mount Athos, which took place from September 6 to 9. The participants, who also received the blessing of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, were able to visit twelve of the twenty monasteries. Bishop Berardi described it as a “historic journey.” “Historic” as it reflects “the good relationship between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Kuwait.” This is how Bishop Berardi explained the pilgrimage to Mount Athos, as reported in a press release from the Vicariate. The Delegation of Catholics and Orthodox Bishop Berardi—accompanied by a delegation that included Fr. Sliman Hifawi (of the Co-Cathedral of the Holy Family in Kuwait), Fr.