SAT-7 TURK broadcasted the funeral and burial ceremony of Istanbul Latin Catholic Church Apostle Deputy Bishop Ruben Tierrablanca Gonzalez on both social media accounts and television broadcast.
Monsignor Ruben Tierrablanca Gonzalez, Deputy Apostle of the Latin Catholic Church in Istanbul, known as the Episcopal of Tubernuka, died at the Koç University Hospital on Tuesday evening, December 22, at the age of 68, where he was treated for coronavirus. The funeral mass of Bishop Ruben was held on Tuesday, December 29th at 11:00 in Istanbul Holy Spirit Cathedral. The burial ceremony took place at the Feriköy Latin Catholic Cemetery at 13:00 after the mass.
The funeral of Bishop Ruben Gonzalez took place on Tuesday, December 29 at 11:00 in Istanbul Holy Spirit Cathedral. The ceremony, which took place with limited participation due to the coronavirus measures, started with the entrance of church leaders and priests to the Cathedral with the funeral music. After the church leaders and priests took their place in the cathedral, the high priest of the Istanbul Holy Spirit Cathedral, Monsignor Nicola, recited a Latin hymn.
After the death of Monsignor Ruben Tierrablanca, the retired Archbishop of Izmir, Monsignor Lorenzo Piretto, was appointed to Istanbul as the Papal representative, and the funeral was thought to be led by him, but the coronavirus test that Monsignor Piretto had yesterday was positive and could not travel to Istanbul.
When among those attending the ceremony, Turkey’s Armenian Catholic Church, Archbishop Levon Zekiyan, Turkey Chaldean Archbishop Ramzi Garmon were present, after the church leaders and attendees were told “welcome”, the names of all those who expressed their condolences were read.
The prayer of repentance read at the beginning of the mass in the Catholic Churches, after being read by the community, 1. John 2: 3-11 verses in Spanish; Psalm 96 was read in French.
Father Walter Erbì, Chief Undersecretary of the Vatican Embassy in Ankara, preached in Italian. After the sermon, short prayers in different languages were read by the community.
The communion, accompanied by an Italian hymn, was brought to the altar table and the offering prayer took place. Following the prayer of “Our Father in Heaven”, first the clergy and then the participants received the Holy Communion. After the hymns and the last blessing, the mass in the cathedral ended.
After the ceremony, Şemza Deniz Bakır and Kanivar Bakır went live by connecting from SAT-7 TÜRK studio. Consiglio Pastorale member Atillio Konstantino Cedolin, connected to the live broadcast, shared his feelings and made condolences.
At 13:00, a burial ceremony was held in Feriköy Latin Catholic Cemetery, accompanied by prayers. The newly appointed Catholic Archbishop, Monsignor Martin Kmetec, led the funeral ceremony in Izmir and blessed the coffin of Monsignor Ruben Tierrablanca with the holy water.
After the readings, Monsignor Ruben Tierrablanca was buried.
