Celebrated on the 14th of September each year, the ‘Feast of the Holy Cross’ celebrated in a ceremony held at the Catholic Church of the Annunciation in Iskenderun.
The celebration was led by the Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia, Latin Catholic Bishop Mgr. Paolo Bizzeti, the Latin Catholic parish priest of Antioch Paolo Raffaele Pugliese and Fr. Massimiliano Palinuro.
Father Massimiliano spoke about the meaning of the cross in his sermon. Father Palinuro said “The cross was the gallows, the death penalty. Christ was our salvation. We take courage from him. We look at the cross and take power against all temptations. The cross is the sign of Christ’s victory. Satan is afraid, so it is fleeing. We all use the cross as a strong signal against the devil. It’s a big Feast today! The Holy Cross Feast is one of the most ancient Christian holidays. All the apostolic churches celebrate this great holiday.”
The baptism of two people was carried out with great enthusiasm during the ‘Holy Cross Festival’ which ended after the consecration of the sermon and bread.
