On Saturday, 24 January 2026, the Latin Church and the Latin Catholic community in Cyprus celebrated for the first time the official annual Feast of the Latins of Cyprus, established on the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.
The solemn Eucharistic celebration took place at the Holy Cross Latin Church in Nicosia and was presided over by His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Mass was concelebrated by Mgr. Bruno Varriano, Patriarchal Vicar of Cyprus, together with Mgr. Selim Jean Sfeir, Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus, Mgr. Elias Zaidian, Maronite Bishop of Los Angeles, Mgr. Giorgio Chezza, Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Cyprus, and several priests.
The celebration was attended by representatives of the State, Churches, and Christian communities, reflecting the spirit of dialogue and coexistence that characterizes the Church’s presence in Cyprus. Among those present were Mr. Marios Hartsiotis, Presidential Commissioner, representing the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nicos Christodoulides; the Very Reverend Archimandrite Venedictos Ioannou, representing His Beatitude Archbishop Georgios of the Church of Cyprus; His Eminence Archbishop Gomidas Ohanian, Vicar General of the Armenian Church of Cyprus; Reverend Telis Tsinoglou, Pastor of the Evangelical Church of Cyprus; Mrs. Antonella Mantovani, representative of the Latin religious group in the House of Representatives; as well as other distinguished guests.
In his homily, Cardinal Pizzaballa reflected on the conversion of Saint Paul as, above all, a story of encounter. He emphasized that God meets the human person not only in moments of weakness, but also within religious certainty and self-assurance: “God enters not only our obvious fragilities, but also our religious certainties, our well-constructed frameworks, our spiritual securities.”
Reflecting on Christ’s question to Paul – “Why are you persecuting me?” – the Cardinal highlighted a central truth of the Christian faith: Christ identifies himself with his Body, the Church, and remains present “in its fragility, in its wounds, and in the concrete flesh of brothers and sisters.” For this reason, he underlined, Christian unity is not secondary or decorative, but “an essential dimension of the mystery of Christ.”
Referring to the Cypriot context, Cardinal Pizzaballa described the island as a place that embodies the vocation revealed in Saint Paul’s life. Paul, who once believed he was serving God through conflict, came to understand that authentic service to God is found in the conversion of the human heart. This call, he noted, extends to all dimensions of life, inviting individuals and institutions alike to protect human dignity and to work for justice and peace.
In concluding his homily, the Cardinal recalled that the mandate of the Risen Lord – “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel”- is entrusted to all disciples. Conversion, he stressed, is a lifelong journey, calling believers and Churches to continual renewal so as to become credible witnesses of the Gospel “to the very edges of the sea and of history.”
At the conclusion of the Mass, brief addresses highlighted the significance of this feast in strengthening the unity and identity of the Latin Catholic community in Cyprus and in fostering relations with other Churches and civil authorities. In his address, Archimandrite Venedictos Ioannou recalled the missionary witness of Saints Paul and Barnabas as foundational for the Church in Cyprus and reaffirmed the Orthodox Church’s commitment to ongoing ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, expressing the hope that Christians may one day reach “unity in one confession and one Holy Eucharistic Cup.”
