The House of Galilee

        JERUSALEM, Feb. 12 (Zenit). - The Neocatechumenate lay movement has opened a centre on The Mount of the Beatitudes.
        Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Bishop Michel Sabbah placed the first stone of the Domus Galileae International Centre, in the presence of bishops representing the religious orders in the Holy Land.
        The ceremony was also attended by professors of the most important universities in Israel, some 300 itinerant catechists of the Neocatechumenal Way, 180 representatives from around the world and the Rectors of the 35 Redemptoris Mater diocesan missionary seminaries.
        The Domus Galileae (House of Galilee) is apparently a response to Paul VI’s idea that priests should have the opportunity to visit the Holy Land once in their lifetime.
        John Paul II first heard about the project in 1994 and gave it his immediate support. The first stone of the house, which comes from the tomb of Saint Peter ‘as a sign of unity with the Roman Church’, was blessed by the Holy Father at the Vatican on Christmas Eve.
        The Centre will have capacity for 200 people, a computerised library for Biblical studies, a hall for study and meditation on Sacred Scripture and a conference centre for 500 people, as well as a service for simultaneous translation in various languages.