The Parish Council met twice in September 2022, once at the beginning of the month, mainly to discuss and plan well for the Holy Cross Parish Lunch (which was organised on the occasion of the feast of our Parish) and once towards the end of the month, mainly to discuss and assign the work for 2023 Holy Cross Parish Calendar so that it is available in the Parish in time before Christmas.

The Holy Cross Parish Lunch which was open to everyone, was held on Sunday 11 September 2022 at the Parish Gardens and it was an occasion of great joy for the whole parish coming together for the feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross. Lunch and drinks for everyone were served in an atmosphere of celebration with entertainment, music, dances, songs and presentations from different groups, communities and parishioners. We thank everyone for their valuable contribution in the great success that the Parish Lunch was.

At the Parish Lunch we also had the opportunity to greet and express our great appreciation to Fr Jerzy Kraj, our Patriarchal Vicar who is moving to Jerusalem and to Fr Andrew Archin who is moving to Larnaca as the Parish Priest. We pray for them and for our new Patriarchal Vicar Fr Bruno Varriano, as well as for our new Parish Priest Fr Theodorus Beta Herdistyan and for the Assistant Parish Priest Fr Gabriel Vormawah, who come to serve us in Cyprus and at the Holy Cross respectively. We pray for Fr Zacheusz Dulniok in his new capacity as the Guardian of the Fraternity in Cyprus also.

Regarding the 2023 Holy Cross Parish Calendar, it was proposed for the general theme to be the 800th Anniversary of the Rule of St Francis which is to be celebrated all over the world in 2023, featuring also holy pilgrimage sites from the Holy Land, where the Franciscan Order has been faithfully serving for so many centuries. The work for the production of the 2023 Holy Cross Calendar was discussed and assigned appropriately. The aim is to have the 2023 Calendar available in our parish well before Christmas.

The children catechism issues arising with the different levels, the textbooks to be used and the family masses will be discussed to be finalised for the 2022/23 period with our new Parish Priest in due course.

We pray for our parish, our priests and religious, all the families and the faithful young and old and for the Parish Council, seeking the intercession of all the saints and the angels and of the Blessed Virgin Mary always. May the Risen Lord shower upon us abundant blessings, His Spirit and His graces in His great mercy always!

Akis Hjiiossif (Chairman of the Parish Council – email: holcrossparishcouncil@yahoo.com)

The QR code of the Holy Cross Android Application is given here below and we encourage everyone with an Android smartphone or tablet to scan this QR code and install the Holy Cross application on their Android smartphone or tablet now. You can also download and install the Holy Cross Android Application from the website of the Holy Cross at www.holy-cross-nicosia.com on the web browser of your Android smartphone or tablet – click HERE for the link. If you do not yet have the application, please seek help in order to install it. Also, any member of the Parish Council can help you. 

We encourage everyone, to regularly use the Holy Cross Application and website to benefit from the various items thereon. You can find news items about the Church and the Pope, the Parish Newsletter, articles on the faith, the lives of the saints, videos and meditations, the mass times, links for the daily mass readings in the Eucharist, the Divine Office link and other prayers, like the morning and evening prayer of the Church, as well as some references to the saint or feast of the day.

Note that iPhone and iPad users can “Add” the Holy Cross page www.holy-cross-nicosia.com on their Home screen, by selecting the appropriate option from their browser, until an application for iPhones and iPads is released.