Pope Francis’ visit sends a resounding message regarding the Maronite Cypriots but also Cyprus and the wider region, the Representative of the Maronite religious group in the House of Representatives, Yiannakis Moussas, has told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

The Pope will embark on a 5-day Apostolic Journey to Cyprus and Greece in early December. The visit will see him spend 2-4 December in Nicosia. Pope Francis’ visit to Cyprus comes eleven years after his predecessor, Benedict XVI’s visit to the island in 2010, the first ever Apostolic Journey to Cyprus.

“Pope Francis` visit to Cyprus is a very important event not only for the Maronite and Catholic community of Cyprus, but also for the whole of Cyprus”, Moussas said in an interview with CNA.

“The Pope`s visit to Cyprus sends a resounding message. First of all, the pontiff`s visits are a source of hope both for those who receive him and the wider region. I believe that the Pope`s visit will send messages of hope, messages of optimism, messages for a better world”, he noted, adding that Pope Francis is regarded as the Pope of the poor and underprivileged and therefore he is expected to give weight to these issues while in Cyprus.

Moussas said that feverish preparations were being made ahead of the Pope’s visit, given the protocols that must be observed during his stay on the island. There has been a coordinated effort with the Holy See, the Presidency of the Republic and the Cypriot government in order to organize an excellent visit, he added.

He went on noting that Maronite Cypriots maintain close ties and communication channels with the Holy See.

“We have the support of the Holy See in all aspects of our efforts to maintain our identity, our character and our villages. Which is the most important issue for us”, he said, expressing hope that Pope Francis’ visit will provide impetus to the issues facing the Maronite community, especially to their request for immediate return to their occupied villages. Before the Turkish invasion of 1974 the Maronites lived in three villages in the district of Kyrenia, that is Kormakitis, Asomatos and Karpaseia, and in the village of Ayia Marina located in the district of Nicosia.

“What we are requesting and asking for is immediate return of the people to the villages. Because without return to our villages, without our land, there is no possibility of long-term survival of the Maronite community”, he stressed. It is a matter of survival, a vital issue, he noted. Moussas underlined that Maronite Cypriots should be allowed to return to their occupied villages in Asomatos and Ayia Marina even before a solution of the Cyprus problem. “We want to return even under the current status quo, in the context of a transitional settlement until we reach a solution of the Cyprus problem. This is my position, which I have conveyed to all parties involved in the Cyprus issue”, he noted.

The second challenge facing the Maronite community has to do with the new generations of Maronite Cypriots and them maintaining their identity and culture.

To this end, Moussas explained, a plan has been devised and is being implemented with the support of the Cypriot government. It includes two big infrastructure projects. A Cooperation Center that is under construction in Kormakitis where young Maronites will attend short courses on the traditions and history of their religious group. “This is important so as not to lose touch with their roots and the villages”, he said. The project is funded by the EU and it is expected to be concluded in ten months, he added.

The second project is a multi-purpose Maronite Sporting Center planned to be built on state-owned land in Pano Deftera. There, Moussas said, young Maronites will be able to engage in sports, cultural, social and other activities, adding that without the new generations “there is no perspective and no future”.

According to the Maronite Representative, the Maronite community has grown larger over the years and today its population is estimated at around 8,000, but Moussas expressed “concern” over the community’s assimilation in the Cypriot society, mostly as a result of mixed marriages, he said.

“We are trying to deal with it through by means of cultivation of distinctive consciousness, edification, traditions, special identity. But it is not easy to deal with this phenomenon, so we believe that above all, returning to our land is a sine qua non”.

Today, about 70 percent of Maronite Cypriots live in Nicosia, 20 percent in Limassol, 10 percent in Larnaca, 5 percent in Paphos and 5 percent or around 300 live permanently in the occupied villages of Kormakitis and Karpasia.

Moussas said that he had recently visited the Vatican where he held a series of meetings in which developments on the issues facing Maronite Cypriots were reviewed.

Meanwhile Maronite Cypriots are waiting for the Turkish Cypriot side to greenlight the commencement of restoration work at the historic Monastery of Prophet Elias, situated near the Maronite village of Ayia Marina in the occupied part of Cyprus. It is considered the most important Maronite monument in Cyprus, both for its historical significance as well as its effective contribution towards the survival of the Maronite community in Cyprus. It was bombed by the Turkish Air Force in 1974, was converted into stables for animals and underwent significant destruction.

Over the last ten years, he said, many churches and monuments of the Maronite community located in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus have been restored with the support of the Bicommunal Technical Committee for Cultural Heritage, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the EU.

“We have agreed with the Bicommunal Technical Committee on the first phase (of the project) and we are now waiting for the green light from the Turkish Cypriot side so that we can move forward, because the Monastery is located in a ‘military zone’”, he noted.

According to Moussas, the first phase of the project will include the restoration of Prophet Elias’ Monastery and some other areas to prevent the building from collapsing.

“The great event of the pontiff`s visit will contribute positively to all our efforts, as far as our community is concerned. As far as Cyprus is concerned, I believe that the Pope’s visit is in itself a huge event. Cyprus will gain huge visibility. A momentum has built up already with news reports published by the international press continuously”, said Moussas.

Concluding, the Maronite Representative urged people to attend Pope Francis` Holy Mass at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia on 3 December, as “it will be a historic one”.