Thousands of believers march in the "Holy Mary" procession in Haifa • Huge traffic jams

In the procession of the 105th anniversary of the "Holy Mary" in Haifa, which in the shadow of the events of the war and the orders of the Home Front Command was recently postponed from two months ago, thousands of believers from the Christian community who came from all over the country take part. The mountainside at the Carmelite Monastery in the "Elijah the Prophet" church with a large mass prayer • The procession was conducted in exemplary order throughout and was secured by many police forces • Traffic congestion began as early as noon, with the preparations for the procession.  

Procession of the Holy Mary in Haifa ► Watch

The 105th year of the parade's existence

Today, Sunday, 16/6/2024, in the shadow of the 254th day of the war, the heavy fighting in Gaza and the firing of rockets on Israel, the congregation and the Christian community in the lower city of Haifa hold the traditional procession of "Holy Mary", as this year thousands of her Christian believers celebrate the 105th consecutive year for its existence.

In the procession, thousands of believers from the Christian community take part and participate. Among the thousands of marchers at the head of the procession are the leaders of the Christian community from Haifa, Nazareth and various cities in the north, and many large groups of scouts and orchestras that came from various places in Israel such as: Nazareth, Raina, Ramla, Pasuta, and more, and also from various cities of the Palestinian Authority, including Bethlehem and Beit Sahor who sent large groups and more. In the meantime, it should be noted that it was also possible to distinguish the Israeli flags that were carried with greatness and pride in this procession.

This year, in the shadow of the heat and the heavy Serbian weather that prevailed today, the route of the foot march was changed, when instead of the procession leaving every year from the Latin Church: St. John the Baptist, located at 80 Maginim Blvd. "At Stella Maris, in a mass prayer. At the head of the procession march the leaders of the Christian community from Haifa, Nazareth and various cities from the north and many large groups of scouts and orchestras who came from all over the country.

It goes without saying that there is no resident of the city of Haifa who does not know the huge traffic jams on the city's roads following the festive and spectacular procession of the "Holy Mary" of the Christian community, which is held every year in Haifa, always at a fixed time on Sunday, the second after Easter, and it has been going on for many years, starting in 1919, and this with its end of the First World War.

So, during the war, there was a fear of damage to the old Latin "Saint Joseph" church, located at 80 Meginim Blvd. in the German Colony in the lower city, which was dedicated in 1867 and to the statue of "Saint Mary" that was stationed inside it, and there was a great fear that Haifa would be attacked, so the leaders of the Christian church raised the statue to the church The Carmelites "Mar Elias" in Stela Maris on Mount Carmel. Since then the leaders of the church vowed to hold the procession every year because they believed that the sanctity of the statue was what protected the residents of Haifa.

"Holy Mary" statue

During the procession, the thousands of believers carry the "Holy Mary" statue up the mountain, with entire streets closed and thousands of people cheering her on the sides of the streets. In this way, this long-standing tradition was established until this very day, when this year and precisely today the believers mark and celebrate the 105th anniversary of the existence of the spectacular procession.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that during the procession, many streets in the city were closed alternately, which caused large traffic jams throughout Haifa. The traffic axes through which the procession passes: Ben Gurion, Allenby St., Baron Hirsch and Hagafen St. These streets were blocked and opened to vehicle traffic gradually, according to the progress of the procession's marchers. Stella Maris Road was also closed to vehicular traffic along its entire length, until the end of the procession - from Bishop Hajar St. to the church in Stella Maris. Over the years, this traditional event, which began as an event unique to Haifa in its essence, began to gain momentum and instead of the dozens of marchers who accompanied the Holy Mary in the 50s and 60s, their number today is estimated at thousands of believers and attendants, and perhaps even tens of thousands.

It should be noted that, as in every year, this year as well, the decoration and design of the masses of flowers in the statue of "Holy Mary" which the believers carry to the church of "Elijah the Prophet" in Stella Maris, is responsible as she works on it with a lot of love and devotion, just like every year Mrs. Mahida as a vehicle of worship From the "Flower Center", the oldest flower shop that has been a family business for almost 50 years, located in the German colony in Haifa.

This morning, during the final arrangements and the decoration of the statue of "Holy Mary" in the square of the "Holy Joseph" Church and towards the beginning of the procession, Mrs. Mahida Karevi Avod told the news reporter of "Hai Peh Kororana HaKodusha": "I am very excited, I am decorating and designing the flowers in the statue" Holy Mary" for almost 40 years and every year I get excited anew every time, as if it's the first time I'm doing it."

We will also add that many Christians from the surrounding area, from the Galilee and from the entire northern region began to flock to the city of Haifa and the Christian community in the city believes that the mayors of Haifa can always invest more and more in the procession that is held every year. This is for a larger international event that has the power to attract tens of thousands of tourists from abroad to come and visit the city of Haifa.