Photo By Sgt. Thomas Day | Maj. Gen. Dennis Hardy, Third Army/U.S. Army Central deputy commanding general, talks...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Thomas L. Day
40th Public Affairs Detachment
KUWAIT – Holy Thursday was an international affair this year in Kuwait City. About 100 service members from five U.S. compounds in Kuwait joined the Bishop of Kuwait Camillo Ballin for services for the holiday, which remembers the ordination of the priesthood and the Eucharist.
They didn't come empty handed either. The delegation came with 50 boxes of gifts – clothes, hygiene products, "anything that would be of use," according to Soisson – donated by the service members.
The Catholic community in Kuwait is estimated at between 136,000 and 250,000, but nearly every Catholic in Kuwait is an Indian or Filipino expatriate. Ballin estimated that there are "about 15" Kuwaiti Catholic families.
"Our biggest problem is space because we only have three churches," Ballin, who speaks fluent English, told the Catholic service members.
Ballin was born in Italy and was ordained in 1969 in Verona. After ordination, he learned Arabic in Lebanon and Syria and began practicing in Cairo. He has practiced in Suday, Rome, Egypt, and Kuwait City.
"This is always your church and ours," Ballin said. "You are always most welcome."
| Date Taken: | 04.18.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 04.18.2007 10:10 |
| Story ID: | 9987 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 46 |
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