The island of Rhodes, in the Aegean Sea, has always been a gateway between East and West. As the parish priest here for the past 23 years, I have learned to adjust to the ebb and flow of the movement of people and to serve them in the best way I can. Migrants and refugees come and go, but since 2015 the numbers have been ever increasing.
As a Franciscan, I belong to the Custody of the Holy Land. I serve on the governing body of the Custody, which takes care of the Holy Places, and this has enabled me to see and know the people in their countries of origin and then oftentimes meet them again as refugees. Their passage to Rhodes is fraught with danger and it is costly.
