Warm greetings from Bethlehem University.
Today, the Church throughout the world celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From our campus here in Bethlehem, so close to the place where Mary welcomed the Word made flesh, we join you in giving thanks for her “yes” to God, her courageous openness to grace and to a future she could not yet see.
In that same spirit of faith and trust, I wish first of all to thank you for the generous response to our recent Giving Tuesday and Hopeful Wednesday appeal. Your kindness, expressed in gifts, prayers, and messages of solidarity, has touched our students, faculty, and staff very deeply. In a time when so many of our young people feel uncertainty about the future, your support is a tangible sign that they are neither forgotten nor alone.
Last week, we experienced this hope in a very visible way. On Thursday, 4 December, we gathered on campus for a festive and moving Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Students, faculty, and staff stood together in prayer and song as the lights were switched on, a reminder that the light of Christ still shines in this land, even amid hardship. Two days later, on Saturday, 6 December, the Christmas tree in Manger Square was lit once again, after a two-year hiatus. To see the Square bright with light and filled with families, pilgrims, and visitors was a powerful symbol of resilience for Bethlehem and for all Palestine.
These lights, for us, are more than decoration. They are a sign of the hope that your generosity makes possible at Bethlehem University: hope that our students can continue their studies, that new programs and partnerships can grow, and that our campus can remain a place of encounter, dialogue, and service to the wider community.
In this month’s newsletter, you will read about some of the fruits of that hope: renewed ties with Ireland and Italy, a successful international conference, and new opportunities for global learners to study Arabic with us. Behind each of these stories are real lives being changed—thanks in no small part to friends like you.
On this feast of the Immaculate Conception, we entrust you and all our benefactors to Mary’s loving intercession. On behalf of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, our students, faculty, and staff, thank you for walking with us. Please be assured of our prayers for you and your loved ones in this blessed season. May the Child of Bethlehem grant you peace, courage, and joy.
With gratitude and blessings,
Br. Hernán Santos González, FSC, PhD
Vice Chancellor
Bethlehem University