The anguishing escape from a Catholic pilgrim of Holy Land under the fire of Iranian missiles

Cameron Mumford traveled only to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to follow the steps of Christ. But at the end of his trip, he had to flee from a war zone with a Romanian orthodox nun, taking refuge from the missiles in the middle of attack sirens on the border with Jordan.

“I did not let go of the rosary or the scapular. I kept praying so that people were safe,” said the 29 -year -old British pilgrim to CNA – Ewtn News English agency – about his last and distressing nights in Israel.

Mumford, Catholic of the Diocese of Nottingham, England, has long dreamed of returning to the Holy Land. On his first visit, in 2017, he was part of a tour that seemed very hurried. This time I wanted to spend more time to prayer in sacred places. He arrived on June 6 and stayed in a five -minute shelter on the foot of the Holy Sepulcher.

At first, everything was as expected. He participated in the daily mass and the processions with the Franciscan friars in the sepulcher of Christ, prayed in silence for more than an hour in the Gethsemani garden and received a brown scapular made by Carmelites in Bethlehem. The Cross of Jerusalem was even tattooed, also known as La Cruz de los Cruzados, as is tradition among the pilgrims.

“Praying within the sepulcher of Christ is a surreal experience. I feel so blessed to be here,” his first day published on social networks.

But in the early hours of June 13, a few hours before finishing his pilgrimage, he was awakened by sirens and emergency alerts in Hebrew on his phone at 3 am (local time). Israel had launched a massive air operation – the Ascending León operation – against more than 100 Iranian military and nuclear objectives, and the country prepared for retaliation.

Despite the night chaos, Mumford came out at dawn to participate in what would be the culminating point of his pilgrimage: a traditional Latin mass celebrated by a visiting monk in the same place as Calvary. It was his last moment of peace before the spiritual journey became nightmare.

Upon returning to the shelter, he knew that Ben Gurion International Airport had been evacuated. “Friends and family called me from home in a state of panic because they had seen the news,” he said. The British consulate barely offered a form to register and receive alerts by email.

“Everyone

Trapped and anxious, he found refuge in the lobby of the New citadel shelter in the old city of Jerusalem with about 20 more travelers: Algerians, Germans, Russians, Brazilians, a Romanian and another English who had arrived by pedaling from London.

That same night, on June 13, Iran replied. Mumford was on the roof of the shelter at 9 pm, observing the sky of Jerusalem with other guests, “very tense”, when the phones suddenly began to vibrate: “Protéjanse, missiles on the way in minutes.”

Iran had launched a rain of missiles and drones as retaliation. From the roof, Mumford saw how the Israeli iron dome intercepted the Iranian missiles in the distant sky. “It was crazy. They looked like meteorites … They turned from a bright white. All sirens sounded,” he said.

They ran to the lobby of the shelter to take refuge, because they had no access to an antibombic shelter. “We listened to explosions and the building trembled sometimes. They were all very, very worried.”

In that improvised shelter, Mumford sat next to a Romanian orthodox nun named Mother Epifania, who prayed the psalms with serenity from her phone. He prayed the rosary next to her, made an act of contrition and fell asleep.

The next day he went to look for his medicine, but Jerusalem was paralyzed. “Everything was closed. There were police and soldiers everywhere, and the streets were deserted,” he said. Even the holy grave and the mosques had closed their doors.

On Saturday night the alarm sounded again, but this time the missiles fell much closer.

“Throughout the night only explosions were heard, of the intercepted missiles or impacting near the city. The building trembled like crazy and that night I had a moment of Memento Moribecause I thought I would not wake up, ”he said.

At Sunday dawn, guests argued possible escape routes: Egypt, Jordan or wait. Many doubted. But Mother Epifania touched Mumford’s door.

“He asked me if I could accompany her, because I didn’t have to go with. So we took our things, we pray at the door of the holy grave, and then we walked to the door of Damascus in the Muslim neighborhood, where we took a taxi to the earthly border near Jericho,” he continued.

Upon arriving at the border crossing with Jordan, they found an immense row of vehicles. The only way to advance was to pay $ 20 to a bus driver close to the entrance. “He felt a bit like bribery, but we managed to pass. We were the last vehicle they let cross before closing the border,” Mumford admitted.

“It was incredible: I was traveling with a nun, I had so many people praying for me and we were the last to pass. I felt that God really helped us get out of that place,” he reflected.

But it was not over yet.

While waiting to leave Israel, a speaker announced an imminent attack in 10 minutes. The sirens began to sound. The soldiers ordered everyone to throw themselves to the ground.

Mumford took refuge under a metal bank. “For the first time … I don’t pray to be safe. I pray to apologize for all my sins and may God take care of my family.”

Beside her, Mother Epifania listened to her breathe with difficulty and whispered: “Don’t worry, God is with us. He is here with us right now. He continues to pray. Keep praying.”

After the danger, they waited an hour for their visas and finally crossed Jordan. They shared a row of taxi to Amán airport with Romanians and Americans who met on the border, but upon arrival, many flights had been canceled by the closure of airspace.

Mumford bought the cheapest flight to Europe found: 470 pounds ($ 631) towards Düsseldorf, Germany, the next morning. Mother Epifania got a flight to Istanbul. They said goodbye with a handshake and a “God bless you.”

When Mumford landed in England on June 17, he slept more than 13 hours in a row.

Now, already at home and still assimilating what has been lived, he cares about the friends who remained in the shelter, still trying to cross to Egypt or Jordan. “The situation is becoming very, very dangerous, even for Jerusalem,” he said.

When reflecting on everything that happened, he is amazed. “I am still surprising how I went to Mass at Calvary the same morning that it all started, and I managed to leave as soon as possible,” he said. “And I had a nun who reminded me of all the time I had to continue praying, even when I was very stressed,” he concluded.

Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in CNA.