Pilgrims from the Fargo Diocese caught in the crossfire of war

What started as a long-awaited pilgrimage to the Holy Land ended in terror, confusion, and prayer for a group of over 80 pilgrims from the Diocese of Fargo. The pilgrims were in Palestinian territory when war broke out Oct. 7 between Israel and the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip. Suddenly, those who were on what they expected to be a sacred pilgrimage were caught between two lands and two warring factions, wondering if they would be able to escape the violence and get home safely.

The group was led by three priests, Father Phil Ackerman, pastor of Holy Cross in West Fargo; Father Gerard Braun, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in Fargo; and Father Augie Gothman, pastor of St. Andrew’s in Hawley, Minn. and St. Elizabeth’s in Dilworth, Minn. New Earth spoke with Father Phil Ackerman shortly after they arrived back in the United States to get a first-hand account of what the group experienced, and what that experience may have taught them about their faith.

New Earth: Take us through that first day, Oct. 7, when the attack started. What were your experiences from that day? What happened with your group?

Fr. Ackerman: We didn’t know what was going on at that point. We were leaving Nazareth and heading to Bethlehem. Normal day, everything is fine, and we were planning to drive along the Jordan Valley to Jericho and visit Zacchaeus’ tree and the Mount of Temptation, and we were going to the River Jordan to renew our baptismal vows and drive to the Dead Sea. That was our plan. But as we were heading in that direction, we stopped at a gas station and were told to get back on the bus. We have to get back on the bus to get to Bethlehem right away because checkpoints are closing. That was the first indication we had.

New Earth: And you didn’t know why the checkpoints were closed?

Fr. Ackerman: We knew something was happening, but we didn’t know why that was happening. We headed to Bethlehem and got settled in our hotel, and we were told that it is safe to be in Bethlehem because the Hamas would not attack Bethlehem because it’s Palestinian. We had a sense that we were safe. The local tour guides live a life where there’s unrest, so they just kind of shrug their shoulders and say, this is just another incident like this and it’ll pass just like it has before.

New Earth: When did you realize it was more serious than that?

Fr. Ackerman: As the day went on and into Oct. 8, a lot of input was coming from outside of our group from family hearing it on the news—it’s escalating, it’s getting worse. We didn’t know what to do at that point and the checkpoints were closing. There’s a checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. It’s only about five miles apart, but the Bethlehem section is Palestinian and the Jerusalem part is Israeli. So we thought, well, we’re not able to do any touring in Jerusalem. That’s when I felt the power of prayer. A lot of people said we’re in God’s hands. There’s people praying for us. There’s a level of peace and comfort, even though there is anxiety underneath. I believe it was Oct. 9 when we were planning to go to Jerusalem, or at least wanting to, but we thought we couldn’t, but then the checkpoints suddenly opened. We felt things are kind of leveling off a little bit.

New Earth: So Oct. 8, Sunday, you were waiting around in Bethlehem, not knowing what was going on, wondering if your tour was even going to be able to continue?

Fr. Ackerman: Well, not at that point. On the 8th, we were touring Bethlehem. We knew that maybe Jerusalem was off limits, but on the 8th we went to the Church of the Nativity. We saw the place where Christ was born, and we went to the milk grotto, but then after that we were told to stay in our hotel. By the 9th, we knew it was more serious, and we had heard that the conflict was breaking out, it was only about 45 miles from where we were staying in Bethlehem.

New Earth: What was the mood of the people on the 8th when you were told to go back to the hotel?

Fr. Ackerman: Good spirits because we knew we were safe, even though it was a high level of anxiety. People just seemed to be team players and say, you know, we’re okay. The 9th was a little more intense. We were not able to see (sites in Jerusalem) as we had planned.

New Earth: You had mentioned that the 9th, all of a sudden, the checkpoints opened up. Did that feel like maybe a little normalcy was returned?

Fr. Ackerman: I thought, oh, it’s getting better. Because why else would they be opening checkpoints? So we went through, went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to go into the tomb of Christ and touch the slab where he was prepared. It was just a profound. We couldn’t believe that we could do this. We were so thankful. Before that we did the Way of the Cross and that was a profound experience too. After that we had lunch and then we were told we needed to get to the bus quickly because the checkpoints are closing again. That was another level of anxiety, thinking that things might get worse.

New Earth: At that point, did you feel you were still going to be able to complete your entire tour?

Fr. Ackerman: No, we knew we were done touring. People didn’t want to. They just wanted to go home. By Oct. 10 morning, we discovered that our flights back to Toronto and Montreal were canceled. The Tel Aviv Airport still had commercial flights coming in and out from other airlines at that point, but our flights were canceled. That morning there was a lot of anxiety. What are we going to do? All of a sudden at 9.30 a.m., Jane Alatrash, our tour guide, worked a miracle for us. She said, “We’re leaving for Jordan right now. Pack up and let’s go.” Within minutes everybody was ready with no complaints. I said to one of our travelers, “Do you know what we’re doing?” We got on the bus and headed to Jordan, and there was a sense of relief that we had a plan, even though we had no flights. In the meantime, Jane arranged to have two new buses and drivers because they cannot cross the border from Israel to Jordan. She had it all arranged and rooms for about 75 people at a hotel. It was unbelievable, especially with the number of people trying to do the same thing we’re doing. We waited at the border for three hours because there’s a line of buses. When we finally crossed the border, there was such a feeling of relief. We’re safe.

New Earth: When you crossed the border, did you cross by foot or on a bus?

Fr. Ackerman: Our bus crossed into the middle zone between the custom checkpoints and then the bus driver let us off. We had all our stuff sitting out for about six and a half hours, but we were happy. Hungry perhaps, but we were safe, and we were just relieved. On the way into Jordan, Jane asked for a list of people that should be first to leave that were running out of medications. They would be the first ones to go.

New Earth: So you finally were able to cross into Jordan from the waiting area. Wasn’t that about the same time the kids from Trinity School in West Fargo started adoration?

Fr. Ackerman: I was told there was some connection there. They started adoration at about 7 p.m. our time, and we had crossed the border already. But we learned later that when we crossed the border, about two or three hours after we crossed, it was closed. I felt the power of prayer and that prayer helped us in this situation. We got to the hotel in Amman, Jordan at about 10:45 p.m. The manager of the hotel was standing in the front entrance as we walked in and said, “Welcome to Jordan, you are safe.” Wow!

New Earth: That must have been very calming.

Fr. Ackerman: We were at the Crown Plaza, an American hotel. They had dinner for us, a full buffet. The staff said “Hurry up, don’t go to your rooms, don’t panic, just come and eat.” Then Jane explained our next move. Twenty-seven people had the first set of plane tickets heading out the next morning. We all had different flights. The first group flew out of Amman to Chicago. From Chicago, some people had connecting flights to Minneapolis and Rochester. Roxanne Clute from our (Holy Cross) parish, arranged with her brother, who lives in the Twin Cities, to come to Rochester along with a sister-in-law with two vehicles because they needed to pick up the luggage for six people. They took us to St. Cloud and by then it was about 1 a.m. Then she had other relatives pick us up, including a fiancé who drove all the way from Jamestown to St. Cloud.

New Earth: Did you realize that your plight was covered by national media in the U.S.?

Fr. Ackerman: I did at that point. When we were in Chicago, we had to claim our luggage and go through customs. When we were at the luggage carousel, a young man looked at us and said, “Are you the group from North Dakota?”

New Earth: So, you arrived in Fargo Oct. 12 at 4 a.m. What were your feelings being in the rectory?

Fr. Ackerman: It’s a miracle I’m here. I didn’t know if I’d be able to come back. During that tense time at that hotel in Bethlehem, I thought, “are we going to be taken as hostages? Christ faced the cross. Maybe we will too.” Even with all that, I thought to myself, “I’m going to place myself in God’s hands and he’s going to take care of me no matter what happens.” That gave me comfort.

New Earth: What role did you play in being spiritual advisors during this whole ordeal?

Fr. Ackerman: I think I got some emails on that saying that we were there to provide comfort and strength and a bit of humor and that helped us through this. I think just having us there was a sense of strength for them. Then came this sour note, this moment when some felt their family members were abandoned by their shepherds when we flew out first. In hindsight, I would have said to Jane as she arranged flights to make sure that we were last. I had not thought of that. It didn’t even dawn on me.

New Earth: Wouldn’t that also be because you’ve got to take a flight when you can? Because if you don’t, you might not get one again?

Fr. Ackerman: That’s right. The flights were issued before we even knew it. Jane had to nail it down right now, otherwise two minutes, a minute later, it’s lost. It’s already taken. It was out of my hands. I felt uneasy, but when I came, back I found out it was worse than I thought. There was a parishioner who came in that was extremely angry. He said, “My wife is still over there and here you are and my family is angry at you.” We talked it through and I said, “I’m just so grateful to you to bring this to my attention. I said I felt uneasy about it and here’s the situation.” We’re okay, but there’s still some frustration out there. I wrote an email to the whole group, not trying to defend myself, just to say, “here’s how this is laid out and if you would like to talk about it, I’d love to talk about it further.”

New Earth: You mentioned the power of prayer and how you actually felt it. What are your thoughts now looking back about your faith and your role as a shepherd?

Fr. Ackerman: The thing that was profound for me is that God’s presence and guiding hand were there, and it was strong. I felt that. Of course, I’ve felt that all my life as a priest, but I felt it in a deeper way. The power of prayer just really struck me on this journey. So many of the pilgrims, including myself, see this incident, this tragedy, as part of our pilgrimage.

New Earth: Would you go back?  

Fr. Ackerman: I’ve had a wonderful experience of pilgrimages and tours. I’ve been so blessed with that. I’ve done this for over 20 years. It’s been wonderful, but I think I’m done. But who knows, I might change my mind.

New Earth: What’s the importance of a Holy Land pilgrimage? Why is that so important for the faithful, if they can make one, to do it?

Fr. Ackerman: I feel people want to experience where it all happened. They get to actually be on the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus started his ministry. This is where he had to face those staunch Jews, solid in their faith. The other shore is pagan religions and immorality. He had to face that too. On top of it, rounding up those unwieldy disciples that have their own set of problems. There’s a lot of sites where Jesus might have been in this spot, or this spot, but he was actually on the Sea of Galilee. That was exciting to all of us. When we talked about Mount Tabor, and the Feast of Transfiguration, and whatever, we were there, so that vision will be more profound when we read the scriptures. People want to be on the site where Jesus was. That draws people. Overall, it was a profound experience of faith. I’m so grateful for it.

New Earth: Not your typical pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Fr. Ackerman: People became more aware of some impact of the scripture passages. For example, Mary traveled from Nazareth to see Elizabeth. The terrain, the rocky terrain, the hills, the trees, how difficult was that? I was thinking about the hardships and even the flight to Egypt. You think about August or July and there Jesus is traveling with this unwieldy group he calls disciples, and they’re traveling from place to place. You see how uncomfortable that was, and how hot it was. How did they get fresh water? How did they think about the difficulties getting to all these places? When we read a scripture passage, those things come alive and become much more profound. That’s what the pilgrimage did for us. It made things come alive.