Every year, Our Lady of the Skies Chapel is participating in welcoming the Peace Light from Bethlehem to the United States. 

The Peace Light from Bethlehem is a continuously-burning flame, originating from the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Israel. It is meant to promote peace, harmony and unity among the people of the world regardless of race, ethnicity or religion.

Each year, a child from Upper Austria fetches the light from the grotto in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The light is carried in two blast-proof miners lamps on an Austrian Airlines jet from Tel Aviv Israel to Vienna  Austria from where it is distributed at a Service of Dedication to delegations from across Europe who take it back, with a message of Peace, to their own countries. Austrian Airlines then flies the miner's lamps containing the Peace Light from Bethlehem to New York City. The goal of this web site is help the light spread like the branches of a huge tree rooted in New York and spreading across the continent.

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We have received a confirmation that the Peace Light will be flown from Vienna to JFK on Saturday, December 11 onboard Austrian flight #87*. It is scheduled to arrive at 2:30 PM EST. The Welcoming Ceremony will take place at Our Lady of the Skies Chapel around 3:00 PM that day (as always, the time may change based on the actual arrival at JFK). The best practice is to track the flight. We will have tracking information available over here on December 11.

 

All participants of the Ceremony MUST wear face masks at all times while inside Terminal 4.

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* There is a lockdown in Austria between November 22 - December 12, 2021. According to information from the Austrian Ministry of Health, international travel is still possible despite the exit restrictions in Austria. However, selective adaptations in the flight operations of Austrian Airlines may apply.