TAYBEH, West Bank - From Jordan to the streets of Jerusalem's Old City and a refugee camp in the West Bank, final preparations are being made for Pope Francis' historic visit to the Holy Land. A group ...

Marian Shanees had never seen the letters of her native language of Aramaic. Now, a new program in Maaloula, one of the few places where Aramaic is still spoken, will change that. "This is the first ...

"Ah-bwoon da-bwash-maya. Net-ka-dahsh schmahh." The group of five haltingly recited the ancient words. The rough English translation: "Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name." Saying ...

MAALOULA Ilyana Barqil wears skinny jeans, boots and a fur-lined jacket, handy for keeping out the cold in the Qalamoun mountains north of Damascus. She likes TV quiz shows and American films and ...

KOCHI, India _ Every Saturday night, six old men crowd together on a wooden bench in a damp church foyer with pens and notebooks. Some are small-time traders, some retired clerks. Two of them are over ...

Trying to unravel the mysteries of Aramaic is like embarking on an odyssey across the deserts, mountains and valleys of the Middle East and onwards to Europe and North America. It is an intellectual ...