We already had occasion to mention the difficulties the friars had to face to remain in Bethlehem. 600 years have passed since their arrival and they are still steadfast in their service to the Catholic world. Looking through these long years of history is not easy and at the same time is not fair to deal with it as a very light passing experience. To avoid this we chose to have a look at some documents preserved at the Franciscan Archives and other sources to give us a picture of this Franciscan presence in Bethlehem.

我們已經提過會士們在白冷的困難，自他們抵達至今已經六百年了，他們仍堅持他們對天主教世界的服務。綜觀這段漫長的歷史並不容易，也不諱言的這並不是很光明的經驗。為避免這種不易瞭解的情況，我們選擇看一些文件，這些文件是由方濟會的檔案或其他來源提供，可以讓我們勾勒出方濟會在白冷的形象。

The friary seemed to have been fortified in such a way as to resemble a fortress. This is how it is described by visitors of the XIV century. Ludolfo of Sudheim writes in 1340 that the Church and the monastery at Bethlehem watch-towers and the bulwark in the form of a castle. Fr. Francesco Suriano, who twice was Custos of the Holy Land (1493-1495; 1512-1514) notes that the Church and the convent were surrounded "da mura et antemurale, cum alcuni revelini e turioni. E questi forono facti da Christiani per defensione" (by walls and counterwalls. with some ravelines and towers. And these were done by Christians for defence). The Frenchmen F.E.Roger in the first half of the 17th century finds the Convent surrounded walls so thick and high that they were "cannon proof". In the second half of the 18th century Fr. Giuseppe A from Milan notes that the Convent seen from afar resembled to a fortress, the same description found in the famous and accurate guide to Syria and Palestine, "Baedeker", in 1882.

修道院似乎被強化如同堡壘一樣。十四世紀時的拜訪者如此描述。Ludolfo of Sudheim在西元1340年寫到，白冷聖堂和修院的瞭望塔和防護像城堡的形式。兩次任職聖地監管人（西元1493到1495年；西元1512到1514年）的Francesco Suriano神父註明到聖堂和修道院被圍繞著「da mura et antemurale, cum alcuni revelini e turioni. E questi forono facti da Christiani per defensione.」（由圍牆及護牆，有角堡及塔樓。這些是基督徒為了防禦而構築。）十七世紀前半，法國人F.E.Roger發現修道院被又厚又高的牆圍繞，他這麼形容「可抵禦大砲的標準」。十八世紀後半，米蘭的Giuseppe神父註明修院遠看像座堡壘，同樣的描述也在西元1882年出版知名並準確的敘利亞、巴勒斯坦旅遊指南「Baedeker」中可見。

It was behind these walls and towers that the Franciscans passed a great part of their 600 years presence in the Holy Land. And many a time they had to defend themselves from the onslaughts of the desert thieves and sometimes even of the reigning governors of the region. Here are some descriptions of these facts with the various stratagems that the Friars had to use to get out of certain situations. "there were in Bethlehem, writes the chronist Verniero, two Bedouin leaders, thieves and very sad, who much ill-treaded the friars". There was no other way to get rid of them so the friars opted to be friends with them and they also offered them, under payment, to "take in custody, day and night, the friary at Bethlehem". It seems that this agreement did not work out for long as in 1557 Fr. Bonifacio from Ragusa, Custos of the Holy Land of the time, entered an agreement with the tax collectors of Bethlehem to guard, day and night, the friary, an agreement that seemed to have worked out into the early seventeenth century.

方濟會士們就在圍牆塔樓之後度過了在聖地六百年的大部分歲月。許多次他們必須抵抗沙漠盜賊的突擊，有些時候甚至是來自地方統治者的。這兒有一些描述有關修士們如何利用各種策略解決這些狀況。「there were in Bethlehem, writes the chronist Verniero, two Bedouin leaders, thieves and very sad, who much ill-treaded the friars」。沒有任何方法可以擺脫他們，所以修士們選擇跟他們作朋友並供給他們，, under payment, to "take in custody, day and night, the friary at Bethlehem". It seems that this agreement did not work out for long as in 1557 Fr. Bonifacio from Ragusa, Custos of the Holy Land of the time, entered an agreement with the tax collectors of Bethlehem to guard, day and night, the friary, an agreement that seemed to have worked out into the early seventeenth century.

The chronist Francesco Verniero da S. Severino writes that "On the eve of our father Saint Francis (3 October 1641) happened that (in the late afternoon the Convent was) besieged by the Turks of Bassa' (=Pascia' - the civil and military governor of Jerusalem) who forcefully wanted to enter; not being permitted by the friars they started to fire arrows and throw stones at all the windows that they could reach, breaking the window panes and causing much damage among shouting and threats....The Bassa' of Jerusalem was informed of this not only by the friars but also by those living in the town of Bethlehem who were also offended; the liar governor promised to punish them and so he showed courtesy to the friars asking for sugar and candles which were promptly sent to him; but the treacherous tyrant never maintained the promise.

chronist Francesco Verniero da S. Severino寫到「在聖方濟瞻禮前夕（西元1641年十月三日）土耳其的Bassa'（=Pascia'，耶路撒冷民政、軍政管理者）包圍了那裡（修道院，在傍晚時），他們強烈的企圖進入但不為修士們所允許，所以他們開始向所有能夠及的窗戶射燃燒的箭矢並投擲石塊，破壞窗櫺並在叫囂恐嚇間造成了許多損壞。耶路撒冷的Bassa'不只如此對待修士們，同樣也如此對待那些白冷小城中違背他們的居民。統治者謊稱會處罰他們並對修士們釋出善意要求糖及蠟燭，這些東西迅速的送達他手中，但那不可靠的暴君並未履行諾言。

On the 11th November 1720 the Custos of the Holy Land writes to the Holy Congregation Propaganda Fide that some persons had made the population of Bethlehem rise against the Franciscans. He writes that the people "twice they tried to scale the walls of the Friary in Bethlehem and to open a breach in the walls around the same with arms, fireworks (=shooting with gun powder) and harquebuses."

西元1720年十一月十一日，聖地監管Custos寫信給Holy Congregation Propaganda Fide聖座傳信部指出有些人鼓動白冷居民對抗方濟會士們。他寫道這些人「有兩次衡量白冷修院的圍牆並企圖以武力、火藥及火槍開出缺口。」

On the 3rd of March 1760 Fr. Domenico from Venice, Custos of the time, writes to the Cardinal Prefect of the Holy Congregation de Propaganda Fide "I am obliged to inform your Excellency, how I succeeded, not without a miracle, the night of the 25th of last June, to furtively free all the religious of the family of Bethlehem from the hands of those Turkish tax-collectors, who with grave insult and deprecation had suddenly become the patrons of the friary and kept them in a pitiful slavery..."

西元1760年三月三日，當時的聖地監管Custos，威尼斯來的Domenico神父向聖座傳信部的Prefect樞機寫道「我滿懷感激的告知閣下，我是如何成功的，不帶任何奇蹟的，在去年六月二十五日晚間，偷偷地將白冷的所有的教友家庭由那些土耳其稅吏手中得到自由，那些原本非常傲慢並敵視的人突然變成了修士們的保護者，並像個可憐的奴隸一樣…」

On the 5th of August 1817 Fr. Salvatore Antonio from Malta, Custos of the time, writes again to the Holy Congregation about an incident which happened in 1811 when "twice the religious family of Bethlehem was threatened with their lives, having the Turks taken over a part of the Friary. In fact had they remained they would have been victims of death, had they not escaped immediately....; two friars, who wanted to stay behind, hoping to avoid the looting which was imminent, had to climb down the walls and escape to the countryside"

西元1817年八月五日，當時的Custos，Maita來的Salvatore Antonio神父再次給聖座傳信部寫道有關發生在西元1811年的事件，當「有兩次白冷的教有家庭的生活遭受威脅，有土耳其人抓走了部分修士。事實上，如果他們不馬上逃跑而留在那裡，他們可能會被殺害…；兩名修士想要挺身而出，希望能抵抗逼近的武力，必須攀下圍牆逃往鄉間。」

The sturdy walls protected the Christians of Bethlehem many a time for it was here that they gathered in face of trouble. This fact many a time offered a challenge to the friars. This is how it is described by Donat'Angelo Martucci who arrived in Bethlehem on the 3rd October 1606 and who recounts what the nine Franciscans living there told him: they "with the help of the local population who had found refuge in that holy place, were in arms to resist the Arabs (=Bedouins or desert thieves), who, knowing that inside the walls they had arms, did not dare to come near. But the friars had the job to give shelter to more than 500 persons (the number seems a bit exaggerated) who had retired to the friary afraid of the incursions and who had occupied the cloister, the garden and the same Church, with every family having an individual tent (sic!) with provisions and furnishings..."

當麻煩來臨時堅固的圍牆多次保護了聚集在那裡的白冷基督徒，也讓修士們面對了許多挑戰。這正是當西元1606年十月三日Donat'Angelo Martucci抵達白冷時所描述的，他記錄了生活在那的九名方濟會士告訴他的：他們「在在聖地被忽視的居民的幫助下，武裝抵抗阿拉伯人（貝都因人或沙漠強盜） ，那些人知道牆內有武裝力量而不敢靠近。但修士們必須提供庇護給為數超過五百的民眾（這個數目似乎有點誇大），那些害怕被襲擊而逃到修院，在修道院、花園及教堂中工作的人，每個家庭有一頂獨立的帳棚（真的！）及生活必需品…」

Other documents recount how the Christians (both Catholic and Orthodox) being fed up with the harassment by the tax-collectors decided to take up arms after putting all their belongings and their women to the friary with the intent to throw out of their town the Moslems. This happened in the late eighteenth century and is recounted by Giovanni Mariti who says that there were also victims on both sides.

另一份文件記錄了基督徒（包括天主教及東正教）在飽受稅吏的騷擾後決定武裝起來，將他們的財產及婦女送往修院，以便專注的將穆斯林趕出他們的城鎮。這是在Giovanni Mariti在十八世紀末的紀錄中發生的，他說到雙方都有死傷。

The archives recount a thousand incident of the sort. This does by no way mean that all year round the friars and the Christians were up in arms. It means only that many a time the sturdy walls of the "castle" of Bethlehem were the only refuge the Christians had against the perpetration of violence and injustice. Furthermore it shows the uncertainty the Christians lived in for many years.

檔案中紀錄著數以千計的事件，但不代表修士們及基督徒們在所有的年代中都武裝著，那只意味著白冷「城堡」的堅固圍牆在許多時候保護著基督徒抵抗暴力的侵擾以維持正義，並顯示基督徒多年來不穩定的生活狀態。

We have already mentioned the fact that the friars had been thrown out of the Basilica. During these times they officiated in a the small medieval chapel which previously was used by the canons of St. Augustine. But the number of Catholics in Bethlehem was growing steadily. So much so that many a "convert" was faced with hard times. This was the reason why between 1545 and 1748 we find ten decrees by the Turkish authorities prohibiting any harassment as long as they paid the prescribed taxes. The growth was such that in 1882 the Franciscans replaced the medieval chapel of the canons of St. Augustine by a new church dedicated to St. Catherine, in front of which still stands the beautiful medieval cloister.

我們已經提過，修士們被趕出了大殿，在這段期間他們在一處原屬於canons of St. Augustine的中世紀小聖堂舉行禮儀。但是白冷的天主教徒數目穩定的增加，因此許多的「皈依者」必須面對一段困難的時間，這也是為什麼我們可以發現在西元1545到1748年間土耳其當局共頒佈了十條法令，禁止騷擾那些正常繳稅者。基督徒人數的成長使方濟會士決定將小教堂改建，並命名為St. Catherine教堂，在教堂前仍留存著美麗的中世紀修道院。

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