Cana, where Jesus performed his first public miracle, the changing of water into wine, was also the home town of one of the Twelve Apostles, Nathanael (John 21:2). Along the street leading to the Franciscan Wedding Church, a chapel marks Nathanael’s home.
This is the place to read his words to Philip as they talked about Jesus. Some believe Nathanael’s famous but curious remark - “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) – indicates some consternation that the home town of the Messiah was the “ordinary” neighboring village of Nazareth, no more noteworthy than his own.
The Latin inscription on the façade of this small nineteenth-century church reminds visitors that Nathanael was also called Bartholomew (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). It displays a painting of Nathanael’s martyrdom; a relief on the white stone altar depicts his meeting with Philip.
*Visitors can obtain the key to Nathanael’s Church in the Wedding Church sacristy (Tel: 04-651-7011).