From Jaffa Gate to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. And then from Golgotha to St. Anne's. Together with the friars, the White Fathers, religious authorities, diplomatic representatives and members of the French faithful, the Consul General of France in Jerusalem, Alexis Le Cour Grandmaison, made his official entry into the Holy City. A tradition that recalls the historic ties between Paris, the Holy Places and the Custody of the Holy Land.
The procession set out from Jaffa Gate, one of the main entrances to the Old City. From there, the long line of religious and diplomats made its way through the streets of the Christian Quarter until it reached the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Awaiting the Consul were representatives of the three communities that guard the heart of Christianity, the place of Christ's death and Resurrection. Then, in front of the Stone of Anointing, Le Cour Grandmaison was greeted by the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, who accompanied the French representative to the entrance of the Aedicule.
Here, in his address, Ielpo warmly welcomed the Consul General, recalling the ancient and profound ties that unite France and the Custody of the Holy Land. A solid, strong relationship, built over the centuries and marked by Paris's particular attention not only to the Holy Places, but also to the "living stones" represented by the Christian communities of this region. A wounded land, where the population has been severely tested and where violence and hatred risk becoming endemic evils, seemingly impossible to eradicate.
Thus, the meeting in front of the Aedicule took on a meaning that goes beyond a gesture born of tradition and diplomatic protocol, in the symbolic place of the Christian faith, the Custos welcomed the Consul before "an empty tomb". And therefore before the hope of Good.
The visit then continued throughout the basilica. Accompanied by Fr. Stéphane Milovitch, Le Cour Grandmaison was able to observe up close the various corners of the Holy Place and the communities that make it up. And after pausing at Calvary, the Consul, preceded by the procession led by the "kawas", arrived at the Church of St. Anne, near Lions' Gate and the Pool of Bethesda. The Crusader era building, traditionally associated with the birth of the Virgin Mary, was donated to France by the Ottoman Empire. A bond rooted in the history and tradition of Jerusalem and confirmed by the visit of the new Consul of France.
Lorenzo Vita
