The Covid 19 pandemic has now reached countries on all the continents.
To prevent the spread of the virus, governments have imposed restrictions on behavior which means that the Christian faithful cannot take part in the celebrations of the Holy Week.
Pope Paul VI, following the example of St Paul the Apostle, through the apostolic exhortation “Nobis in Animo” of 25th March 1974, had established a special collection on Good Friday to support the Mother Church of Jerusalem.
Since then, with the help of Catholics all over the world, the help necessary to support the various charities for the Christians of the Middle East and to continue to keep the Holy Places alive has reached the Holy Land.
On 27th March 2020, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches informed the Custody of the Holy Land that the Holy Father has granted, for this year, the postponement of the Good Friday Collection to 13th September 2020. This way the Universal Church will be able to ensure the help necessary for the land where the roots of our faith are, making an effort in solidarity and communion in suffering.
The Commissaries of the Holy Land will inform the local Churches of their respective territories that the pontifical Pro Terra Sancta Collection will be held on 13th September 2020, the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross which recalls the Dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in the 4th century.
For all believers there remains the consolation that in the Holy Places the Franciscan communities will continue to celebrate the Easter rites and pray for the rapid end of the pandemic, for the sick and their families, for all those who have died from the virus and for all the countries affected by the disease.
