On the solemnity of St. Joseph the Worker, May 1, the Custody of the Holy Land joined the celebrations for the inauguration of the new roof of Dar al Majus, the office of Pro Terra Santa in Bethlehem.
The new roof, made of glass handmade in Hebron, was designed by architect Vincenzo Zuppardo, who has long worked with the Holy Land in service of the preservation and enhancement of holy sites and beyond.
In addition to the various employees and friends of Dar al Majus, several institutional dignitaries were present, including the mayor of Bethlehem, the Italian Consul and the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Patton.
The event also featured a couple of musicians from the Magnificat Institute in Jerusalem, who played for those present some songs from film soundtracks.
In the heart of the Old City of Bethlehem, a short walk from the Basilica of the Nativity, is Dar al Majus, a cultural and social center opened in 2022. The name "Dar al Majus" - literally "House of the Wise" - recalls the city's historical and spiritual roots, linking past and present in a project that looks to the future.
Born from the initiative of Pro Terra Santa, with the support of international organizations, Dar al Majus is more than just an office: it is a meeting center, a laboratory of ideas, an open space dedicated to interfaith dialogue, youth training and the promotion of social justice.
Among other initiatives, the center aims to support local Christian youth through educational programs, cultural activities and vocational training. It also seeks to foster social inclusion and sustainable entrepreneurship, with a focus on women and marginalized groups, including through a series of public events, workshops and exhibitions.
As architect Vincenzo Zuppardo told us, the idea behind the new roof is to emphasize the link with the history and architecture of Bethlehem.
The roof is made of transparent glass and iron, with a central line composed of stained glass made in Hebron. The central part points toward the Basilica of the Nativity, in remembrance of the star that, precisely, showed the way to the Wise men. History, architecture, religion, tradition, find a symbolic link in this new work.
The building in which Pro Terra Santa's offices are developed, as Tommaso Saltini, general director of Pro Terra Santa, told us, was purchased about ten years ago, thanks to generous donations, among which the one bestowed by CEI is of particular note.
The building has several rooms inside, dedicated to different activities and projects that the NGO carries out. On the ground floor there is a hall that can host conferences or small concerts, as well as workshops and activities of different kinds. Next to it is the bazaar, which offers for sale products made by different local realities that support people in serious difficulty, including battered women, or people from foster homes or even simply small local artisans who find here an exhibition space for their works.
On the upper floors, on the other hand, there are administrative offices, a co-working space, a kitchen, and a space for meetings or gatherings with partners and benefactors who come to visit. Finally, on the top floor, there is a large terrace that houses the new roofing that was built and inaugurated during the event.
Saltini describes the space at Dar al Majus as follows: "A place we want to dedicate to beauty, because there is a need for it, even in the most dramatic situations. A beautiful, welcoming place, functional to the many activities that we carry out within it and that we carry out with our projects. We want people to find a place made of beauty, material and otherwise."
Francesco Guaraldi
