On Saturday, 31st March, the eve of Palm Sunday, the series of Lent pilgrimages came to an end with the pilgrimage to Bethphage. The Custos of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, celebrated the Eucharist, in a chapel packed with the faithful.
At the end of the Mass, he invited the assembly to follow him, behind the Sanctuary, to go to the St. Francis neighbourhood, which is about to receive 70 Christian families. Here, in an atmosphere of intimacy, he pronounced a blessing over a dozen buildings the Custody has built, the amphitheatre and the garden.
In blessing the new homes, the Custos of the Holy Land blessed those who will be living in them, but we can wager that he also had in mind those the Custody cannot help today.
The Franciscans left Bethphage. They will return the next day, for the great procession of Palm Sunday, which commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
MAB
At the end of the Mass, he invited the assembly to follow him, behind the Sanctuary, to go to the St. Francis neighbourhood, which is about to receive 70 Christian families. Here, in an atmosphere of intimacy, he pronounced a blessing over a dozen buildings the Custody has built, the amphitheatre and the garden.
In blessing the new homes, the Custos of the Holy Land blessed those who will be living in them, but we can wager that he also had in mind those the Custody cannot help today.
The Franciscans left Bethphage. They will return the next day, for the great procession of Palm Sunday, which commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
MAB