The Custody has good news for everyone who comes on pilgrimage to the Holy Land: after the recent notices about necessary work in the Grotto of the Annunciation in Nazareth and about the temporary necessity to limit the number of pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of Moses on Mount Nebo in Jordan, we are pleased to inform you that in Bethlehem, on the other hand, we are making a new commitment to hospitality.
To celebrate 660 years of Franciscan presence at the Grotto of the Nativity – the stable presence began in 1347 – it has been decided that the Franciscan sanctuaries in Bethlehem will be continuously open. Since the First Sunday of Advent 2007, the Church of Saint Catherine, Saint Jerome’s Grotto, the Milk Grotto and the sanctuary in the Shepherds’ Field are no longer closed from noon to two o’clock. It is now possible, therefore, to visit the Holy Places in Bethlehem from eight in the morning until five (in the winter) or six (in the summer) in the afternoon.)
One of the priorities of the Franciscan friars’ centuries-long presence in the Custody of the Holy Land is hospitality for the pilgrims who visit the Holy Places of the Redemption. The decision of the Bethlehem community not to close our sanctuaries at midday is a sign of the importance of this service. These past months we have noticed an increasing presence of pilgrims from all over the world.
The security fence and the check point, that is, the control point of the Israeli armed forces, often impose delays on groups coming to Bethlehem. The continuous open hours of the sanctuaries is intended to be an adaptation to the new political situation in the town of our Savior’s birth so that pilgrims will not be deprived of their visit.
To all pilgrims and visitors we give a hearty welcome to Bethlehem and we hope that the “open house” of our sanctuaries will help them to open their hearts to Jesus Christ, Redemptor hominis Merry Christmas!
The Bethlehem Community