On Saturday 23 September, the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land met in Emmaus El-Qubeibeh to celebrate St Simeon and St Cleopas. They were the two disciples who met Jesus Risen as they returned from Jerusalem to their homes, disappointed by his death. They walked with him for a little while and, at the entrance to the village of Emmaus, they invited him to stay with them. Then they recognized him when he broke bread. This is where […]
After the great success in Lebanon, the opera “St. Francis and the Sultan” arrived in Italy with five performances in as many cities from 20 to 25 May. The performances were held respectively in the Cathedrals of Monopoli, Bari, Brindisi, in the Basilica of S. Maria degli Angeli in Assisi and in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli in Rome. The opera’s libretto was written by the well-known professor Bartolomeo Pirone – who was present in Rome – […]
On 14 February, the Custody of the Holy Land solemnly celebrated the start of Lent, the time of grace that precedes Easter and a period of fasting, penitence and prayer which opens, as in the whole of the Church, with Ash Wednesday. In the very early morning, while fr. Stéphane Milovitch, president of the Holy Sepulchre, presided over the Mass in front of the Edicule of the Sepulchre, the Custos of the Holy Land, fr. Francesco Patton celebrated the community […]
