The Solemnity of the Holy Innocents was celebrated in Bethlehem on 28th December, presided by the Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, fr. Ibrahim Faltas, in the presence of the Franciscan community of Bethlehem, the local faithful and religious. The narration of the Massacre of the Innocents is told in the Gospel according to Matthew (2,16), without parallels in the other canonical gospels: “When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the Magi, he became furious. He […]
On the afternoon of Wednesday January 16, 2019, the Custody of the Holy Land opened its doors to the students and professors of the Winter School of the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies organized by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The lectures were by Profs. Edoardo Barbieri and Alessandro Tedesco, Ph.D. For the occasion, the books chosen for the exhibit, “The Bible on the move: traditions and translations of the Holy Scriptures,” which was introduced last November at the General […]
The Convent of the Flagellation in Jerusalem is at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa: thousands of pilgrims go down it every day on their devotional path to the Holy Sepulchre, but today it is a silent and empty street. The traditional Via Crucis, which the Franciscans perform every Friday afternoon, has been suspended for two weeks. The Guardian of the Franciscan community of the Flagellation, fr. Giuseppe Gaffurini, was able to return to Jerusalem only a few days ago: […]
