On the day dedicated to the memory of Saints Simeon and Cleopas, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land gathered at the Convent of Saint Cleopas in Emmaus (El-Qubeibeh). In this village nestled about 11 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, beyond the separation wall surrounding the West Bank, the Sunday liturgy of September 27 transformed the Gospel remembrance into a living testimony of faith and fraternal communion. The Franciscan friars, welcomed by the Superior of the local community, Fr. […]
Eight hundred years after his Transitus, Saint Francis still speaks to millions of people throughout the world. His radical choice, his being poor among the poor, his texts and his charism still kindle the hearts of many faithful of every age and from every part of the world. To understand this moment, which is so important for the entire Franciscan family, we spoke with Fr. Cesare Vaiani, who is in Jerusalem for the Triduum in preparation for the Feast of […]
Mujeidel, in the locality of Migdal HaEmek, is a place that tells the story of a constant presence of the Franciscan family. A small, silent convent, with a garden made of rocks and plants. A place that preserves the features of a hermitage, and which the guardian, Fr. Fadi Shallufi, carefully preserves. And it is here, a few kilometres from Nazareth, that the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, wanted to celebrate the feast of the Holy Archangels. […]
On the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, and the bishop of Santander, Monsignor Arturo Ros, signed the twinning agreement between the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana (Cantabria), where the Lignum Crucis is kept, the largest relic of the Cross of Christ currently preserved. "This twinning constitutes a very profound bond between this sanctuary and the place of the […]
