After two years of absence, on 13 September 2025 the wooden image of the scourged Christ returned to its place in the Sanctuary of the Flagellation in Jerusalem. The statue, donated some time ago by a community in Barcelona, had been seriously damaged on 2 February 2023, when an extremist broke into the church, knocked down the sculpture and defaced its face. It was a violent act that left shock and sorrow among the faithful present, as the sisters and […]
The church of the Baptism of Jesus on the site of the Baptism-Al Maghtas, in Jordan, and one of the largest in the Middle East, was consecrated on 10 January. The celebration was presided over by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State and special envoy of the Pope for this occasion. The church was also indicated as a Jubilee Site for the diocese of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. “We are at the lowest point on earth,” the […]
The permanent formation meeting for the guardians of the convents of the Holy Land took place in Nazareth from December 9 to 11, with the participation of thirty friars of the Custody of the Holy Land. A similar meeting took place in Cyprus last week, where friars from Italy, Syria, and Jordan gathered. The Custodial Vicar, Fr. Ulises Zarza, emphasized how this initiative, strongly desired by the new government of the Custody of the Holy Land, represents an important opportunity […]
The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land in the convent of San Fortunato in Montefalco (Umbria-Italy), the house of the postulate, organized the welcome of the relic of the blood of St Francis, on the 800th anniversary of the stigmata of the Seraphic Father. The relic comes from the Shrine of Mount La Verna (Tuscany-Italy), which as well as being a place of Franciscan spirituality and memory, is the seat of the novitiate for those who decide to […]
