On the Monday after Easter, the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, went, as they do every year, to Emmaus to celebrate the events narrated in the Gospel according to Luke. It is the story of the two disciples who, grief-stricken and confused after the death of Jesus, set off on foot for Emmaus, a small village a few kilometres from Jerusalem. On the way, a mysterious traveller comes up beside the pair and starts to talk […]
On Saturday, 16 November, the auditorium of the Immaculate Conception, in the convent of St Saviour in Jerusalem, hosted a symposium on the martyrs of Damascus, who were canonized in Rome on 20 October 2024. The meeting, entitled “Martyrdom. A sign of journey into the faith,” was an opportunity to reflect on the deep meaning of Christian martyrdom, in the light of the testimony given by the Franciscan martyrs of Damascus. The speakers approached the topic of martyrdom from different […]
The procession of the palms in Jerusalem is one of the most picturesque moments which brings together the whole Christian community of the Holy Land. On Sunday 13 April, a long winding procession of palms raised to the sky came down from the Mount of Olives, following the same steps as Jesus when he entered Jerusalem. After having gathered around the Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, for the celebration of Palm Sunday at the Holy Sepulchre, the Christians of the Holy […]
Pray and hope. This was the message delivered by Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki during the Mass for Peace in the Holy Land, which took place on Sunday, October 15th at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington. The bishop of Springfield (Illinois), a member of the Franciscan Foundation for Holy Land based in New York, led the Mass, which the Franciscan Monastery’s friars organized to address the tragic situation affecting Israel and Gaza. The appeal of the Washington, D.C. Franciscan friars living […]
