On the first Saturday of Lent, Jerusalem experienced one of the most solemn moments of its liturgical calendar: the official entrance of the Latin Patriarch into the Basilica of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 21, Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa crossed the threshold of the Sanctuary, accompanied by two rows of Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land. His entrance preceded by about thirty minutes that of the representative of the Armenian Church, […]
A fragment of rock of the Grotto of the Annunciation of Nazareth – where according to Christian tradition the angel made the announcement to Mary and her “yes” to the design of God – was donated by the Custody of the Holy Land to the papal Basilica of St Mary of the Angels in Assisi. A relic for the Porziuncola On 25 March, the solemnity of the Annunciation and anniversary of when the first stone of the Basilica was laid […]
The zonal Chapter of the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land in Syria has concluded after days of intense spirituality and fraternal dialogue. It was not only an institutional meeting, but an authentic pilgrimage among the wounds and hopes of a land that, despite years of isolation and suffering, continues to cry out its desire for life. From the halls of reflection in Knayeh to the wounded stones of Yacoubieh and Ghassanieh, the friars traced the course […]
Last 1 February, in the church of St Fortunatus’ convent, in Montefalco (Italy),the postulate house of the Custody of the Holy Land, the ostension of the relics of St Severus, joint patron saint of the city. The relics, preserved in a sarcophagus in the church’s chapel, were recovered and displayed for the first time for the veneration of the faithful. The ceremony – presided over by Mons. Renato Boccardo, archbishop of Spoleto-Norcia – was also attended by the Custos of […]
