On Saturday 31 May 2025, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land celebrated, according to tradition, the Feast of the Visitation at the Shrine of Ein Karem, just a few miles from Jerusalem. This picturesque place, which Christian tradition identifies as the house of Zachariah and Elizabeth, welcomed pilgrims and religious in an atmosphere of joy and prayer, to commemorate the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth narrated in the Gospel according to Luke (1, 39-56). In his homily, […]
From 1 to 5 October 2024, the church of St Francis in Rhodes hosts the twelfth edition of the Rhodes Organ & Music Festival: five evenings dedicated to organ music and culture, with free concerts. The event has been organized by the Catholic Church of Rhodes and by the Terra Sancta Organ Festival, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Athens, the Embassy of Hungary in Athens and the association Pro Terra Sancta. A musical journey from Europe […]
After nine years of service as Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Patton concludes an intense and unique experience. Appointed Custos in 2016, he has lived through complex historical events, from the war in Syria, to the pandemic, to the recent resurgence of conflicts, accompanying the Custody through a time of great transformation. In this interview, he tells us what it means to live as a "pilgrim" even with institutional responsibilities, which encounters touched him the most deeply, and […]
It was 7 August 1948 when fra Giulio Zanella, as the special attorney of the then Custos of the Holy Land (1937-1949) fra Alberto Gori, purchased the property that is today the Delegation of the Holy Land in Rome. The history of the building in the last century, even before the arrival of the friars, was not easy at all. Known as the Villa Lancellotti, which took its name from its legitimate owner, Prince Filippo Lancellotti, it even became the […]
