On July 15, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land celebrated the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem. This is a central feast for Christianity, commemorating the consecration of the altar of the Basilica in 1149 by the Crusaders, but it also carries a strongly current significance today. During the homily, delivered by br. Ibrahim Faltas, Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, […]
The eleven “Martyrs of Damascus” will be declared saints on 20 October in Rome. For this solemn occasion, a gem of faith and art will enter St Peter’s Square, a reliquary which holds a relic of the martyrs, killed out of hatred of the faith in Damascus in 1860 (you can read the whole story here). This work of art was made in Bethlehem in 1926 and was already used for the ceremony of beatification in the same year and […]
The Custody of the Holy Land celebrated with solemnity the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi and the liturgical feast of the Saint, patron of Italy, with two intense moments of prayer and communion, the vespers of October 3 and the Eucharistic celebration of October 4. The Transitus of the Seraphic Father On the evening of Friday, October 3, in the Church of Saint Saviour in Jerusalem, the Franciscan community, religious and faithful gathered for the solemn vespers of the […]
World Youth Day, held in Lisbon, Portugal from 1 to 6 August 2023, has recently come to an end. A large group of friars from the Custody of the Holy Land also attended, giving support, with their presence and their work, to this great event, now in its XXXVII edition. The WYD was established by Pope John Paul II in 1985 and has always stood out as an occasion where millions of young Catholics from all over the world can […]
