The supplication to Mary for peace rises continuously from Jerusalem on the day when her Assumption to Heaven is celebrated. Mary’s tomb in Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives, the place of her assumption to heaven, has been venerated for centuries: the Franciscans, led by the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton, celebrated the Solemnity of the Assumption here, between 14 and 15 August. In this time of conflict and war, the special invocation for […]
In the hands of fra Balu gouges (scalpels to carve and shape) quickly scoop out the cakes of Marseille soap. Human shapes, animals and small architectures emerge from the cubes. “When I arrived in the Holy Land three years ago, for my theological studies,” he says, “I started to work olive wood, which is available here in large amounts. But it was too hard and my tools were not suitable. One day, in the convent’s laundry, I saw the blocks […]
On 27 October, the Custody of the Holy Land held a Thanksgiving Mass in Jerusalem for the canonization of the Martyrs of Damascus, which took place on 20 October in Rome. The celebration was held in the Franciscan church of St Saviour and was presided over by the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton. The concelebrants included Monsignor Adolfo Tito Yllana, apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and in Palestine, and the Maronite Archbishop Moussa Hage, who had presided over […]
"This year, due to the pandemic caused by the Corona virus, it was not possible to take up the Good Friday Collection dedicated to supporting Christians living here in the Land of Jesus. This is why Pope Francis has accepted the request to move this gesture of sharing that concerns the whole Church to 13th September. Why September 13th, you may ask? Because it is the Sunday closest to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which we […]
