Red rose petals, like drops of blood, are scattered over the rock of Gethsemane, on which Christ sweated blood (Luke 22, 39-44) to the singing of “Vexilla Regis”, the ancient hymn in honour of the Holy Cross on which Christ gave his life for the salvation of humanity. This is the initial act of the Mass that the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land celebrated at Gethsemane for the solemnity of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord […]
An excursion to Turkey to learn the history of the faith in that country from the archaeological, historical and cultural points of view. This was the journey undertaken by 26 students from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum from 19 June to 2 July, accompanied by fr. Yunus Demirci. These activities are the pride of the Studium, which has always been committed to ensuring that its students have a concrete and complete experience of the Biblical places. Istanbul and Cappadocia The first […]
The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, together with friends and faithful, gathered around the family of Shibly Abu Sada for the last farewell to one of the long-term collaborators of the Custody. Shibli was “a gift from the Lord and a special person,”, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton, said who on 15 October, presided over his funeral in St James’ church in Beit Hanina (Jerusalem). The Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, Cardinal […]
On Thursday, February 20, the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, D.C., hosted a concert featuring two choirs: the Indian Springs School Concert Choir, from Indian Springs, Alabama; and the Camerata from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). The selections ranged from the sacred, such as AdoroTe Devote, and the secular, including the Irish classic, “Danny Boy.”The choirs performed individual selections and concluded the evening with a joint performance including pieces by Bach and Handel, from The Messiah. […]
