Bethlehem, the city where Jesus was born and the heart of the Christmas celebrations, once again welcomed the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land for the Epiphany. This is the celebration of the appearance of Jesus to all peoples, represented by the Three Magi. “The feast of the Epiphany goes beyond every nationalism,” said the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton, greeting a delegation from the parish of Jerusalem, who accompanied him as he entered Bethlehem, […]
30 September 2023: in Jerusalem it is 11:55 a.m. when the Patriarch of the Latins Pierbattista Pizzaballa kneels before the Supreme Pontiff to receive the cardinal’s insignia. In St Peter’s Square, in front of a huge crowd of faithful and pilgrims, the Ordinary Consistory presided over by Pope Francis is taking place, during which twenty-one cardinals have been created. Italian, born in the province of Bergamo, Pizzaballa entered the service of the Custody of the Holy Land in 1999, holding the […]
Christians in Syria are getting ready to celebrate a Christmas which on the one hand is “without changes” and on the other totally “different” from when, on 8 December, the fighters (as they are called here) overthrew the regime of Assad. Celebrating Christmas “In all the churches in the country we are getting ready to celebrate Christmas: we have set up the nativity scenes and the Christmas trees and we will have a triduum of preparation with the faithful, especially […]
"A gesture of solidarity to support the Holy Places and the needs of the confreres in the land of Jesus": Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, asked for it, just a few days from the Pro Terra Sancta Collection, the collection of offerings that takes place in all the churches of the world for the Christians of the Middle East. It is usually held on Good Friday but this year, due to the Covid emergency, […]
