This year, the feast-day of the Finding of the True Cross (Inventio Crucis) was postponed by one week to allow the Easter of the Orthodox Churches to take place. The friars of the Custody of the Holy Land celebrated it on 13 and 14 May in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. St Helena and the finding of the Cross St Helena’s Chapel, the heart of the celebrations, is one of the lowest points in the Holy Sepulchre, […]
An agreement between the Custody of the Holy Land and Bethlehem University to preserve Palestinian cultural heritage, engage students in archaeological excavations and research as well as promote a better understanding of Palestine's rich history and culture. Lauren, an architect with the Custody of the Holy Land, has "transformed" the area of the Shepherds' Field Sanctuary in Beit Sahour into a training center. It is here that she has created workshops for students in archaeology and cultural heritage at Bethlehem […]
Sixteen Franciscan friars made their solemn (perpetual) profession in Jerusalem, in the hands of the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton. They come from ten different countries and three of them – Alejandro Pinzón Vinchery, Maikel Anjelo and Mervyn Gladstone Gomez – belong to the Custody of the Holy Land, while the others belong to other Provinces of the Order of Friars Minor and are in the Holy Land for their studies. Joy and sorrow Fra Flavio was […]
Over 250 friends and benefactors of the Holy Land Franciscans and the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, D.C., came together at the Monastery on Saturday, November 9, for the annual Mass and Gala. Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, presided at the Mass in the Monastery church, and shared his reflections on the friars’ mission during the evening program. Father Custos set his remarks in the context of the 800th anniversary celebration of the […]
