On the morning of Saturday 30 November, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra Francesco Patton, made his traditional entrance into Bethlehem, thus marking the start of the period of Advent. The celebrations began in the morning, when the Custos met the representatives of the Latin parish of Jerusalem and the parish priest, Fra Amjad Sabbara, at the diwan of St Saviour’s Convent. This was followed by an exchange of greetings and thanks with the Mukhtar, the representative of the […]
The Franciscan March, entitled “Impact” took place in Lebanon from Thursday 31 August to Sunday 3 September: the impact is that of young people on the Church and that of the Church on young people. For four days, 65 youngsters “left everything” to start a dialogue with the Lord. The days were marked by walking and praying, by moments of reflection, fraternal sharing and the community life with singing, dancing and games. “We are pleased to have been able to […]
The cause of canonization of Sister Mary of the Trinity (in the world, Louisa Jaques), a Poor Clare from St Clare’s monastery, has opened in Jerusalem. The announcement was made on 29 November 2024, the feast-day of all the saints of the Franciscan family. On this date, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem published the “Letter to the whole Diocese” and the Edict, signed by himself, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. These documents officially communicate the opening of the cause to all the […]
The 2020 Holy Week will be a very atypical one. The rites of the Easter Triduum will be celebrated without the participation of the faithful. For this reason, the Congregation for the Eastern Churches has deemed it appropriate to postpone the Holy Land Collection which is usually offered on Good Friday to Catholics all over the world. Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation, explains that, with the approval of Pope Francis, the Collection has been postponed until Sunday, September […]
