“The doors of heaven open to Stephen, the first to be crowned with the glory of the martyrs.” With this antiphon, sung during the recital of the second vespers on 26th December, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land recalled the protomartyr Stephen in the place where tradition suggests his stoning occurred. The Franciscans go on a peregrination to this site on the day after Christmas, which also always sees great participation by faithful and pilgrims. The Acts […]
On 17 September, the Church and the Franciscan world celebrate the feast of the Impression of the Stigmata of St Francis. "An Exaggeratedly Great Love" is the theme of the Dialogue with Brother Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, on the Stigmata of St Francis. Br FRANCESCO PATTON, OFM Custos of the Holy Land "The Stigmata are the wounds of Jesus. St Francis received them on the Mount of La Verna.The biographers say that it was on the approach […]
One week after the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land came together for two moments of prayer dedicated in particular to peace. The Via Crucis Every Friday, for centuries, the Franciscans have performed the Pious Exercise of the Via Crucis on the Via Dolorosa, going through the Old City of Jerusalem, from the sanctuary of the Flagellation to the Holy Sepulchre. It is a tradition that continued, with the […]