“I’m rediscovering much of my faith and of the faith of my Christian friends. When you do not know the other, you are guided by stereotypes and distrust … It takes so little to change”, says  Mohammed at the end of the lecture held at the Greek Catholic School in Beit Sahour. There are about twenty […]

5 women, some of them are veiled, some others are not. They are mothers, Christian and Muslim mothers together, and mothers who are learning how to cook. This is the purpose of the new project Association pro Terra Sancta in Bethlehem, within a larger three-year program “Women, young people and old people: we support the […]

(From Terrasanta.net) Rubble, houses and roads destroyed for kilometers. This is the most painful stage of our journey to Syria, where it’s hard to hold the commotion. “Welcome to Aleppo!” The road signs indicating the entrance to the ancient capital of the North, sound almost like a joke. While signs of the bloody battle that a […]

(From terrasanta.net) In the Franciscan church near Bab Touma (The Door of Thomas) in Damascus, the dome still bears the signs of recent bombings. Br. Bahjat Karakach, the superior of the convent, miraculously escaped the explosion that damaged the sanctuary. The parish center where Br. Antoine Louxa lives along with him is the first stop […]

The Annual Report 2017 of ATS pro Terra Sancta has been published in these days. The report tells all the work done in 2017 through numbers. After such an important achievement, the first thing we would like to tell you is simply “thank you”.

“We learn to reconcile ourselves with our problems, we learn to face them, but above all, we learn to grow starting from them and from other kinds of difficulties. And then we learn to exercise our critical judgment, in addressing the problems, not to address them instinctively”, says Ibrahim, who is 13 years old. This […]

To all those who have donated with a benevolent gesture. To all those who have accompanied us, who have met us along the road, and who have visited us allowing us to feel your presence. To the community of friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, who we serve with the same daily mission […]

“Soldiers cannot make peace, perhaps they might just win a war. We need Politics to pursue peace, but right now Politics is missing and we don’t even know what is going to happen next”. With these words the newly elected Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarcate in Jerusalem, Mons. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, recently described the ongoing situation in Aleppo. […]

According to a recent study done by UNICEF, violence in Palestinian schools is growing: almost 50% of children assisted to episodes of violence in class, 51% admitted to have used aggressive behavior towards their peers, and even teachers complain about violence in class or admit to have used or experienced violence, both physical and psychological. […]

The church of the Franciscan parish in Damascus, located near the gate of Bab Touma, was hit today afternoon by a mortar shell that damaged the dome and broke some glasses. The debris fell on the ground, but there are no serious consequences. Fr. Bahjat Karakach, who was in the church during the explosion, was […]

A sigh of relief for the sick, the elderly and the children of Bethlehem, thanks to the generous support of the Fondation Françoise d’Assise to the work of the Franciscan Social Services Office (FSSO), the office of social services of the Custody of the Holy Land in Bethlehem. The FSSO works in cooperation with the Association […]

They wait all day, doing nothing. Some of them only wait for a few days, others for weeks, and in some cases they wait for months. They are all refugees who landed on the island of Rhodes. They come from Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan. When we go visit them, they are watching an old Charlie […]

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Dear men and women of good will, May the Lord give you peace! On our own behalf, and that of our confrères who live in the Middle East, especially in Syria, in a region which is experiencing terrible warfare and violent conflicts, we wish to express our gratitude to the Holy […]

The cataloguing of the 17th century books preserved at the General Library of the Custody of the Holy Land has recently been completed. This represents a further step in the knowledge and enhancement of the library heritage of the Franciscans of the Holy Land. The project “Books, Bridges of Peace”, sponsored by CRELEB – the […]

The project ‘The desire of water’ has started again during the summer. The aim of the project is to provide new water tanks, panels and water heaters to families in need of Bethlehem. The supply of drinking water in the West Bank, is particularly difficult due to a distribution system and building services that are […]

(from Christian Media Center) The third edition of Music Therapy Intensive Workshop for therapists and educators, organized by the Association Pro Terra Sancta, was held during this summer. Twelve boys from Jericho, Bethlehem and Jerusalem attended the third edition of the 10 day intensive course “You will find me in the sound”, that was organized […]

The many forces involved in the Syrian conflict, are now fighting violently for the final conquest of the city. According to the Observatory for Human Rights in Syria 327 civilians died from July 31 to today. Among them there are 76 children and 41 women. “There is no electricity, as usual, and lack of  water, […]

On July 22 the representatives of the General Assembly of the Association pro Terra Sancta met in Jerusalem. For the first time the new Custos of the Holy Land Fr. Francesco Patton participated to the Assembly. Fr. Patton is also the new President of the Association. In addition, three new members were appointed: Fr. Ibrahim […]

The General Chapter of the Custody of the Holy Land, which brings together around 150 friars from every province, has just come to a close. Among the friars was Fr. Luke Gregory, who in a recent interview tells about the refugee crisis which has hit Rhodes, the Greek island where he has served as parish […]

Saturday, July 23 the project “Therapeutic Summer Camp for children with special needs” ended. The project consisted in a summer camp held at the Child Development Center, organized by St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Monastery Center with the support of the Association pro Terra Sancta and is part of a greater initiative in support of the […]