A bright light will shine to all parts of the earth; many nations shall come to you from afar, And the inhabitants of all the limits of the earth, drawn to you by the name of the Lord God, Bearing in their hands their gifts for the King of heaven. (Tob 13:11). As Pope Francis […]

More than one hundred senior citizens attended the Christmas party at the Antonian Charitable Society of Bethlehem. They had a splendid day, with singing, dancing, a first-class meal and the traditional Christmas bingo. Also present were the new Bethlehem parish priest, Nerwan Al Banna, the Gianelline Sisters and the nurses who each day take care […]

On the occasion of the inauguration this past February of the new site of the General Library, the Custos of the Holy Land declared that: “An integral part of our mission is promoting the dignity of man, of each and every person. This means not only creating opportunities for employment and supporting the poor, but […]

Advent began in Bethlehem, and in Manger Square, the crowds gathered to see the lights turned on on the huge tree, which will illuminate the square until Christmas. At this time of the year, the Palestinian city is full of celebration and joy; full of people who are there to re-live the moment which changed […]

How can the Gaza Strip – a place which by definition is closed and with few links to the outside world – convert itself into a window to the world? What type of world can be seen from the windows of the houses in Gaza? How many of these still exist after the wars which […]

These are the words spoken by Pope Francis at the audience held on 21 November in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace for those taking part in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches (the complete speech can be found on: vatican.va). “This morning I was able to learn from […]

Dedicated this year to the beauty of Galilee, the 2014 Massolini Calendar can be viewed by clicking on the image below. The idea for the Calendar, which each year is dedicated to a different aspect or region of the Holy Land or the Middle East, was born in 1989, the work of Giovan Battista Massolini […]

The launch of Association  pro Terra Sancta´s Christmas campaign to support the children of Bethlehem In the city where Jesus was born, those who today are most affected by the difficult economic and political situation are the children. To be born in Bethlehem today means in fact to come into the world in a difficult land, […]

After 18 months of works the Church of Gethsemane has recovered its former glory: the restoration of the precious mosaics has been completed, and the 5,000 pilgrims who each day visit the Church of the Agony in Jerusalem will once more be able to linger in the Church’s ancient aisles, immersed in a nocturnal setting […]

The elderly are generally part of one of the weakest elements of contemporary society, and this is especially the case in a place such as Bethlehem where, in addition to the Wall which severely complicates daily life, the elderly must frequently struggle against the “wall” of solitude and illness. To be elderly in Bethlehem means, […]

[From Custodia.org] On November 4th Pope Francis named Fra Georges Abu Khazen OFM Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, Syria for the Latins (Roman Catholics). At the same time the news was announced, the Custos of the Holy Land sent all the friars of the Custody an official communique, rejoicing in the Holy See’s recognition of the […]

On 7 October the Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Massimo Bray, during his visit to the Middle East, went to the Church of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, where he was able to see the restoration and preservation project promoted by the Italian Consulate General in Jerusalem through the joint Italian-Palestinian Palestinian Municipalities Support Program […]

“We are all called to be poor, to strip us of ourselves; and to do this we must learn how to be with the poor, to share with those who lack basic necessities, to touch the flesh of Christ! The Christian is not one who speaks about the poor, no! He is one who encounters […]

It’s a wonderful story of affinity between two pairs of spouses, one from Italy and one from Jerusalem, who do not even know each another. Marisa and Francesco tell us that, on their 50th wedding anniversary together with their children, grandchildren and relatives, they remembered their brothers in the Holy Land and decided to give […]

While the final stages of the Church of All Nations project, launched more than a year ago and coordinated by ATS pro Terra Sancta and the Mosaic Centre Jericho, are taking place in Jerusalem, a photographic exhibition entitled “Gethsemane, preserving the past and shaping the future” has just been inaugurated in Rovereto (Italy). The exhibition […]

We publish immediately below the lovely letter sent by the Trappist sisters living in Syria, near Tartous (in the west of the country, close to the Lebanese border), to their Order. Words full of spirit, which ask for for continued prayers for peace and for people to become involved so that they will feel their […]

The sixth day for the Holy Land associations will take place on Saturday 19 October 2013 in Rome’s Auditorium Antonianum and serves as the annual meeting between the Custody of the Holy Land and the voluntary associations which support projects there. The meeting has been organised by Edizioni Terra Santa in collaboration with ATS pro Terra […]

On Saturday evening a cry demanding the gift of Peace, above all in Syria, was heard all over the world. In St. Peter’s Square in Rome, in front of thousands of people in prayer, Pope Francis declared: “When man thinks only of himself, of his own interests and places himself in the center, when he […]

The crisis afflicting the Syrian population shows no sign of letting up. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has stated that “We have not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago ”. Some figures: 7  million people in need of humanitarian assistance; 4.5 […]

José Carlos is a young engineer from Albacete (Spain) who decided to spend his summer holiday as a volunteer in the Holy Land. For somewhat more than a month he has been working at the Technical Office of the Custody of the Holy Land as part of the project “Jerusalem, Stones of Memory”, and these […]