An additional 35 homes renovated and 80 families supported thanks to the recently-concluded ATS pro Terra Sancta project “Housing and Social Emergency in the Old City of Jerusalem”, carried out with financing from Italian Development Cooperation, as part of its program “Emergency intervention in support of the vulnerable Palestinian population”, and the Custody of the Holy […]

A small church, in a village just a few kilometers from Nazareth and Mount Tabor, commemorates the episode of the Widow of Nain, recounted in the Gospel of Luke, in which Jesus brought her son back to life. Today the church, which belongs to the Custody of the Holy Land and had previously been abandoned […]

Last week, the six young workers involved in the restoration of the Gethsemane Basilica’s mosaics were given the opportunity to attend a lecture by guest of honor Professor Alessandro Lugari of the Special Superintendence for the Archaeological Heritage in Rome. The renowned Italian mosaic artist had previously collaborated with the laboratory responsible for the creation […]

A number of the workers from the maintenance team of the Custody’s Technical Office, involved in the project “Jerusalem, Stones of Memory”, are currently in Nazareth to complete a series of maintenance interventions within the Franciscan Monastery. At the request of Father Ricardo, Guardian of the monastery, three different groups of workers have taken turns […]

From Egypt, where the situation keeps endangering people lives, Father Vincenzo Ianniello, who has been living in Cairo for years, shares his account: “People are really in a state of absolute poverty, about half of the population lives in this situation, they really do not have food. They’re in need of everything“. We need to […]

Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa has been reappointed for a further three-year term as Custos of the Holy Land. The news was announced this morning by the General Visitor of the Custody of the Holy Land fra Renato Beretta, who in his letter sent to all the religious of the Custody of the Holy Land wrote: “The […]

“When Father F. arrived to the monastery he found the frightened sisters, and the murdered friar on the ground.” Father François Mourad died yesterday in Ghassanieh, in Syria, inside a Franciscan monastery where he had sought refuge some time ago. The circumstances of his death are still not very clear. According to one version a […]

From Savona to Bethlehem: yet another sign of the friendship of Italian children towards Palestinian children from the town of Jesus. The support from the schools in Savona for the children of the Terra Sancta School of Bethlehem began last year with a series of exchanges of letters and drawings. Now it is continuing with […]

In the midst of a very complex and difficult socio-political situation, that of the Gaza Strip, where people are suffering from lack of freedom in various areas, many children are experiencing traumas and behavioral problems arising from the situation of conflict in which they have grown up. These children are at risk of bearing for […]

Work on the San Salvatore library didn’t end when its new headquarters were opened. Rather, thanks to ATS Pro Terra Sancta, and as part of the “Books, Bridges of Peace” project, work then began on making the abundance of volumes of the Custody of the Holy Land available. They don’t just consist of books, missals […]

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees speaks of 93,000 deaths since March 2011, the beginning of the conflict in Syria. Among these are 6,500 minors and nearly 1,800 babies. Numbers that speak of an infinite tragedy, of broken lives and of a country in disintegration. In this sea of pain, where those who survive […]

Here you have the Bulletin with the May’s news from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Archaeological Museum. The bulletin is edited by the volunteers working at the Museum, in order to provide periodic updates on our progress and demonstrate the potential of the institution to those who are interested in finding out more. The various activities underway feed […]

Alone, abandoned by their families, sick and without access to care services: it’s difficult to be elderly in Bethlehem. Since the Palestinian health system depends on international aid, it is therefore is unable to provide accessibility to essential services. The people of the Palestinian Territories are suffering the socio-economic consequences, such as malnutrition, the impossibility […]

“The time has come to leave your name in history.” The meeting to present the Terra Sancta Museum concluded with this challenge. It comes, to say the least, at a moment of great economic difficulty. While all are preoccupied with preserving the little that they have, “we seek to encourage everyone to once again open […]

On Tuesday 21 May 2013, Fra Renato Beretta, General Visitor of the Custody of the Holy Land, will make a presentation in Milan on the project for the TERRA SANCTA MUSEUM, scheduled to open in 2015 in Jerusalem. Participants will includes the organizers, museum specialists, architects and all the collaborators who for more than two […]

They learned about the situation facing the Parish of the Good Shepherd in Jericho during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and decided, on the occasion of their wedding, to make an offering in support of the initiatives of the Franciscans in Jericho. Along with the traditional wedding comfits they gave a bookmark explaining their […]

Here we have messages from two of the four people who have recently returned from a trip to the Holy Land, where they had asked ATS Pro Terra Sancta for assistance in organising their journey. They visited the conservation and local community support projects with us which we carry out in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Sabastiya, […]

Here you have the Bulletin with the April’s news from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Archaeological Museum. The bulletin is edited by the volunteers working at the Museum, in order to provide periodic updates on our progress and demonstrate the potential of the institution to those who are interested in finding out more. The various activities underway feed in […]

The ATS pro Terra Sancta project, “Gethsemane: preserve the past and train the future”, was also created to show schoolchildren the work of the young men of the Mosaic Center in Jericho. The video, realized by the Franciscan Media Center, shows a project that focuses on everything from the education of children to beauty and dialogue. […]

The friendship between the girls at the Terra Santa Girls’ School of Bethlehem and the children in the schools of Savona (Italy) began shortly before Christmas, when ATS pro Terra Sancta received a request for “twinning” from a school in Savona. The Terra Santa Girls’ School of Bethlehem joyfully accepted the proposal, and the students […]