Restoration works on the Gethsemane Basilica in Jerusalem have now begun. While the workers of the Custody’s Technical Office are putting up the scaffolding, wending their way through the tourists who since the early morning hours have been crowding into the church, Raed – one of the experts coordinating the restoration of the mosaics – […]

“And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for o”ut of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.” (Mt. 2,6). If the place of Jesus birth was an essentially Christian city since 1948, beginning from today Bethlehem is undergoing a significant change […]

On the 19th of May, at the Loggia del Capitaniato of Vicenza, will open the exhibition “Sabastiya, the fruits of history and the memory of John the Baptist“, dedicated to the small Palestinian village of the ancient Samaria. The exhibition is introduced by Carla Benelli, assistant of ATS pro Terra Sancta and in charge of […]

On Tuesday 8 May ended the project “Developing Personal Leadership” dedicated to the mothers of the female students of the St. Joseph School, the school of the Custody of the Holy Land in Bethlehem. The training course involved 48 mothers and was guided with the collaboration of the Bethlehem University. Primary aim of the course […]

The Custos of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, is on a mission to Brussels (Belgium). Yesterday, 9 May, he participated at the Conference “Christians in the Arab World: One year after the Arab Spring” organized by the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). The Custos of the Holy Land, along […]

Many friends of ATS pro Terra Sancta have had the opportunity to learn about our activities from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land: before their departure, along the way, or when they returned home with a desire to know more about what is happening in the Holy Land. While we are waiting to open the […]

Building upon the success of its website for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Custody of the Holy Land is now offering to all pilgrims and devotees the possibility to learn more about the “City of Jesus” through a new website dedicated to the Sanctuary of Capernaum, with enhanced graphics and updated materials in four languages: Italian, English, […]

Below is a transcript of our interview with Father Ibrahim, parish priest of the Church of the Good Shepherd and director of the Terra Santa School in Jericho, in which he talks about the situation in the small Palestinian town where he is working. – How long have you been in Jericho? And where were […]

The Italian course at the village of Sabastiya is making good progress. The students, aged from 12 to 42, diligently attend the lessons held every Friday, taught by a member of the ATS pro Terra Sancta project. Some are university students, some work in the mosaic centre, while others run the guesthouse. Here are a […]

MOM, Magnificat Open Music: The second season of the music festival organized by the Magnificat Institute–the music school of the Holy Land Custody, supported by ATS pro Terra Sancta–will take place every Tuesday in May at St. Saviour’s Monastery in Jerusalem (May 1st, 8th and 15th in the Auditorium of the Immaculate; May 22nd and […]

On Thursday, April 19th thevillage of Sabastiya received a special guest: the archbishop of Krakow, S.E. Stanisław Dziwisz, who in fact went personally to visit the Palestinian town, accompanied by Father Jerzy Kraj ofm and by Carla Benelli, an ATS pro Terra Sancta collaborator. After having visited the historic center of Sabastiya, its Crusaders’ chapels […]

This year’s Holy Week has been particularly challenging for the Christians of Egypt. Especially in Cairo, the actual situation of ongoing post-revolution political instability and insecurity is pushing people to lesser self-confidence, worsening an already serious social and poverty situation. The friars of the cloister of the Musky district, one of the most ancient among […]

In March 2012 we resumed work on studying and cataloguing the finds at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Archaeological Museum. This sparked the idea of starting up a short news bulletin, 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 […]

Capernaum, April 9th, 2012 The workers of the Custodial Technical Office, including several Italians among the staff, spent a day together on Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee). Having set out from Jerusalem in the morning, they reached Capernaum, Jesus’ city, just in time to cook lunch. Thanks to the hospitality of Father Jerome, the Guardian […]

Also ATS pro Terra Sancta presents two initiatives on “Rete del Dono” (Network of Gift), the first Italian portal on Network Fundraising, which offers to spread the culture of donation by the activation of social networks on the web. The device is simple: among a series of suggested initiatives, everyone can choose those he wishes […]

Study, cataloguing and digitizing of some of the oldest and most interesting books in the libraries of the Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem is currently being carried out. The libraries in St. Saviour’s Monastery and the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, between them, hold approximately 150 editions of the “Itineraria ad Loca Sancta”, presenting pilgrims’ […]

In an extremely delicate social context, where disabled children are frequently kept at the margins of society, a number of measures are being carried out to help meet the needs of these children. The priests of the Parish of the Holy Family, along with the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and the Sisters of Charity, […]

“Saint-Sépulcre : la magie du tombeau de Jésus” (The magic of the tomb of Christ) says the headline of the France Info webpage, one of the main French public broadcasters. During a broadcast on Easter Monday, the passionate voice of Marie-Armelle Beaulieu talks to the microphone of France Info about the magic and depth of […]

We reproduce below part of an article (in Italian) that appeared in “Avvenire” giving a first-hand account of the difficult situation in Syria. “We have lived in Syria for more than seven years and love this country and its people. We are angry and feel impotent at seeing the type of news that is circulating […]

This year in honour of Easter, the Franciscan Social Service Office (FSSO) will be distributing goods to the neediest of Bethlehem’s families, focusing on the elderly and widows with children.  The conditions of extreme deprivation and poverty that are faced by these people remain ever serious. Not only does the FSSO offer social and economic […]