The words of Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Eve take us back to Bethlehem, to that cave in which the infant Jesus was born, and also remind us of the importance that the feast of Christmas held for St. Francis of Assisi. It was he in fact who established the tradition of the crèche, in […]

Dear Brothers and Sisters! The reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to Titus that we have just heard begins solemnly with the word “apparuit”, which then comes back again in the reading at the Dawn Mass: apparuit – “there has appeared”. This is a programmatic word, by which the Church seeks to express synthetically the essence of Christmas. […]

Amazement, curiosity, enthusiasm: here below are the writings by the children who participated to the creative workshops to understand the art of mosaics, during the exhibition “Holy Land Mosaics”, held inMilanfrom December 6 to December 16. “We went to the mosaic exhibition and I liked having Rasmi teaching us how to create mosaics. Alessandra, our […]

At the end of the year, a special thought and thanks go to all the volunteers and friends of theHoly Landwho have supported our activities in 2011. During this year, a lot of people devoted part of their time and energies to support the activities of ATS pro Terra Sancta, out of love  for this […]

The opening ceremony of the Exhibition “Nativities from around the world – Let’s contemplate the Mystery with St. Francis” took place on Christmas Eve at the Friars Minor Convent in Cermenate (Co), in Via Montebello. The initiative, at its IV edition, is presented  with 15 photo panels telling the story of the Nativity of Greccio. […]

During the Holy Night, adults and children can look at Bethlehem, at that cave where the history of Christianity began. How? Thanks to the Nativities, the beautiful tradition started with St. Francis which spread all over the world through the Franciscans. Each culture, each nation has created in time its own version of the Nativity, […]

Almost every day ATS pro Terra Sancta receives – either by mail or in other forms – messages from friends, volunteers, pilgrims, supporters of the Custody of the Holy Land and of ATS pro Terra Sancta. They all want to express the link and the passion connecting the visitors  to the Holy Sites and the […]

The activity of the Archaeological Museum of the Studium Biblicum Francescanum of Jerusalem continues with unchanged spirit, thanks to the efforts of the Franciscan fathers of the Custody of the Holy Land, supported by volunteers and benefactors. The cataloguing activity of all the Museum items is still on-going. The long work, already in an advanced […]

In the next few months the Gethsemane Basilica will undergo renovation works, concerning its roof, façade and mosaics. This renovation is financed  by the Italian-Palestinian programme PMSP (Palestinian Municipalities Support Programme), a cooperation programme between an Italian Municipality and one Palestinian institution. In this specific instance, the Italian Municipality supporting the initiative is Rovereto, while […]

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,which a person finds and hides again,and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field”. (Matthew 13,44) Christmas is the story of a God, who has come to hide, in a field.Hidden, in becoming small, the son of […]

It is the volunteers and employees of ATS pro Terra Sancta in Bethlehem who are working on site to organize and spread the word about the Christmas campaign to support the cities living stones. Driven by a strong connection to the local Christian community, the staff in Bethlehem are working full time, managing the various […]

Work continues to create the “Aid Center for Migrants” in Cyprus – part of the province of the Custody of the Hold Land -, thanks to the commitment of the Sri Lankan Sisters of Perpetual Help. The center, due to be completed within a year, is already a reference point for many migrants (men, women […]

When we think about Bethlehem, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is the place where Jesus was born. We think about how many children were born and continue to be born there, in a land which is as holy as it is difficult and full of contradictions. However Bethlehem is not […]

The Massolini Calendar, which was presented in Brescia this past Friday, 9 December, can now be seen online by clicking on the image below. The Calendar is produced each year by the G.B. Massolini cultural association, which was created in 2006 to honor the memory of Father Michele Piccirillo, a friend who passed away prematurely, […]

For the first time the exhibition on Mosaics in the Holy Land, currently on display in Milan, will also involve the younger ones. Children who visit the exhibition now have the opportunity to participate in creative workshops introducing them to mosaic art. There to guide them in assembling the various colored tiles are the expert […]

This morning in Milan (the 6th of December), at the offices of the Regional Council of Lombardy in the Pirelli Tower, the inauguration was held for the exhibition Mosaics from the Holy Land which presents full-scale replicas of some of the most beautiful mosaics from the Holy Land. Participants at the presentation included Davide Boni, […]

The exposition about the Holy Land’s Mosaics will have a new stage after the exposition in Mazara del Vallo in Milano at the “Sala Pirelli” in the Regional Council of Lombardia, via Fabio Filzi 22, between the 6th and the 16th of December. About the exposition The exposition “The Holy Land Mosaics. A bridge of […]

On the afternoon of 6 December a lovely ceremony took place to celebrate the completion of the renovation works in Saha Square, in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. On the hats of the neighborhood children could be seen the logos of the four institutions and associations that made the project possible: […]

The new “Massolini Calendar 2012”, which this year is dedicated to Samaria, will be presented on Friday, 9 December at 17.00 in the Conference Hall of the Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia. The Calendar retraces, month after month, the places and the historical, religious and artistic testimonies of this ancient Land, both beautiful and […]

The pianist Jiries Boullata and the organist Haig Aram Vosgueritchian, two young musicians who “grew up” at the Magnificat and have recently received diplomas from the Vicenza Conservatory, were the protagonists at a concert held on 29 November at the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies of  Brigham Young University, more commonly known locally as […]