Not only modernization of infrastructure, but above all an improvement and updating in teaching methods in order to keep pace with the times: these are the objectives, highlighted by the Custos of the Holy Land and President of ATS pro Terra Sancta, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, of the three-year project that will focus on Terra Sancta […]

“Jugend musiziert” – a benefit concert for the Magnificat Institute, the school of music of the Custody of the Holy Land, will take place on Sunday, 23 January at 6 p.m. in the August Everding Saal of the Musikschule Grünwald . “As last year, we want to extend our focus beyond the competition with a […]

Few could forget Bethlehem’s Christmas mass of 2010.  We began preparations for this night back in September of 2009, working in collaboration with the Academy of the Arts’ Orchestra for Sacred music.  The Orchestra had already performed a concert of holy music at the steeple of Milan’s Cathedral and was planning another at Moscow’s ‘Golden […]

An almost chance occurrence, resulting from an Internet search: that is how Morena Tramonti, a young Italian archaeologist, discovered the existence of the “Sebastia” project, supported by ATS pro Terra Sancta, and left for the Holy Land to dedicate several months to the activities that have been developed in recent years in the Palestinian village […]

Dear Brothers and Sisters, In this first Angelus of 2011, I offer everyone my good wishes for peace and well-being as I entrust them to Mary Most Holy, whom we celebrate today as Mother of God. At the beginning of a new year the Christian people gathers in spirit at the Grotto in Bethlehem, where […]

Thanks to the collaboration between ATS pro Terra Sancta and Father Paolo Padrini, inventor of the Ibreviary – the convenient application for praying on mobile devices that has become all the rage in Italy and the world among both laypeople and priests – it’s becoming easier all the time to stay close to the Holy […]

Peace and Good: St. Francis’s greeting helps us to enjoy the eternal novelty of Christmas, accompanying us towards the truth and keeping us away from everything that depreciates and make the meaning of this celebration ambiguous. Let’s not make vain this Christmas which comes for the umpteenth time  but which is always new. Because Christmas […]

The idea was born more than a year ago, from the need to decide on a new pavement to be placed at the center of the archaeological site of Capernaum, among the excavations in the city of Jesus along the shore of Lake Tiberias (also known as the Sea of Galilee). The ideal material for […]

The project to aid the Christians of Gaza sponsored by ATS pro Terra Sancta continues to make good progress, thanks to the efforts of the parish priest and curate of the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip. The two Argentinean priests, who take into their own home youth with severe disabilities, are now coordinating […]

The course for parents organized for parents as part of the ATS pro Terra Sancta project “Education and training to aid children in difficulty in Bethlehem and their families” has just ended with a resounding success. The project was financed by the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI). As a result of the course’s large enrollment and […]

Message from the organizers: The Accademia delle Opere will perform in Bethlehem at Christmas. This project came to life some months ago, when Father Armando Pierucci, organ player of the Holy Sepulchre – together with Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Franciscan Custodian of the Holy Land – contacted our Academy. It was a great honour, which led to […]

To protect and safeguard the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem: this is the objective of the program initiated by ATS pro Terra Sancta, the NGO of the Custody of the Holy Land, in collaboration with the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture. The project, approved on 16 November 2010, provides […]

“Education and culture are two formidable instruments for promoting peace. And this is why we will continue to invest in the school and in education in this land.” With these words Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini inaugurated on Tuesday 23 November the multipurpose center at the Terra Sancta School in Jericho, a project realized thanks […]

An official visit to the Terra Sancta School in Jericho, one of the schools of the Custody of the Holy Land supported by ATA pro Terra Sancta: Minister Franco Frattini, on an official visit to the Middle East from 22 to 25 November, will be present at the inauguration of the “Multipurpose Hall” of the […]

The head of ATS Pro Terra Sancta is de jure the Custos of the Holy Land. P. Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM  is the head of the Custody of the Holy Land, the Franciscan province in the Middle East. He is called a custos (“custodian”) because in 1342, the Pope entrusted the Franciscans of his province with the preservation of […]

The creation of a museum center for “Telling the Story of the Holy Land” by promoting knowledge of the history of Christianity in these sites and by providing information on the Franciscan presence and the work currently being carried out by the Custody: a project aimed at taking an inventory, recording and preserving an age-old […]

Videos, news, in-depth examinations and lots of pictures: Terrasanctablog, the new page dedicated to the Holy Land, is online at the address www.terrasanctablog.org. Terrasanctablog has been created with the aim of communicating the Holy Land, giving voice and visibility to local Christians and to the Holy Places and telling of their beauty and richness. The […]

Following the traces of John the Baptist: starting from his birthplace Ein Karem, to the Judean desert, up to Sebastia, the city of ancient Samaria which guards the tomb of Christ’s forerunner. Thanks to two videos by Alessandra Buzzetti, TG5 journalist, ATS pro Terra Sancta, upon completion of the renovation and training works funded by […]

In the Holy Land territory of the Palestinian Authority there is no public medical assistance. The family, which does not receive any help other than from the parish, has to find the way to take care of all types of illness of their children. If serious illness strikes (leukemia, tumors, kidney surgery or dialysis), the […]

“In Jerusalem, in the Holy City, the Franciscans for a long time, for many centuries have many housing units for the Christian community, for the living stones. And it is a place where memory and living stones coincide.” These are the words with which Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land and President of […]