News Page 12

“And there was light”, Vincenzo Bellomo, the head of Pro Terra Sancta’s projects in Palestine, jokingly observes as he sees the light bulbs hanging on the walls of the Dar al-Majus Community Home light up. It is indeed one of the final adjustments to the structure, which is now ready to be furnished and then, […]

For a month now, travel to the Holy Land has finally resumed , and with them pilgrimages to this region. Tourists now arrive in large numbers every day and can visit the Holy Places and pray on the sites that have hosted episodes from the life of the Lord Jesus. Journeys to the Holy Land […]

“Let’s turn on a light for Aleppo”. This could be the urgent call we are getting from Syria. And it is the cry we have answered. The background Over the last few weeks of winter, frost has engulfed the Middle East. In Lebanon, temperatures have fallen below zero within a few days and for two […]

The whole Middle East is freezing these days. Temperatures have plummeted abundantly below freezing, snow has descended to whiten everything, ice bites the roads, reduces the muddy ground to a stone slab. Frost in Syria In Syria, the situation, already compromised, has precipitated due to frost. This is not good news for all the people […]

In Aleppo, Syria, A name and a future is the project that Pro Terra Sancta has set up together with Binan Kayyali, PhD in psychology, for the assistance to women and children traumatized by the clashes that have paralyzed the city. Manal talks about it, a woman assisted by the project, who tells what A […]

“Lebanon is overwhelmed by an unprecedented crisis”, “Lebanon is experiencing a political and institutional drama on the verge of collapse”, “Lebanon is in a situation of poverty with no escape”… How many times have similar phrases caught the eye, while appearing here and there in the newspapers or on the pages of sites that, like […]

Today we recall the Conversion of Saint Paul, which took place on the road between Jerusalem and Damascus (Acts 9:3-7). Damascus is the capital of Syria, and just outside the ancient town stands a rather modern building that preserves, intact, a few meters of a Roman road paved in stone. This is claimed to be […]

The shadow of poverty and the light of Mary. The Witness of Father Ibrahim “The situation in the city of Aleppo is plummeting every day, and casts a shadow over the daily lives of poor people who are out of breath after more than ten years of what is called ‘the Syrian crisis’. Electricity comes […]

La Siria, insieme a Libano, Egitto e Giordania, sono considerati parte di quell’area del Medio Oriente nota come Terra Santa. Questo non solo perché in Siria si svilupparono le prime comunità cristiane e qui ebbero inizio i viaggi e le predicazioni di san Paolo dopo la conversione a Damasco, ma anche per l’importanza di tutta l’area […]

The Jordan River, which means“flowing further and further down” is a fairly large waterway that runs through the entire Holy Land (330 km), from Mount Ermon to the Dead Sea. Its importance is not so much due to its size or economic relevance as to the symbolic value it acquires as a result of the […]

For Sara, Chiara, Morgane and Roberta this year will be a christmas different from the usual. The four girls who participate in the Civil Service program 2021/22 together with our Association, find themselves far from home in a moment that, traditionally, is spent together with loved ones. But in Bethlehem Christmas is at home and […]

Their skin is fragile and very sensitive, a touch, even a kiss would be enough to break it. Like the wings of a butterfly. This is what happens to children with Epidermolysis bullosa EB, a constellation of rare genetic diseases that cause such a pronounced thinning of the skin that any contact is dangerous: if […]

It is already dark when the plane’s wheels touch down on the runway. The queue at passport control is strangely very short. A few decorations remind me that here people are preparing for Christmas too. As soon as I step outside, however, I realise that I am faced with a completely new situation. “See those […]

Jesus was not born in a comfortable house, but in a cave in Bethlehem. He was not warmed by a fire, but by the breath of the animals in the stable. For his cradle he had a manger. Salvation has very humble origins: Jesus was born in a condition of extreme hardship and sacrifice. Even […]

Andrea Avveduto’s journey to Syria There are Christmas lights in Syria, but they are off. Like the withered and dead branches of some strange creeper, the sinuous and embroidered lights, which in Italy are synonymous with festivity, simply go unnoticed there. This is an image taken from Andrea Avveduto’s account of his return on Monday […]