News Page 16

Dear friends, in this period, we are experiencing dramatic times throughout Syria, because the consequences of the embargo weigh more and more on the entire population and force us to make enormous efforts. Inflation has reached the point that the costs are unsustainable for families. Prices have risen and salaries have fallen. Before the war, […]

What the city of Bethlehem is about to experience will be a particularly difficult Christmas. The lack of the many pilgrims and visitors, who especially at this time of year visited the city of Jesus, is doing a great deal of harm to the families of Bethlehem. The city is beginning to add decorations, lights […]

Despite the difficulties of the period we are facing, Pro Terra Sancta is carrying out the dream of the Dar Al Majus Community Home. The project has been assigned to a group of young Palestinian architects, and it is for the young people and the local community with the aim to be a meeting and […]

These are the words of the President of the Pro Terra Sancta Association, Francesco Patton (Custos of the Holy Land) at the conclusion of the annual assembly of the association which took place last 29 October in Jerusalem. 2020 was certainly a special year that saw Pro Terra Sancta committed to tackling the crisis caused […]

There is a place in Jerusalem where the spirituality and faith of the three Abrahamic religions meet and compare peacefully. A Jewish, Christian and Muslim cemetery has been located between the slopes of the Cedron Valley and the Mount of Olives since ancient times.   The Jewish cemetery certainly arouses wonder and amazement in the […]

 We are greeted with an apron with pink flamingos by the women of the Al Hana centre in Bethany. They wear this playful uniform during their candle-making meetings. The women of the Bethany centre are Palestinian women who come together every week to create, talk and support each other. When the Mosaic Centre and the […]

A city destroyed, a city on its knees. We are in Beriut. Rubble on both sides of the road along the harbour streets. The director of Pro Terra Sancta Tommaso Saltini and Giacomo Gentile, responsible for the projects in Lebanon and Syria, led by Father Firas Lufti, walk along some streets of the Christian quarter […]

After the summer break, the virtual meetings promoted by Pro Terra Sancta (PTS) are back. This time we started from Lebanon. The spotlight should not be turned off on the tragedy that has dramatically struck Beirut and made the economic and social crisis in which the whole country found itself even more bitter. Considered one […]

On the occasion of the feast of St. Francis on October 4, we share this beautiful text by St. Bonaventura which tells about the meeting between St. Francis and the Sultan Malik al Kamil. As is well known, St. Francis himself had left for the Holy Land, wanting to meet the sultan. This meeting remains […]

On the occasion of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Father Ibrahim Alsabagh sent us a letter to update us on the situation in Aleppo. In recent months, the parish priest of Aleppo has been facing a severe crisis due to the Coronavirus. Out of five friars in the mission, four have […]

2020 has been a complicated and uncertain year. The Covid-19 pandemic has deeply marked the lives of all, bringing more or less drastic changes in our habits and lifestyles. The global health crisis, with still no end in sight, has severely affected local and international mobility and consequently tourism. Tourism and related industries are in […]

While we follow with concern the pictures of a new fire in the Port of Beirut, destroyed by the terrible explosions in august that caused more than 200 deaths, we try to tell you the bond that unites the Franciscans to Lebanon. In fact, only by knowing their story we may understand the important role […]

On August 25th, a 48h curfew was introduced by the Gaza Strip’s Authority in response to the detection of the first four cases of Covid-19 in the territory. Up to that time, the number of cases (132 total cases, 72 healed, 3 deaths) was limited by the presence of “sanitary checkpoint” at the borders with […]

In these months of emergency for the COVID- 19 pandemic, two volunteers, Anna Carraro and Umberto Manganiello, in Civilian Service with Consorzio Icaro di Foggia and Association Pro Terra Sancta, continue to serve alongside the young children of Casa Hogar Niño Dios. The Hogar Niño Dios is a structure that has been welcoming children with […]

The Father Custos Francesco Patton describes the situation in Lebanon and about the Franciscan monastery in Beirut, that was hit by the explosion. “We hope, with the help of donors and benefactors, to rebuild the convent and help the victims and the many people left homeless,” says the Custos of the Holy Land. The tragedy […]