News Page 28

The church of the Franciscan parish in Damascus, located near the gate of Bab Touma, was hit today afternoon by a mortar shell that damaged the dome and broke some glasses. The debris fell on the ground, but there are no serious consequences. Fr. Bahjat Karakach, who was in the church during the explosion, was […]

A sigh of relief for the sick, the elderly and the children of Bethlehem, thanks to the generous support of the Fondation Françoise d’Assise to the work of the Franciscan Social Services Office (FSSO), the office of social services of the Custody of the Holy Land in Bethlehem. The FSSO works in cooperation with the Association […]

They wait all day, doing nothing. Some of them only wait for a few days, others for weeks, and in some cases they wait for months. They are all refugees who landed on the island of Rhodes. They come from Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan. When we go visit them, they are watching an old Charlie […]

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Dear men and women of good will, May the Lord give you peace! On our own behalf, and that of our confrères who live in the Middle East, especially in Syria, in a region which is experiencing terrible warfare and violent conflicts, we wish to express our gratitude to the Holy […]

The cataloguing of the 17th century books preserved at the General Library of the Custody of the Holy Land has recently been completed. This represents a further step in the knowledge and enhancement of the library heritage of the Franciscans of the Holy Land. The project “Books, Bridges of Peace”, sponsored by CRELEB – the […]

The project ‘The desire of water’ has started again during the summer. The aim of the project is to provide new water tanks, panels and water heaters to families in need of Bethlehem. The supply of drinking water in the West Bank, is particularly difficult due to a distribution system and building services that are […]

(from Christian Media Center) The third edition of Music Therapy Intensive Workshop for therapists and educators, organized by the Association Pro Terra Sancta, was held during this summer. Twelve boys from Jericho, Bethlehem and Jerusalem attended the third edition of the 10 day intensive course “You will find me in the sound”, that was organized […]

The many forces involved in the Syrian conflict, are now fighting violently for the final conquest of the city. According to the Observatory for Human Rights in Syria 327 civilians died from July 31 to today. Among them there are 76 children and 41 women. “There is no electricity, as usual, and lack of  water, […]

On July 22 the representatives of the General Assembly of the Association pro Terra Sancta met in Jerusalem. For the first time the new Custos of the Holy Land Fr. Francesco Patton participated to the Assembly. Fr. Patton is also the new President of the Association. In addition, three new members were appointed: Fr. Ibrahim […]

The General Chapter of the Custody of the Holy Land, which brings together around 150 friars from every province, has just come to a close. Among the friars was Fr. Luke Gregory, who in a recent interview tells about the refugee crisis which has hit Rhodes, the Greek island where he has served as parish […]

Saturday, July 23 the project “Therapeutic Summer Camp for children with special needs” ended. The project consisted in a summer camp held at the Child Development Center, organized by St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Monastery Center with the support of the Association pro Terra Sancta and is part of a greater initiative in support of the […]

Yesterday, the Aleppo Summer Camp resumed its term, which had been interrupted by the escalation of violence in the previous week. Dozens of rockets have been fired at, and caused great damage in the area around the Franciscan Saint Anthony School (one of the properties of the Custody, which in recent years has been supported […]

Online for a few days now is a digital exhibit put together by the General Library of the Custody of the Holy Land, titled “Telling the Tale: Fr. Agustín Arce, Librarian in the Holy Land.” This project was born out of a collaboration between the Custody of the Holy Land and CRELEB – the Center for European […]

“12 years as Guardian of Mt. Zion and the Holy Sepulcher.” This is the subject of the special video produced by the Christian Media Center concerning Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos Emeritus of the Holy Land and now the newly nominated Apostolic Administrator for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Elected Custos in May 2004, Pierbattista Pizzaballa […]

The Mosaic Art Training Course continues to flourish. A new initiative launched by the Association pro Terra Sancta in collaboration with the Mosaic Centre of Jericho, the course has as its mission the development of employment opportunities and the local economy in the city of Bethlehem. The Training Course is a small piece of a much […]