News Page 28

“Nobody can imagine the devastation provoked by the 6,7 magnitude earthquake in the Island of Kos. It stroke at around 1.30 a.m. on Friday night, then other 20 shocks came during the rest of the night. I was in Rhodes when it happened and I could feel it.” Father Luke Gregory is writing us. He is […]

The Ceramic center in Nisf Jubeil is a great opportunity for women in the area. But what are their stories? What does it really mean for them? As a child, Ruwaida Jelal Khalil dreamed of becoming an artist. “Art,” she tells us, “has always given me energy, helping me in moments of deep sadness.” We […]

For about three months now, Christians in Gaza have been living in the dark. “Until recently, we had electricity for eight hours, then only for six hours a day, then for four … Today we only have electricity for two and a half hours in a whole day!” Fr. Mario Da Silva, Parish Priest of […]

(from Custodia.org) Christians and Muslims coming together to share the beauty of encountering each other: this is what happened in Bethany on the occasion of the iftar between the friars of the Custody and the locals. During the fasting month of Ramadan, in fact, every day after sunset, Muslims come together to eat the meal […]

“After the days of the olives I will finally be engaged and then, soon, I will get married.” Rami Awayes, is 28; it seemed impossible to him until a few years ago, but now he will finally get engaged and will get married in October, “after the olives”, which means after the harvest days. “All […]

“The heart of Syria in Damascus is still pulsating … It has never stopped, and now it needs to beat harder than ever, so we might start to rebuild our Country, although it will take a long time.” Speaking is Sister Iole from Syria, a Franciscan Missionary to Damascus. She is visiting Jerusalem for a […]

The General Assembly of the Association pro Terra Sancta met in Jerusalem to update its members on the great development of the Association in the past year, and to discuss further proposals for the future. On the agenda: the approval of the 2016 budget and the Report on the Management. A brief debate on future […]

“Who does not know his past, has no future!” said Carla Benelli, coordinator of Cultural Projects for the Association Pro Terra Sancta, at the end of her speech at festival held in Bethany (in Arabic Al-Aizaria) on May 1st. The title of the event was: “Taht Al-Qanatir”, literally “Under the Tower”, referring to the most […]

“Great people! Of an equilibrium and calmness that are not easy to keep in that land of constant conflicts!” says the Professor of Human studies, of the of the Salvador Allende Institute in Milan, at the end of the lesson on mosaics in Palestine and the history of the Mosaic Centre Jericho. The presentation is […]

“The physical place that preserves the memory of the burial of our Lord Jesus Christ and testifies that the incarnation of the Son of God is so real and complete that it arrives at the experience of death, which is the ultimate experience of any human existence. But the Holy Sepulchre is above all the […]

“Shady!”. Hush. “Shaady!”. We shout again; silence again. Then suddenly he appears, with the phone on one side and with a pack of towels and blankets under his other arm. His name is Shady Shair, 29, the handyman at Guesthouse Sabastiya. We are in Samaria, in the place where there is the tomb of John the […]

It had never happened before. The tomb of the Holy Sepulcher has been finally restored after 10 months of work. For the inauguration, the chairs are arranged in a circle, divided by sector, according to the various denominations: Greek Orthodox, the sector of the Latin Catholics and that of the Armenians. The chairs are divided […]

It was 15 March 2011. At that time, the Middle East lived a new hope brought by the Arab Springs, when a series of demonstrations against the regime of Bashar Al Assad rushed Syria into chaos. Today the numbers of a war that seems to have no end speak for themselves. According to the Syrian […]

Examples of co-existence, while everywhere in the Middle East never-ending conflicts destroy everything. Excursions between Israel and Palestine, to discover a millenary heritage that belongs to all humanity. Lectures to explain what is going on a few steps from Europe, where our civilization is rooted. This is what the “Middle East Community Program” is all […]

“The commitment to support the Churches of the Middle East dates back to St. Paul. The apostle of the Gentiles always insisted on the commitment for Jerusalem, because thanks to the Christian community of the Holy City the Gospel was spread throughout the world. The same is true today. The Church of Jerusalem continues to be […]