Middle East

Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Franciscan Custos Father Francesco Ielpo gave an annual pre-Easter press conference on March 31. 

“Decisions about campus operations are made on an ongoing basis, guided by official updates and the evolving situation,” the school said.

Christians of Holy Family Parish were able to celebrate Mass with the blessing of palms and a procession for Palm Sunday.

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem issued an Easter message calling the Iran war an “expanding wreckage” and its timing a “deep darkness.”

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Ielpo, the custos of the Holy Land, were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher by Israeli …

“We feel that we are losing everything,” said Father Fawadleh. “We are losing our land, we are losing our fruits, we are losing our income.”

Uncertainty surrounds upcoming Holy Week liturgies — central to the Christian faith and typically drawing large gatherings of pilgrims and local worshippers. 

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher remains a place of continuous prayer despite restricted access to the faithful, according to a statement released by the Custody of the Holy Land.

“This conflict has religious connotations, but they are manipulations: those who wish to bring religion into it exploit the name of God.”

Due to the border closures, many have “lost access to their livelihoods, including teachers and support staff at the Christian schools in Jerusalem.”