Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land Archives

‘We are all brothers,’ Franciscan in Jericho says of iftar gifts

Apr 28, 2021

As his Muslim neighbors and fellow Jericho residents make their way home for the iftar, which breaks the daily fast throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Franciscan Father Mario Hadchiti hands out small bags of dates and water to passersby in front of the Franciscan Good Shepherd Church.

By Judith Sudilovsky

Holy Land Franciscans concerned about Good Friday collection

Mar 24, 2021

During this year of COVID-19 lockdowns and lack of international pilgrimages, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land has had to adjust its funding priorities and trim its budgeting, and difficult though that has been, Father Ramzi Sidawi fears the worst is still to come.

By Judith Sudilovsky

Franciscans mark 600 years as guardians of Christendom’s most sacred sites
- Feb 13, 2021
The Franciscans trace their presence in the Holy Land to 1217 when St. Francis of Assisi founded the Province of the Holy Land, a custodian priory of the order he founded in 1209 — formally called the Order of Friars Minor. On Feb. 14, the order will celebrate the 600th anniversary of Pope Martin V instituting the Commissaries of the Holy Land Feb. 14, 1421.

By Julie Asher
With land mines gone, Mass to be celebrated at West Bank baptismal site
- Jan 5, 2021
For the first time in 54 years, a Mass will be celebrated Jan. 10, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, at St. John the Baptist Chapel on the banks of the Jordan River.

By Judith Sudilovsky
Jewish ritual bath dating to time of Jesus found in Garden of Gethsemane
- Dec 23, 2020
A ritual bath dating to the time of Jesus has been uncovered on the Mount of Olives at the site tradition says is the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus experienced the Agony in the Garden before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

By Charles Collins
Bethlehem at Christmas: Unemployment can mean choosing food or medicine
- Dec 5, 2020
As the Christmas approaches, Franciscan Father Rami Asakrieh of St. Catherine Parish said he has been overwhelmed with requests for help — people have been out of work and with no income for almost nine months.

By Judith Sudilovsky