Holy Land

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Heads of churches in Jerusalem visited the town of Taybeh in Ramallah on July 14, 2025.

Jerusalem church leaders visit Taybeh: Christians’ presence in the Holy Land is at risk 

Jul 16, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

The delegation to the West Bank was led by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch... Read more

The view of the West Bank and Israel from Mount Nebo.

Priest warns: Christian town in Holy Land no longer safe amid settler attacks

Jun 26, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

The Palestinian Christian town of Taybeh, the last remaining town in the West Bank inhabited entirely by Christians, faces ongoing... Read more

Father Francesco Ielpo, a Franciscan friar, on June 24, 2025, was appointed the new custos of the Holy Land and guardian of Mount Zion. Previously, since 2022, he was president of the Holy Land Foundation in addition to holding other organizational roles across Italian Franciscan provinces.

Pope Leo XIV approves new custos of the Holy Land amid regional crisis

Jun 25, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

Father Francesco Ielpo, a member of the Order of Friars Minor, has been named the new custos of the Holy... Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, in an interview with ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, emphasized that the Catholic Church in the Holy Land must remain “open”: “The Church must remain open and accessible to all. This is absolutely essential. Everyone must be able to reach us, we must be a point of connection for everyone.”

Cardinal Pizzaballa in the Holy Land: ‘The Church must be a point of connection for everyone’

Jun 24, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

In the midst of ongoing war and an escalation of violence in the Middle East, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem,... Read more

The custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, anoints the statue of Jesus on the Stone of Anointing during the ceremony known as the “funeral procession” on Good Friday night 2024. According to the tradition and the Status Quo, on the evening of Good Friday — both Catholic and Orthodox — the rite of preparing Jesus’ body for burial is reenacted on this stone during the so-called “funeral procession.”

Amid ongoing war and blockades, Holy Land Christians insist on celebrating Easter

Apr 19, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

This year’s Easter celebrations in the Holy Land are expected to unfold under a complex and emotional landscape as war... Read more

A Greek Orthodox monk pours oil into the lamps in front of the edicule of the Holy Sepulcher, which contains the venerated tomb. The three communities responsible for the Holy Sepulcher are the Greek Orthodox, the Latin Catholic, and the Armenian. Every movement and schedule inside the basilica is governed by the Status Quo.

PHOTOS: Archaeologists uncover early use of site beneath Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

Apr 18, 2025

By Marinella Bandini

Archaeological excavations launched in 2022 in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem have yielded significant data on the... Read more

The main entrance to the Armenian Patriarchate and the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem.

Armenian Patriarchate takes legal action to halt Jerusalem’s tax foreclosure

Apr 13, 2025

By Marinella Bandini

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem have issued a statement expressing “great concern” and voicing their solidarity... Read more

Speakers present at the briefing presenting the report “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem” by the Rossing Center on March 27, 2025. From left to right: Hana Bendcowsky, director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations at the Rossing Center; Bernard Sabella, a retired professor of sociology; Federica Sasso (Rossing Center)), moderator, Hussam Elias, executive director of the project; and Jesuit Father David Neuhaus.

Christian communities in Israel face growing hostility, annual report reveals

Mar 29, 2025

By Marinella Bandini

On March 27, in Jerusalem, the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue presented findings from its annual report, “Attacks on... Read more

Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, stops at the Eighth Station of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem during the Good Friday Via Crucis on March 29, 2024.

PHOTOS: Challenges and triumphs: The custos of the Holy Land reflects on 9 years

Jan 28, 2025

By Marinella Bandini

As he gets ready to retire, Father Francesco Patton talks to CNA about his years leading the Custody of the... Read more

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, speaks with EWTN News during an interview at the Vatican on Dec. 11, 2024.

Christians in Gaza, Syria ‘need everything,’ Vatican cardinal says

Dec 23, 2024

By CNA Staff

“They need everything and we cannot give anything,” Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti told EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser in a... Read more

Bassem Giacaman in his shop in Bethlehem in December 2024. The artisans in Bethlehem are almost all Christians. They primarily work with olive wood. Most of the businesses in Bethlehem are family businesses.

War, economic struggles threaten Bethlehem’s century-old crafts tradition

Dec 21, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

The tradition of being an artisan in Bethlehem is being threatened by the flight of young people from the area... Read more

The custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, lights the first candle of the Advent wreath at the site of the manger inside the Nativity Grotto on Nov. 30, 2024, during the first vespers of the first Sunday of Advent.

Heads of Christian churches in Holy Land call for end of war in Gaza in Christmas message

Dec 16, 2024

By Madalaine Elhabbal

Invoking the spirit of Christmas, leaders of Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Syriac, Armenian, and other churches gave thanks to God for... Read more

The interior of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem. In the background, the most well-known depiction of Our Lady of the Milk. According to a Christian tradition dating back to the sixth century, the Virgin Mary was nursing the baby Jesus here, and when, in haste to flee to Egypt, she took him off her breast, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning the stone completely white.

Bethlehem’s ‘Milk Grotto’: A pilgrimage site of hope for families seeking miracles

Dec 15, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

The Milk Grotto has long been a favored pilgrimage site for women and families seeking the blessing of a child... Read more

When asked what Christians can do outside the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa responded: “Pray and support. Support the Christian community as much as they can.”

Cardinal Pizzaballa: Pope Francis calls Holy Family Church in Gaza every day

Dec 6, 2024

By Kristina Millare

In a press conference on Dec. 6, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem said Pope Francis is known by the children... Read more

Christian worshippers pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024.

Pope Francis: ‘Prayer and fasting are the weapons of love that change history’

Oct 7, 2024

By Kristina Millare, Elias Turk

In his letter to Catholics in the Middle East, the Holy Father expressed his closeness with those “who dwell in... Read more

Monsignor Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French Bishops Conference, presides over the Mass that took place on Sept. 14, 2024, at Maison Abraham (Abraham House) in Jerusalem during the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of its foundation as a pilgrim guest house run by Secours Catholique-Caritas France.

New pilgrimage brings Christians, Muslims, and Jews together in Holy Land at Abraham House

Sep 19, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

On Sept. 14 in Jerusalem, a new pilgrimage called “Pilgrims of Hope Way” was inaugurated at the 60th anniversary celebration... Read more

An Israeli army convoy leaves the Gaza Strip as seen from a position on the Israeli side of the border on July 3, 2024 in southern Israel.

Israeli embassy criticizes Holy Land Catholic leaders for statement on ‘just war’

Jul 3, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

In a statement June 30, the Justice and Peace Commission of the Holy Land suggested Israel’s behavior in Gaza goes... Read more

A group of cello students from the Magnificat Institute of Jerusalem performs on May 30, 2024. Today, the Magnificat Institute welcomes over 200 students each year (as young as 5 years old) and relies on the collaboration of 25 teachers. It has a choir (which also serves the liturgies of the Custody of the Holy Land) and several orchestras.

Jerusalem’s Magnificat Institute: ‘Every day we witness a small but significant miracle’ 

Jun 26, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

The Magnificat Institute brings Jews, Christians, and Muslims together to make music — not an easy feat as the longest... Read more

The sisters Madeleine and Marie-Liesse together with Louis Antona at the entrance of Greece. The three young people covered the distance from Paris to Jerusalem on foot, arriving in mid-May 2024. “I needed to walk 4,500 kilometers to understand that Jesus is not just in Jerusalem, but was by my side every step of the way,” Antona told CNA.

Three young adult pilgrims walk from Paris to Jerusalem ‘to deepen our faith’

Jun 18, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

“Every day of this pilgrimage was a miracle,” said Louis Antona, 24, of the journey he made with two young... Read more

A reporter from an Israeli news outlet at a press conference hosted by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue. The Center presented its report called “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem” on June 4, 2024, at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem.

Interreligous group releases report highlighting harassment of Christians in Holy Land

Jun 11, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

According to the report, there were 90 known attacks in 2023, a notable increase in cases of spitting, physical, and... Read more

Latest news

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (L) and a members of a Christian visit the Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City on July 18, 2025.

Jerusalem bishop shares distress over conditions in Gaza after accidental Israeli strike

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski talks to "EWTN News in Depth" Anchor Catherine Hadro on Friday, July 18, 2025

Amid deportations, Catholic clergy rally for immigrants

Joseph Hazboun, the regional director at the Pontifical Mission in the Jerusalem field office, speaks to Tara Mergener on "EWTN News Nightly," Friday, July 18, 2025

Director of Jerusalem Pontifical Mission assesses situation in Gaza after church attack

For more than 40 years, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception has welcomed visitors to its annual summer organ recital series.

National Shrine’s organ recital series showcases world-class musicians

St. Thomas More.

St. Thomas More’s skull may be exhumed from Canterbury vault for saint’s 500th anniversary

Market in Shevchenkove settlement in Kharkiv Oblast of Ukraine after a 2023 Russian rocket strike.

‘Charity doesn’t go on vacation’: Pope Leo XIV sends food to families in Ukraine

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

U.S. bishops stress need for immediate ceasefire after deadly attack on Gaza parish

The funeral of Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win (left), who was martyred in Myanmar on Feb. 14, 2025.

9 people sentenced to 20 years in prison for murder of Myanmar priest

Human embryos.

California couple with 21 kids from surrogate mothers charged with neglect, endangerment

Fort Worth, Texas, skyline.

Catholic Charities Fort Worth to continue refugee efforts

Liturgical Calendar Show this year
Jul 20
St. Margaret of Antioch
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