In the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, the joy of Easter was announced with the proclamation of the Gospels of the Resurrection of Jesus from four different points around the aedicule of the Holy Sepulchre, corresponding to the cardinal points: a symbolic gesture of how the proclamation of the Resurrection, from Jerusalem, reaches every corner of the earth. The Holy Sepulchre is considered the most important place of the Christian faith, with more than 2000 years of history, science and faith. Through the biblical texts, the testimonies of the various historical periods, the rich documentation of images from the excavation campaigns and the collaboration of archaeologists and historians of the Custody of the Holy Land, it is possible to make a journey up to our days, to the latest restoration in the Wayside Shrine of the Anastasis. There are details in the biblical narrative that aid archaeological research. Emperor Hadrian, in order to erase the Jewish and Christian memory, rebuilt the city and called it Aelia Capitolina. The place of Golgotha and the Sepulchre disappeared under the bulk of the new temple dedicated to Venus. Around 327-329, Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, arrived in Jerusalem. According to Br. Eugenio Alliata, archaeologist of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, she can be said to have made an archaeological discovery in a certain way. In 335, after the destruction of the pagan temples at the behest of Constantine, the Sepulchre was brought back to light. Br EUGENIO ALLIATA, ofm Archaeologist Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "The most ancient traditions tell us that the empress herself wanted to dig to find this testimony of Jesus' death”. Destroyed and rebuilt several times, the Sepulchre once again became the heart of Christianity after Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders in 1099. With a Bull of Pope Clement VI in 1342, the Order of St. Francis of Assisi was entrusted with the custody of the Holy Sepulchre and the other Holy Places. From that moment on, a Franciscan community settled inside the Basilica. Br EUGENIO ALLIATA, ofm Archaeologist Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "The Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre is an ancient construction, dating in part to the era of the Crusades, in the twelfth century, and in part to even earlier times. In 1927 it was hit by a very strong earthquake, which caused the destruction of Jerusalem". In 1960, restoration work began on the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. A work documented step by step for 20 years. The three communities present at the Holy Sepulcher elected Brother Virgilio Corbo as archaeologist for the work in the common areas. The task committed him for 17 years, day and night. Two years after the end of the work, Br. Corbo delivered to the press his monumental work "The Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Archaeological aspects from the origins to the Crusader period". Br CLAUDIO BOTTINI, ofm Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "The excavations or work at the Holy Sepulcher lasted from 1960 until 1980. Father Virgil Corbo made a synthesis by publishing in 1982 a series of books, in three parts, presenting the archaeological results compared with the literary texts related to the Gospel period." It has been 20 years of arduous archaeological work and restoration, leading to an important result. In the presentation of the series on the Holy Sepulchre, Father Virgilio Corbo wrote: "We have finished our research work and we are presenting it to scholars. We only want to hope that it will be read with love towards the One who is the triumphant figure of this monument". Thanks to an agreement between the heads of the three communities responsible for the basilica - Franciscans, Greek Orthodox and Armenians - in the spring of 2016, restoration work began on the Wayside Shrine of the Holy Sepulcher. The intervention group set up by the University of Athens, under the direction of Professor Antonia Moropoulou, involved no less than fifty professionals, including professors and technicians of different specializations. OSAMA HAMDAN Lecturer - Arab University of Jerusalem "Before the dome was open and water fell over the Wayside Shrine, creating some problems, especially structural problems, the walls swelled. In the past, at the time of the British, of the British Mandate, they reinforced them with iron to contain the walls of the Aedicule. This solution lasted almost a hundred years, and it was no longer possible to contain them." More than 200 years after the last restoration of the wayside shrine, scholars and religious authorities experienced a historic moment: the marble slab covering the tomb was moved and it was possible to see again the rock on which Jesus was laid. A historic moment for the Christian world, but also for the scientific one, in a work where faith and science meet. Br DOBROMIR JASZTAL, ofm Vicar Custody of the Holy Land "I was present, I saw the tombstone being lifted and the bare rock appearing, the place where the body of Jesus was laid. In that very moving moment I almost spontaneously thought of that day after the Sabbath, when some disciples, some women went to the tomb and saw the empty tomb”. Br EUGENIO ALLIATA, ofm Studium Biblicum Franciscanum - Jerusalem The original rock of the tomb, the bench on which according to tradition Christ was laid, comes exactly below the two slabs that cover it, so it is about 35 cm high above the modern floor, we do not know how much exactly on the ancient floor". On March 21, 2017, the conclusion of the restorations was celebrated in an ecumenical ceremony. Present at the ceremony were representatives of the three religious communities responsible for the Basilica, according to the Status Quo: the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, Brother Francisco Patton Custos of the Holy Land, the Armenian Patriarch Nourhan Manoughian. Also present were Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, at the time Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Archbishop of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, representatives of the other Churches of the Holy Sepulchre - Copts, Syriacs and Ethiopians - and of the other Christian denominations in the Holy Land, and various religious and civil authorities. The joy and communion experienced on the occasion of the restoration of the Wayside Shrine of the Holy Sepulcher led to a grand new project: the restoration of the floor of the Basilica. In 2019, a new agreement was signed between the leaders of the three communities to begin a new phase of work in the basement of the basilica. Two Italian institutes - the Center for the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, La Venaria Reale, of Turin, in collaboration with the Department of Sciences of Antiquity, La Sapienza University of Rome - have studied the subsoil of the basilica for an executive project of the restoration interventions. At the beginning of 2020 the mapping "stone by stone" of the floor of the basilica was carried out. An intense work that reached its peak in 2022. The next step was the creation of the first digital topographical map of the Basilica's one thousand square meters of flooring, through 50,000 ultra-high definition shots of the most worn stones in Christendom, on which millions of pilgrims have walked over the centuries. On March 14, 2022, the Christian communities responsible for the basilica met for the project's groundbreaking ceremony. Thanks to the mapping of all the floor stones, it will be possible to remove and put the slabs back in the same place. For two thousand years, the Holy Sepulcher has continued to welcome pilgrims. Every day, communities celebrate their liturgies inside this Basilica, which continues to preserve and speak of the mystery of Jesus' Death and Resurrection. May 7 marks one of the traditional feasts celebrated in the Holy Land since the change of the liturgical calendar in 1969: the feast of the finding of the Holy Cross by St. Helena. In procession with the relic of the Holy Cross, the Custos, together with the religious authorities, the friars of the Custody and the priests of the different religious communities and the faithful go to the cave where the Cross of Jesus was found. In his homily, Br. Francesco Patton, commented on the readings of this feast that help to understand what is the way out of fear, distrust, complaint and consequent sadness: "We must raise our eyes - he said - And as Moses raised the snake in the desert, so must the Son of Man be raised, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life". Br. Francesco Patton also turned his thoughts to the peoples at war, praying for peace. After the solemn Mass, celebrants, religious and faithful returned in procession to the Wayside Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre for the three traditional rounds around it and the three blessings: at the Wayside Shrine, at the altar of the Magdalene and at the chapel of the Apparition of Jesus to his Mother.” Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land "What we celebrate on this day, the day of the Finding of the True Cross by Queen Helen, is precisely this idea that by finding the cross, we also find trust and hope.” Br. Patton also spoke about the ongoing restoration campaign in the basilica, stressing that the importance of these works is linked to the fact that this is the most important shrine for all Christians. Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land "This is the place where Jesus gave his life for us, where he was buried, where he rose again. All the work of arranging the floor of the basilica has precisely the sense, not only of safety from a static point of view of the whole building, but also of decorum, to celebrate what God has accomplished here, that is, the salvation of man, and to welcome pilgrims in safety." In Jerusalem, in the Basilica of the Resurrection it is always the Easter of the Lord. The empty tomb attests to it, the Gospel proclaims it: the Lord is truly risen!