Small and unique: to reach the place that commemorates the Ascension of Jesus, forty days after Easter, you have to climb to the highest point of the Mount of Olives, 808 meters above sea level: today it falls under Muslim management, but once a year it hosts the celebrations of the different Christian denominations, according to their respective calendars. Under a burning sun, the solemn entrance, the vespers and Compline prayers are held for the first time in a long time with very few believers, and the loosening of the anti-Coronavirus measures removes the obligation of the mask when the celebrations take place outdoors. Inside the central chapel, there is a stone in which the tradition sees the footprint left by Jesus before ascending to the Father, followed by the gaze of the Disciples. Then, in the Acts of the Apostles we read that two men in white robes said to the Disciples: "Men of Galilee, why are you looking at heaven? This Jesus, Who in your midst has been taken up into heaven, He will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven". Br DIEGO DALLA GASSA, ofm Holy Land Custody "This indication, of people looking up to the sky, was already very important for those who built the first place. The Roman noblewoman Poimenia in 378 had a first structure built, a first building, which had an open roof." Very little remains of the first building: after its destruction the Crusaders rebuilt the Aedicule, leaving it once again without the dome. Br DIEGO DALLA GASSA, ofm Holy Land Custody "When the Muslims came here in 1187, they took over the place and thought they would finish this aedicule by putting up the roof. But they did not know what this place meant. We are destined to heaven: men are destined to look to heaven to be able to live now, here, in this life, a life that can return and must return to heaven." Images May 2019 In the late afternoon, the vestments are put back on: this year - a consequence of the restrictions still in force - the large white tents set up to welcome the faithful are missing, as well as the most evocative part of the feast: the frequent night celebrations that take place in and around the aedicule until dawn. The following day there are the celebrations of the Apostolic Nuncio Mgr. Leopoldo Girelli, the Community of Gethsemane, the Arab community, and finally the solemn Mass presided over by the Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land. Br DOBROMIR JASZTAL, ofm Vicar Custody of the Holy Land "The most important thing we should ask of the Lord is to continue to sustain our lives, to enlighten them, to guide them with the grace of His Spirit. So that each one of us may fulfil that mission to which He has been called, serving the brothers but above all making the Lord present in the midst of the brothers. It is what the Disciples have understood here, on this mountain, the hope with which they descended waiting for the Holy Spirit." The impossibility for pilgrims to reach the sanctuaries and Holy Places affected almost everyone," explained the Custodial Vicar referring to the particular historical moment that the whole world is going through. Br DOBROMIR JASZTAL, ofm Vicar Custody of the Holy Land "Nevertheless, people from all over the world are not absent from the Holy Land. Every day we are here to remember not only those who ask for it, but all those who need help, support." Read More