"Be like shepherds and like angels”. This is the desire of the Custos of the Holy Land, during the inauguration of the friars' home in the place of the vigil and of the announcement of Christmas in Bethlehem.

800 years of Franciscan presence in the Holy Land, documented over the centuries through exceptional manuscripts

In the first part of the series "Journey to the origins of a Presence": the Overseas Mission with the arrival of the first friars in the Holy Land. The meeting of Francis of Assisi with the Sultan of Egypt at the time of the fifth crusade. 800 years of Franciscan presence in the Holy Land, documented over the centuries through exceptional manuscripts.

Along with African Missionaries of Africa, or the White Fathers, the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land, celebrated the solemnity of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary at the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem.

On July 27, under the extreme heat of the northern hemisphere, Franciscans and pilgrims celebrated the feast of the saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus at Bethany and on the Mount of Olives.

On June 24, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist. In order to get to know the one who announced the coming of Jesus, we will walk through the places that were important in his life.

On June 13, the celebration of the Feast of St. Anthony, one of the doctors of the Church, took place! He is one of the most beloved, popular and known saints around the world! He is also the patron saint of the Custody of the Holy Land.

Pentecost in the Old and New Testament: through Father Alessandro's words, we will understand how this Jewish holiday has become the great Christian Feast of Pentecost.

In the Holy Land, in Jerusalem, the Feast of the Visitation of Our Lady was celebrated at the place where the Virgin Mary met her cousin Elizabeth.

They have different names, faces and backgrounds but a common experience: the vocational calling to become a Franciscan Friar of the Custody of the Holy Land.

On the Mount of Olives, different Christian confessions celebrated the Ascension of the Lord in an atmosphere of unity and brotherhood.

In this month of May, dedicated to Mary, this service introduces her virtues ... an authentic "recipe for holiness" that Christians must follow today.

From May 13 to May 20, the Commissariat of the Holy Land of Naples (Italy) hosts the exhibition on the sacred text "The Bible: Book of Life and Culture".

The mystery of Jesus' Ascension from the Mount of Olives

We are following the footsteps of Christ during the days of his Passion: from the betrayal grotto, to the sacred garden to the rock where Jesus gives his entire self to the Father.

He is not here. He has risen!

In the fourth week of Lent, the Franciscan pilgrimage makes a stop at the Sanctuary of the Flagellation.

One of the main missions of the Franciscan friars is education. With 15 schools and almost 12,000 students throughout the Holy Land, the Franciscans are building a culture of hospitality.

The Vatican will make a contribution of one million dollars for the restoration of the Basilica of the Nativity and that of the Holy Sepulcher. The funds will be made available through the Custody of the Holy Land.

In the third week of Lent, we go into Samaria, precisely at Jacob's Well, where, as narrated in the Scriptures, the meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan woman took place.

A biblical institute in the heart of Jerusalem.

Greetings from the Custos of the Holy Land

At the heart of the old city of Jerusalem you can find a housing- complex "dar al consul" ... here the past and present meet and merge.

The Bible is the written word that God manifesting Himself in human history, made to resound in time, through the words of the prophets, the sages, Jesus and the Apostles.The first five books make up a set that Jews consider central to their religious experience, the Torah.The Bible is a world without limits also with regard to research. History and law, science and prayer.The most extraordinary discoveries of archeology of history. The oldest manuscripts ... ... unmask a great mystery.