In Jerusalem, faithful and pilgrims began Lent in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa invited the faithful to a concrete experience of charity during the celebration at the Latin Patriarchate.

At the beginning of Lent, we begin a six-part journey to get to know some of the characters in the Gospel who met Jesus during the days of his passion. We can say that everything began with "the kiss of Judas": he is the first one we meet.

On Good Friday, a very ancient rite in the Basilica of the Resurrection commemorates the Passion of Christ. It is performed on site, that is, where the same events of the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus took place.

Watching with Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane

In the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the celebration on the morning of Holy Thursday began the Easter Triduum.

Along the city's stone alleys, between houses and shops, going through the daily life of the people, as two thousand years ago. The Franciscans of the Custody walk this path all year round, but it is especially on Good Friday that the eyes of the world are focused on the Way of the Cross in Jerusalem, which in 2021 is once again open to everyone.

On the afternoon of Holy Monday, the oils, aromas and nard are blessed in Bethany. These will then be used at the Holy Sepulchre and in the parishes during the traditional funeral procession on the evening of Good Friday. They commemorate three events: the perfume given by Mary in Bethany to the living Jesus, the honour given to the dead Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and the intention of the three women who brought the aromas to the empty tomb after the Resurrection.

In the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, songs and the rustling of palm branches open the doors of Holy Week. In the afternoon of Palm Sunday, the great procession from Bethphage to the Holy City returns after the break of 2020.

This week our Lenten pilgrimage takes place in the heart of the old city of Jerusalem, at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa. Christian tradition places two moments of Jesus' passion here: the scourging and the condemnation to death.

One of the last Lenten pilgrimages of the Custody of the Holy Land is to the Mount of Olives: from the village of Bethany to the Tomb of Lazarus to the Chapel of the Ascension and the Shrine of the Pater Noster.

The first episode of the series "Pilgrimages to the Origin of the Shrines of the Holy Land" takes place at the Shrine of Dominus Flevit, on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus wept as he looked at Jerusalem.

Way of the Cross on the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem

The celebrations of the first week of Lent: the Way of the Cross on the Sorrowful Way, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter in Tiberias, the solemn entrance of the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins into the Holy Sepulchre and the vigil celebration inside the Basilica on the night preceding the first Sunday of Lent.

A composed line of faithful receive the ashes on their heads, in front of the empty tomb. This is how Lent begins early in the morning in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem: with a commitment to conversion and under the sign of hope in view of Easter, the second during the pandemic.

The second Lenten Pilgrimage of the Franciscans to the Passion Shrines in Jerusalem arrived at their destination of the Basilica of Gethsemane. Respecting the new rules imposed by the Israeli government, the friars placed the sufferings and anxieties of the whole world before the stone of the Agony of Jesus.

Lenten pilgrimages began in Jerusalem: following an ancient tradition, Franciscans and local Christians go to the holy places that recall the Passion of Jesus, waiting for Easter. First stop is the shrine of Dominus Flevit, on the Mount of Olives.

The Lenten journey begins with Ash Wednesday Mass, celebrated in Jerusalem in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Good Friday collection to support the places of Jesus.