We are pleased to welcome Fr. John Puodziunas, OFM, as the new Commissary of the Holy Land. Fr. John brings not only decades of pastoral ministry but also a longstanding and meaningful relationship with the region. Through years of close collaboration with the friars of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, and in [...]
Give Hope, Sow Peace. The Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land is a concrete sign of communion and hope. Dear brothers and sisters, May the Lord grant you his peace! As Holy Week approaches, our hearts and our gaze return here to the Holy Land, to the land where the Son of God gave his [...]
On February 17, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, visited the Grotto of the Nativity together with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, to verify the progress of the restoration works underway in the place that Christian tradition venerates as the site of the birth of Jesus. The works, entrusted to the Italian [...]
With the proclamation of the Jubilee Year of Saint Francis, it is now possible to obtain a Plenary Indulgence by making a pilgrimage to any Franciscan church or to any place of worship dedicated to St. Francis anywhere in the world, under the usual conditions. But what is meant by “usual conditions”? In addition to praying [...]
Preserving the site of Christ's birth JerusalemJanuary 23, 2026 The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land announce the imminent commencement of restoration works in the Grotto of the Nativity, the hallowed site revered across Christendom as the place of the Incarnation. This joint undertaking together with the brotherly cooperation of [...]