Every year, the Franciscans of the Holy Land make a weekly Lenten pilgrimage to the shrines in Jerusalem commemorating the Passion of Jesus.
Today, the first pilgrimage took place at the Dominus Flevit, on the Mount of Olives.
“Dominus Flevit” is a Latin expression that means “the Lord wept” and is linked to the episode in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 19:41) in which Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and dramatically prophesies its destruction.
The tears and the prophecy of Jesus, bearer of a message of salvation, are still alive and deeply impressed even on the architecture of the small shrine. On the Mount of Olives, near the site where a late tradition places the episode, there is now a church belonging to the Custody of the Holy Land.
The structure of the Shrine, the last stylistic effort in the Holy Land of the famous Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi, recalls the shape of a tear. Built in 1955, the Dominus Flevit stands on the remains of a Byzantine church, of which mosaics and floor dating back to the 7th century have been preserved. Some of these fragments have been placed inside the church, while the largest and best preserved is just outside the small sanctuary.
Pilgrims enjoy this destination especially for its prominent position on the Mount of Olives, which offers a unique panoramic view of the city.
