Dar Mamilla: the new pro Terra Sancta guesthouse in the heart of Jerusalem

The guesthouse managed by the Association Pro Terra Sancta, Dar Mamilla, located on the premises of the convent of St. Vincent de Paul in Jerusalem, was officially inaugurated on Tuesday 4 February. Together with the Sisters of Charity of the Order of St. Vincent de Paul, the volunteers and members of the Association pro Terra Sancta, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land and the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Patton, who blessed the structure, where all present at  the inauguration.

The name of the guesthouse comes from the place where the convent of St. Vincent was founded in 1885, in an area just outside the Old Town, called Mamilla. Byzantine pilgrims in that area testify the presence of a church dedicated to St. Mamilla, toghether with quarries and tombs of martyrs. The convent, was initially born as a center for the treatment of lepers. Today the sisters of charity, led by Sister Simone, take care of the humblest and children. They run a center for the elderly and people with disabilities and a kindergarten with 230 children of different nationalities. It is a polyglot school: Arab and Jewish children, but also Ethiopians, Eritreans, Filipinos and Europeans play and learn all together. The nuns, in fact, also allow children from the poorest families to attend school with discounted prices.

After the blessing prayer and the visit of the guest-house, the Custos together with the friars went to the conventual structure to know directly the work of the nuns. In addition to kindergarten, he also visited the center for the elderly and for people with disabilities. The nuns, who now take care of 30 people, would like to expand the center. Renovation works are underway on the remaining part of the structure to accommodate a senior and physiotherapy center, but much is still missing for its completion. A private donor, in a joint project with Associazione Pro Terra Sancta, provided funds for the construction of an elevator specialized in the transport of patients.

There are many daily needs that the convent must face. The Pro Terra Sancta Association immediately responded with enthusiasm to the request for help from the nuns and in 2018 the renovation of some unused rooms of the convent started. Thus was born “Dar Mamilla”: a synergistic project that thanks to the hospitality of many pilgrims and tourists who visit the Holy City every year will be able to help the Sisters of San Vincenzo De Paoli. All guests staying in the Dar Mamilla facility will support the sisters’ charity works with their stay. The guest-house, designed by the Architects of God led by Stefano Matteoni, with 13 rooms divided on two floors, can accommodate up to 28 people. In addition to the necessary for a breakfast, there are also two kitchens and a laundry room.

The excellent location, just five minutes from two of the main entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem, Jaffa Gate and New Gate, allows you to easily reach the most important holy places of Jerusalem on foot. “Our first guests arrived in mid-October (2019). We are starting to get more and more requests through word of mouth and the Christian Information Center website. We are also preparing a website to make ourselves known, “says Clara Borio, the head of Pro Terra Santa in Jerusalem.

In the guest-house you can buy the ceramics produced by the women of Nusf Jubeil, the mosaics of the Mosaic Center of Jericho and the essential oils and soaps made by the Shouruq association of Bethany. And staying there also means getting to know the Holy Land starting from the local community and the people who live and w