News
News, events, projects from the Holy Land. Discover the latest news and stories from Pro Terra Sancta. Information is the basis for understanding the value of a land too often forgotten.
02 December 2024
by Giacomo Pizzi
Aleppo: updates on the situation
ALEPPO 03 December: a new water shortage on the horizon, telephone communications are interrupted. Today, in Aleppo, the frequency of bombings and gunfire seems to have eased slightly; However, this does not mean that the situation is calm. Some foodstuffs are beginning to run out, and people are starting to hurry to collect everything that […]
29 November 2024
by Andrea Avveduto
Christmas 2024. Despair Is Not an Option
“Despite difficult times, despair is not an option.” “You are not alone. Despite difficult times, despair is not an option.” These were the words of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, addressing the community of Jenin, a troubled city in the West Bank, just hours after a heavy attack. Strong words, difficult even to utter […]
22 November 2024
by Emma Garroni
Lebanon: “You have to start over somewhere”
Either the Darkness alters— / Or something in the sight / Adjusts itself to Midnight— / And Life steps almost straight. The human eye is designed to be deeply adaptable to changes in its surrounding environment. When darkness falls and the shadows obscure vision, it takes only a few minutes for our eyes to learn […]
15 November 2024
by Emma Garroni
The voice of the Palestinian child
“This is the voice of the Palestinian child calling my people, / the voice of the wounded bird, and here I am crying out with all my voice, / to those near and far, to every lover of life and beauty. / I want, oh God, to live in peace, / and to play, run, […]
08 November 2024
by Emma Garroni
The Art of Arabic Calligraphy According to Hany Sarsour
“The art of Arabic Calligraphy is not just an artistic form: it is a form of cultural resistance, a means to express the beauty and strength of our Palestinian and Arab identity.” Since late September, our center in Bethlehem, Dar al-Majus, has hosted an Arabic calligraphy workshop led by Gaza-based calligrapher Hany Sarsour. Over the […]
31 October 2024
by Emma Garroni
In Memory: Remembering Those We Hold in Our Hearts
“Yet the goodness he brought into the world is so great that it deserves to end up somewhere, to take shape somehow.” Today we want to tell you a story. It’s the story of a mother who lost a son, of a niece seeking a gesture that might help her mourning aunt find meaning and […]
25 October 2024
by Emma Garroni
Mary, Queen of Palestine: A Gaze that Embraces
“Perhaps today’s tragedy needs this gentleness more than ever: a gaze that embraces the entire situation, with all its complex history, without lingering lazily on easy simplifications.” Amid the delicate branches and pink petals of bougainvillea climbing the stone walls stands, in Deir Rafat, the sanctuary of Mary, Queen of Palestine. At the summit of […]
18 October 2024
by Giacomo Pizzi
The Martyrs of Damascus and Emir al-Jazairi: Two Messages of Peace
On Sunday, October 20, 2024, Pope Francis will celebrate the canonization in Rome of the eleven martyrs of Damascus: eight friars of the Custody of the Holy Land and three Maronite laymen, executed for their faith in 1860. This event represents not only the recognition of their sacrifice but also a strong message of peace […]
16 October 2024
by Emma Garroni
Notes of Peace: The Organ and Music Festival of Rhodes
In the early days of October, the weather in Rhodes is still mild—autumn lingers—and the island echoes with solemn notes, sweetly spreading around the Church of St. Francis. From October 1st to 5th, the Church of St. Francis in Rhodes hosted the twelfth edition of the Organ and Music Festival Rhodes, organized by the Catholic […]
11 October 2024
by Emma Garroni
United in suffering, together beyond differences
“One thing that struck me, during these days of emergency and pain, was seeing how people started helping each other, even though they belong to different communities. Even though some are Christians and others are Muslims.” This is how Fadi Bejani, the coordinator of our projects in Lebanon, responds to the question “Have you seen […]
07 October 2024
by Emma Garroni
Meanwhile we clean our house
Sebastia is a small village located in the West Bank, in the green region of Samaria; surrounded by expanses of olive trees, today it is experiencing the drama of war. On the hills around, settler settlements are expanding more and more, threatening the safety of the villagers. Over time we have launched many projects, with […]
07 October 2024
by Giacomo Pizzi
What we carry out is something sacred
Looking for the fit between the tiles of a mosaic to compose the details of an image almost never succeeds on the first attempt. Try to bring the stone closer to the tiles already glued, trying to make it fit together as much as possible; then, turn it over until you find the most similar […]
07 October 2024
by Andrea Avveduto
October 7: One Year Later
We could have imagined that the war would be long. But today—one year later—facing a bloody showdown between the main regional powers was a fear we would gladly have done without. Today’s anniversary is not something that belongs to the past. It is not the memory of an event that time is attempting to reconcile. […]
04 October 2024
by Emma Garroni
Francis and the Sultan: The Power of Words
1219, Damietta, Egypt: while the country burns with the fires and blood of the Crusades, two friars meet Malik al-Kāmil, Sultan of Egypt and Palestine. The war, the fifth Crusader attempt to conquer Jerusalem, has also reached Egypt, with the strategic goal of capturing an important port to be used as a bargaining chip. In […]
27 September 2024
by Emma Garroni
Updates from Lebanon: First aid truck arrives at its destination
Updates from Lebanon – In the afternoon, the first truck of humanitarian aid from Beirut reached the displaced people who had taken refuge in the convent of Tyre. Tyre, 27 September – Since 23 September, Lebanon has been hit by a series of devastating air raids , with a tragic toll that so far counts […]
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