News Page 26

If you ever had the opportunity to spend some time in the Holy Land, you were probably a little disappointed when you found practically all the shops and restaurants run by Jews, closed on Saturday. Or you might have wanted to sleep an extra hour on Sunday, but you probably had to give up on […]

“The crisis in Syria is not over yet; let’s say that it has just begun ”. Father Ibrahim Alsabagh, pastor of the church of St. Francis in Aleppo, said this a few days ago and we, while the country is entering its ninth year of war, we can only repeat it with force: the crisis […]

Knowledge, flavors and … soaps! with these three words we could symbolically summarize the many projects of ATS pro Terra Sancta that strictly involve the Palestinian women; know how all the actions of the association are developed starting from a deep research and attention of the Palestinian traditions: research and sharing of knowledge, to develop […]

Along the famous shopping street of the Mamilla Mall, amid luxury shops and jewelers, stands the façade of an imposing neo-Romanesque church that is part of the hospice of the Daughters of Charity of the order of Saint Vincent de Paul built in 1885 to treat leprosy patients. Yet since its early years, the structure […]

The sea that shapes the island of Rhodes, one of the most fascinating of the Dodecanese, knows it. It knows how many millions of men and women have landed on his coasts over the centuries, who to stop on the island, who for a short stop before leaving and those who drowned in search of […]

“We declare the adoption of a culture of dialogue as the path; mutual cooperation as the code of conduct; reciprocal understanding as the method and standard”.In Bethany, the Pope‘s words in the document signed with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar in Abu Dhabi are reality. Here three different confessions (Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic communities) […]

“The Sultan was one of the most powerful men of the time, a formidable military strategist, and a mind open to culture and arts. Francis was simply a man who felt called by God to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to live the Gospel, and to proclaim it peacefully to every creature. The two dialogue, […]

“We are lambs among wolves. Literally. Every evening we entrust our life to the Lord before sleeping, because we are very worried. Yet the next morning we wake up and see that our prayers have been fulfilled … In the same way we feel the power of your prayers for us. The Lord does not […]

Culture and books as a meeting occasion. This was demonstrated by the study day of January 16th, organized by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at the Convent of San Salvatore. The Custody of the Holy Land hosted 30 boys, mostly Jews, from the Winter School of the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies who participated in […]

“From the observation of the mosaic we have deduced the best method to restore it. There is a solution to every problem: a lesson in work and life “. Paula tells us about her experience: together with other students from the Mosaic Center in Jericho and to the new students of the mosaic course in […]

In Israel there is a refugee “emergency” as well. It’s different from the one Europe is facing, of course, but significant. The largest waves of migration began at the end of the nineties and early 2000 due to the Eritrean independence on one side and the start of the dictatorial and military regime of Isaias […]

For all Italian volunteersnand workers who live in Bethlehem, Christmas also means “tombolata”. As usual in the rooms of the Hotel Casanova, after the Mass and a moment of reflection, we find ourselves for a dinner, rigorously of Italian cuisine, and immediately after one of the most awaited moments for adults and children: the game […]

Once more it’s Christmas time in Bethlehem, the whole city lights up for a party and it’s general cleaning. What once was a small town on the back of a hill looking towards the desert of Judah today is a large city that in its overall area welcomes, in the daily bustle, almost 200,000 inhabitants. […]

Placing the little houses, the sheep and the shepherd’s statues in the Crib, our imagination flies towards distant exotic landscapes, towards that ancient and rural village in the desert that was to be Bethlehem at the time of Jesus. Today, that which in the Gospel text is described as the last of the main cities […]

Thalathe…’ithnin… wahad…(three, two, one …) and magically the big Christmas tree in Manger square, Bethlehem, lights up; fireworks light up the starry sky and for five minutes all the faces of the people are turned upwards: many children climb on their parents’ shoulders to be able to see better, boys and adults with smartphones in […]