Rome Newsroom, Mar 29, 2021 / 12:30 pm
The Franciscan friars taking care of the Holy Land sites have asked Catholics for prayers and financial support as they continue to feel the loss of pilgrimages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"In the past year, even in the Holy Land we have been severely tested by the pandemic that has paralyzed the whole world," Br. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, said in a video message.
"Despite this situation, we have continued to take care of the Holy Places of our redemption and the small Christian community that still exists and endures here," he said. "At the Holy Sepulchre, in Gethsemane, in Bethlehem, in Nazareth and in the other shrines we have intensified our prayers for the whole world."
Money taken up in the 2021 Good Friday collection April 2 will go toward supporting the Holy Land's Christian community, schools, refugees, and other charitable activities, Patton said.