Religious communities in the Holy Land remain united beyond the pandemic

A festive cacophony of conversation and laughter echoed on a bright Saturday afternoon from the shaded yard outside the Church of Saint Anne in Jerusalem. 

This French Catholic church, which is located at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa and run by the “White Fathers” (Missionaries of Africa-MAfr.), was hosting a "friendship and cultural" day with 40 different Christian religious communities based in the Holy City.

It was the second consecutive year that the groups gathered to sell their handicrafts and to promote their activities.

The event was actually born out of adversity – the coronavirus pandemic brought them together.

Border closures

The closing of Israel’s borders in 2020 plunged some of these religious congregations into poverty.

The previous year, four million tourists came to the Holy Land, including at least half a million pilgrims. But suddenly, the streets of Jerusalem and Bethlehem fell silent, and with the silence came the loss of the sale of handicrafts, a livelihood often essential to the survival of these communities.

The smaller ones, which do not have the organized support of the mother houses, also sometimes went through this period in total isolation.

But on this particular Saturday, smiles abounded under the sun.

Trade went well, both in local religious handicrafts, rosaries made of olive wood and reproductions of icons. 

There were many French-speaking people and numerous expatriates from various countries, as well as Palestinians and even some Israelis.

Groups of pilgrims from the United States, Nigeria and Spain were also on hand to give added color to the atmosphere.

Their spontaneous praises were echoed by those of the monks and sisters, who took turns singing in choir inside the cavernous 12th century church.

Behind the stands, the sisters welcomed the visitors with a smile. But they politely declined to talk about their difficulties. Those who did, did so with a smile.

"We certainly felt abandoned," explained a sister from a small community in Bethlehem. She recounted the severe restrictions on movement that were put in place during the successive lockdowns.

But for her and many others, it was a lesson in faith, a way to deepen their spirituality in solitude.

"We pulled ourselves together through fraternal life"

In their conversations, some emphasized the opportunity presented by the abrupt end of the pilgrimages.

"Normally, the risk is to be too focused outward," said a Carmelite sister of Pater Noster, on the Mount of Olives.

"This time, it was the opposite, we pulled ourselves together through our fraternal life," she said. 

This also allowed neighboring communities to meet.

The need to find someone to preside at Mass or share other resources, encouraged them to discover each other.

A group of lay volunteers joined this new dynamic, launching the first day of mutual aid in June 2021.

The network is becoming formalized

The network, which is currently composed of a core group of about ten contemplative women's communities, is becoming formalized. Through this concrete and tangible experience of unity, the sisters have discovered a form of support that is as precious as it is necessary.

"They tend to say that everything is fine, to carry their burden without talking about it," explained Sylvie Thibaut, one of the lay women associated with the project.

"But we've seen some fall apart, with real issues that are often difficult to resolve: how to care for older sisters, for example," she said.

The network opens the possibility of exchanging ideas as well as skills and access to practical training.

It’s also caught the attention of the Pontifical Mission (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) in Jerusalem.

"The communities play a crucial role in Palestinian society in particular," says Joseph Hazboun, the Mission’s director.

He pointed out that nearly a third of Palestinians, almost all of them Muslims, receive services from the Christian congregations.