In the heart of the Holy Land, streets once bustling with life now lie empty. Shops are shuttered, silent witnesses to the turmoil that has engulfed this sacred place.  

Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, urged a universal effort to seek peace, saying, “Numerous wars at present. Syria. Iraq. Palestine. Afghanistan. Ukraine, still ravaged by a seemingly endless war. All those wars and conflicts without a name? Scattered throughout the world. That have shed and continue to shed blood on every continent and throughout the centuries. Just like Jerusalem and the Holy Land. We cannot forget and neither can our societies. They need peace and reconciliation.”  

Amidst this desolation, the Christian community, a vibrant minority of 55,000 in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, finds itself at a crossroads. Traditionally anchored in the tourism industry, their livelihoods have been upended.   

The war has brought a halt to tourism, the lifeline for many. Families are now facing uncertainty; their incomes having vanished overnight.   

In a show of solidarity, Msgr. Pietro Buongiovanni, Rector of the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome, opened the doors of his church for a special collection dedicated to the Christian families enduring these hard times in the Holy Land.  

Msgr. Pietro reflected on the Church of Jerusalem, saying, “The Madonna, between her arms, has two sons–one, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The other is a beloved son, which is the Church of Jerusalem. The Church of Jerusalem, the Church of the land of Jesus, so tormented in recent years and particularly in this period, we want to implore tonight on behalf of our brothers. Where Jesus walked and lived, the precious gift of peace was given.”  

This collection is the first in a series of initiatives in Rome to support Christians in the Holy Land.   

On the first Sunday of Lent, the whole Italian Church will join in the collection for the Holy Land and a worldwide collection will take place on Good Friday.    

Cardinal Fernando Filoni and the Knights and Dames of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre will manage and distribute the collection to the Church and families in the Holy Land.  

Cardinal Filoni expressed gratitude for this solidarity, “I want to thank you all for your generosity.” And the Cardinal urged prayer for peace, “Please take with you this prayer that we have been reciting and remember to recite it every day until peace comes to the Holy Land.”  

Adapted by Jacob Stein