The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is also the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is considered the holiest site in Christianity and has been the most important pilgrimage site for Christians since the fourth century.
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian mystic, poet, and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Christian life of poverty, he became a beggar and itinerant preacher.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was originally established in 1099, with the Kingdom of Jerusalem encompassing the territories in the Holy Land newly conquered by the First Crusade. From 1374 to 1847 it was a titular see, with the patriarchs of Jerusalem being based at the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome. Pope Pius IX re-established a resident Latin patriarch in 1847.
The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, are a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, which is a traditional processional route symbolising the path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The objective of the stations is to help the Christian faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in many Western Christian churches, including those in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist traditions.
The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of Gethsemane or the Basilica of the Agony, is a Catholic church located on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, next to the Garden of Gethsemane. It enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest.
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, also called the Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of the Holy See. The Pope is the sovereign of the order. The order creates canons as well as knights, with the primary mission to "support the Christian presence in the Holy Land." It is an internationally recognised order of chivalry. The order today is estimated to have some 30,000 knights and dames in 60 lieutenancies around the world. The Cardinal Grand Master has been Fernando Filoni since 2019, and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is ex officio the Order's Grand Prior. Its headquarters are situated at the Palazzo Della Rovere and its official church in Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo, both in Rome, close to Vatican City. In 1994, Pope John Paul II declared the Virgin Mary as the order's patron saint under the title "Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Palestine."
The Cenacle, also known as the Upper Room, is a room in Mount Zion in Jerusalem, just outside the Old City walls, traditionally held to be the site of the Last Supper, the final meal that, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus held with the apostles.
The Catholic Church in Israel is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, in full communion with the Holy See in Rome. The Catholic Church in Israel is divided into three main jurisdictions: the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and the Salesian Mission. Each of these jurisdictions has its own responsibilities and areas of operation.
José Rodríguez Carballo is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who became Archbishop of Mérida-Badajoz in June 2024 after a year as coadjutor there. He was secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life from 2013 to 2023 and minister general of the Order of Friars Minor from 2003 to 2013.
The Custody of the Holy Land is a custodian priory of the Order of Friars Minor in Jerusalem, founded as the Province of the Holy Land in 1217 by Saint Francis of Assisi, who had also founded the Franciscan Order in 1209. In 1342, the Franciscans were declared by two papal bulls as the official custodians of the Holy Places in the name of the Catholic Church.
Antonio Barluzzi was an Italian architect who became known as the "Architect of the Holy Land" by creating, among many others, the pilgrimage churches at the Garden of Gethsemane, on Mount Tabor, on the Mount of Beatitudes, and at the tomb of Lazarus in Bethany. He also restored, giving them a new outlook, several churches and chapels including the Catholic chapel on Calvary, within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Most of his work was done on commission for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, with whom he was affiliated as a layman rather than as a professed member.
Alberto Gori, OFM was a Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and Custodian of the Holy Land.
Giuseppe Nazzaro, OFM was an Emeritus bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Aleppo, Custodian of the Holy Land and a polyglot.
The Jerusalem Pilgrim's Cross is an honour of the Holy See awarded in the name of the Pope as a recognition of merit to pilgrims to the Holy Land.
San Vivaldo Monastery is a Roman Catholic convent, church, and sanctuary complex located outside of the town of Montaione, region of Tuscany, Italy. The eighteen distinct chapels on this hill, putatively corresponding to sites of the Holy Land, and containing vivid polychrome statuary groupings recalling events of the New Testament, specially the Passion of Jesus, are one of the few examples of the Sacri Monti complexes in Tuscany. Sacri Monti are more characteristic expressions of veneration in the Piedmont and Lombardy. The convent still houses the franciscan order.
The Church of Saint Catherine or Chapel of Saint Catherine is a Catholic religious building located adjacent to the northern part of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestine. It works as a parish church and Franciscan monastery. There is a complex of caves underneath the church.
Pierbattista Pizzaballa is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since 6 November 2020. A Franciscan friar, he served as Custos of the Holy Land from 2004 to 2016, Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate from 2016 to 2020, and was made a cardinal by Pope Francis on 30 September 2023.
The Terra Sancta Museum is a network of museums managed by the Custody of the Holy Land and located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It originated from the first "Museum of the Franciscan Fathers" opened in 1902 to exhibit the results of archaeological excavations conducted in the Holy Land by the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. Today it includes the Terra Sancta Museum - Archaeology situated at the Church of the Flagellation and the Terra Sancta Museum - Art and History located at the Monastery of Saint Saviour.
The Monastery Saint Claire, also known as the Convent of Mary's Fear and by other names, is a convent of the Poor Clares on Tremor Hill in southern Nazareth, Israel. Established in 1884, it is primarily known for the productive time the now-sainted Charles de Foucauld spent there at the end of the 19th century. Expelled from the Ottoman Empire at the onset of World War I, the nuns of the abbey relocated to Malta, founding a new community there. The Sisters of St Clare returned to Nazareth in 1949 but used newer facilities on 3105 Street on the north slope of Tremor Hill. Their former location beside what is now Paulus HaShishi Street was repaired by the Servants of Charity for use as a special needs school in the 1970s.
