An Interview with The Custodians of the Holy Land

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The Custodians of the Holy Land are the Franciscans.  They belong to a religious Order in the Catholic Church, the Order of Friars Minor, the Franciscans founded by Saint Francis of Assisi.
Over the course of time, this province of the Franciscan Order took the name “Custody of the Holy Land.”  They consider themselves a group of Christian men who have been called by God from every corner of the world on a special mission to watch over His house.  Their motto is Franciscans serving the Holy Land also known as CUSTODIA TERRAE SANCTAE.
Communication has always been an important role in the Custody of the Holy Land.  The custodial communication office, which coordinates various communication activities, is located at the Monastery of St. Savior, in Jerusalem.
The inauguration of the Franciscan Media Center took place on January 12, 2008.  In 2014 the Franciscan Media Center became known as (CMC).

In this Catholic Stand exclusive interview with Father Alberto Pari, the Holy Land Secretary, we discuss the role and the mission of the Franciscans as the custodians of the Holy Land.

Francisco: Father Alberto, how do you describe the role of the Franciscans as the Custodians of the Holy Land?

Father Alberto: The Franciscan of the Holy Land received a special task from the Vatican in the 14th century to preserve the holy sites of Christianity; this is the main occupation of the Friars for 800 years. Preserving the holy sites doesn’t mean just preserving stones but particularly the “living stones”: the local Christians.

Francisco: Talk about the role of Saint Francis of Assisi in founding this religious order.

Father Alberto: Saint Francis wanted to create a community of men who will devote their lives to serving God and human beings in a way to be closer to the style of the first community of disciples of Christ.

Francisco: Why do you have two offices in Jerusalem and in Nazareth?

Father Alberto: The Cancao Nova community, which leads the Christian Media Center based in Jerusalem, has also another small media center in Nazareth due to the lively activity of the Sanctuary, the staff there is always ready to cover the live stream of liturgies and the daily procession to the Annunciation grotto and especially the candle procession of the rosary every Saturday night. Events and news from the galilee are also covered by this team.

Francisco: How challenging is the role of the Secretary of the Holy Land?

Father Alberto: The secretary of the Holy Land is the legal representative for the whole community of the Custody of the Holy Land, and is helping the Custos and his Government to organize the life of the mission of the Franciscans in the Middle East. He prepares and signs all the official documents that the Secretary’s office produces every day and keeps the relationships with the different Churches and Diplomatic delegations in Jerusalem.

Francisco: Why did you become a Priest?

Father Alberto: Every vocation starts from a call from God; we easily can say that we didn’t choose to become brothers and priests but God has chosen me and my brothers to serve Him.

Francisco: How can people receive Terra Sancta News and what is your website?

Father Alberto: The news of the CMC is broadcast in different countries around the world every week on Friday, on the website of the CMC is possible to see also small news daily and many TV channels around the world show the weekly news in their programs usually on Saturdays. The website of the CMC is: https://www.cmc-terrasanta.org/en

Francisco: How many pilgrims visit the Holy Land every year and what countries do they mostly come from?

Father Alberto: Before the Coovid time, millions of pilgrims came to visit the Holy Land, the last years were very crowded. Now slowly the pilgrimages are coming back, and we hope will continue.

Francisco: How important is the Internet in promoting your message?

Father Alberto: The Internet became very important for us because immediately people can see from everywhere what we are doing, the projects that we are leading, and follow our liturgies without being present physically. Also, vocational promotion found on Internet an interesting role because before one young man can know and meet us just if he had the occasion to be here with a pilgrimage.

Francisco: Describe your partnership with the Cancao Community and what do they do.

Father Alberto: Cancao Nova is a religious community that devotes itself to spreading the good news of the Gospel and the message of the Catholic Church through media. In the Holy Land, we have a communication center that works daily to collect news to spread around the world about Christianity in the Middle East and in the Holy Land. Every week a TV News package is produced and delivered to more than 70 countries with the news about what happened in the Holy Land, events, liturgies, and small documentaries.

Francisco: How does Custody of the Holy Land help the local Christian community?

Father Alberto: Because of the fragile situation of Israel and Palestine, the number of Christians is very limited and their lives here are difficult after revolutions and wars many of them fled the country. In order to avoid this reality the Custody of the Holy Land helps them in three main fields: offering them houses to live, schools for their education, and working places and opportunities.

Francisco: How do the major faiths get along in this part of the world?

Father Alberto: Another important task of the Franciscans of the Custody is the interfaith dialogue that is based in meetings and encounters to reduce walls between cultures and faiths and to build bridges. The social and political reality is not helping in these activities but signs of hope are growing every year.

Francisco: What does the Franciscan Children’s home in Bethlehem do for local children?

Father Alberto: The project is mainly based on giving the possibility to children coming from a family background very fragile to have a family and a proper house, with educational experts helping them to have a daily life in peace and order. The leader of this project is always a Franciscan Friar of the Custody.

Francisco: What do people expect to see at the Terra Sancta Museum?

The Terra Sancta Museum is a huge project that will see the light in two years and will be the first museum in the Holy Land giving the public the possibility to discover the treasures and the antiquities of the history of two thousand years of the church in this land. There will be parts dedicated to sacred objects, to icons, to vestments, music, books, decorations, and everything the Custody has received as donations through the ages from Kings and pilgrims.

Francisco: How is the Church at the service of the “Culture of Peace”?

Father Alberto: The Franciscans of the Holy Land have been working for peace and reconciliation among peoples and cultures and religions since they start living in this land; this is what they continue doing operating especially in education and dialogue.

Francisco: How many Sanctuaries do you have in the Holy Land?

Father Alberto: Every place that guards a memory of the Gospel has a sanctuary of the Custody, holy places are not just in Israel and Palestine but everywhere a disciple of the first generation arrives to preach the Gospel, so also in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Libanon, Cyprus, and Rome. In all these countries we have convents and sanctuaries, more or less 60 different locations.

Francisco: Name some of the most important Holy places in the Holy Land.

Father Alberto: In Jerusalem: the Holy Sepulchre, the Dominus flevit, the Gethsemane, the Cenacle. Bethlehem and the Nativity grotto, in Nazareth the Annunciation place, on the sea of Galilee: Capharnaum, The place of the multiplication of bread, the Mount Tabor, Nain, Tiberias, Magdala.

Francisco: There was a fascinating article on spiritdaily.com a few months ago about the excavation dig at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  Why are you doing this excavation and what are the implications for the world?

Father Alberto: The five different Christian communities sharing the church of the Holy Sepulcher agreed on a huge project to restore the pavement around the tomb of Christ. While the stones are removed to be cleaned and restored the archeologists have the occasion to excavate and research what is under. This is a unique project and the world is expecting some new reports after the excavation.

Francisco: Who was the first Pope to visit Holy Land and how many came after that visit?

Father Alberto: St. Paul VI was the first Pope after St. Peter visited the Holy Land; after him St John Paul II,  pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis.

 

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3 thoughts on “An Interview with The Custodians of the Holy Land”

  1. Pingback: The Custodians of the Holy Land for 800 Years – Conventual Franciscans

  2. Pingback: MONDAY EDITION – Big Pulpit

  3. Francisco… once again you have brought an enlightenment to your story … this one hits home personally for me as I have visited the holy land and in particular lathe lands of which you talk about in the article…thank you for sharing… god bless … can’t wait for your next article…

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