Holy Land

Holy Week in the Holy Land is unfolding in unprecedented silence, as war-related restrictions have left sacred sites largely without the faithful.

An agreement has been reached with Israeli authorities to allow Holy Week and Easter celebrations to take place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Franciscan Father Francesco Ielpo, the custos of the Holy Land, were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Israeli police on Palm Sunday.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said wartime restrictions have forced the cancellation or postponement of key Holy Week observances, urging the faithful to remain united in prayer despite the inability to gather for traditional celebrations.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre remains a place of continuous prayer despite restricted access to the faithful, according to a statement released March 21 by the Custody of the Holy Land.

Israeli authorities closed Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre as part of wider closures for security concerns.

As retaliatory strikes from Iran, as well as from Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, continued, people in the Holy Land -- especially Christians -- face a dire present and an uncertain future.

As Lent begins in Jerusalem, the usually crowded streets of the Old City remain quiet, with only a small number of international pilgrims.

Franciscan Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, is urging pilgrims to return to a land nearly devoid of pilgrims over the last two years not only as an opportunity to be where Christ was, but also as a sign of solidarity with Christians in the area whose livelihoods depend on pilgrims.

For the first time in six centuries, restoration work will begin at the sacred grotto of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, where tradition holds Jesus was born. The project represents unprecedented cooperation among Christian denominations.