Supporting Christians living in the Holy Land, the Pontifical Good Friday Collection – taken up annually in parishes worldwide on Good Friday – is vital to the care of Christians and the holy places they help preserve.
Coordinating this vital support is the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, Washington, D.C. As part of their mission, these Franciscans are part of a worldwide network of Commissariats of the Holy Land, working as bridges between the Holy Land and Christians across the globe.
“It is vital that we support Christians living in the Holy Land, in order to maintain a Christian presence in the very land made holy by the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus,” their website explains.
For 800 years the Church has entrusted the Holy Land of the Christian religion to the guardianship of the Holy Land Friars of the Order of St. Francis. Their work includes the support of schools and missions there, care for refugees and other people in need throughout the region – increasingly important, with rising conflict in the Holy Land and the Middle East, and the Jerusalem Barrier Wall, all of which have contributed to a declining Christian population in the region. Lack of employment and education opportunities have made it difficult for families to stay in their homes and keep Christianity alive there.
Thanks to support from the Good Friday collection, the Holy Land Franciscans currently support 29 Catholic parishes, four homes for orphans and three academic institutions; operate 16 schools for more than 10,000 pre-K through grade 12 students that are open to all faiths and currently serve Muslims and Jews in addition to the Christians in the Holy Land. They provide emergency funds, university scholarships, rehabilitation or relocation for Christians whose homes have been destroyed, assist Syrian and Iraqi refugee families in Jordan and Lebanon, operate senior care facilities in Bethlehem and Nazareth, create jobs and support more than 100 men preparing to be priests or brothers. They also preserve 74 sanctuaries and shrines from the life of Jesus and the prophets.
Also funded by the collection is the Christian Media Center operated by the Franciscans, which tells the story of the Holy Land through multimedia distributed throughout the world in more than seven languages. The friars organize liturgical celebrations for local Christians and pilgrims and share with other Christian communities in the Holy Land in ongoing ecumenical cooperation
To donate, contribute to the Pontifical Good Friday Collection in your parish, or visit myfranciscan.org/donate.