Pope Francis has asked our parish to support the Pontifical Good Friday Collection, which helps Christians in the Holy Land. Your support helps the church minister in parishes, provide Catholic schools and offer religious education.
The Pontifical Good Friday Collection also helps to preserve the sacred shrines. The wars, unrest and instability have been especially hard on Christians. In these times of crisis, the Pontifical Good Friday Collection provides humanitarian aid to refugees. When you contribute to the Pontifical Good Friday Collection, you become an instrument of peace and join with Catholics around the world in solidarity with the Church in the Holy Land.
About the Collection
The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America is the home of a world-wide Commissariat of Friars Minor and monasteries who function as bridges between the Holy Land and Christians all over the world. The Commissariat offices here at the Monastery in Washington, D.C. coordinate the vital support for the work of the Franciscans who work in the Holy Land.
The Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land have the unique responsibility of caring for the Holy Places as well as caring for the Christians living in the Holy Land. It is vital that we care for the Christians living in the Holy Land in order to maintain a Christian presence in a land that is filled with a majority Islamic and Jewish population.
Impact from the Collection
- Faith, Memory & Culture: The Holy Places – Holy Land Franciscans staff and maintain the Holy places and shrines. This enables those who live in the Holy Land and those who visit to deepen their faith and their spiritual and cultural connection to Salvation history.
- Social & Charitable Activities – In order to assist Christians to remain in the Holy Land, including the poor and young couples, the Custody builds thousands of residential units. Additionally, they build senior care facilities. Medical assistance is provided for the needy.
- Educational & Scientific Activities – The Franciscans operate and support schools open to all, regardless of religion or nationality. They provide scholarships for students to prepare them to get jobs and remain in the Holy Land as part of living Catholic communities. Funds are distributed to young men studying to become Franciscan priests or brothers. Finally, Franciscan archaeologists pursue ongoing research at the Holy Places discovering historical artifacts.
- Pastoral Activities – The Franciscans provide pastoral care in 29 parishes in the Holy Land offering Worship, Christian Formation, youth and family programs.
- Liturgical, Ecumenical and Communications Programs – The Franciscan Media Center tells the story of the Holy Land through multimedia distributed throughout the world in more than seven languages. The friars organize Liturgical Celebrations for the local Christians and Pilgrims and share with other Christian communities in the Holy Land in ongoing Ecumenical cooperation.