As every year since 1974, when Pope Paul VI instituted it with the Apostolic Exhortation Nobis in animo, on the 3rd April, Good Friday, the Collection for the Holy Land will take place in all the Catholic churches of the world.
A gesture of solidarity and ecclesial communion with the Mother Church of Jerusalem that this year acquires an even more important value for the maintenance of the Holy Places and above all for Christians who live in a land devastated by war.
The Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, invites the Friars of the whole Order to take up and take care of this year's Collection in a special way, with all possible initiatives to raise awareness, inform and ask for concrete support for Christians in the Middle East, where the Friars Minor have been present since the time of St. Francis.
In his Letter, the Custos of the Holy Land, Br. Francesco Ielpo, recalls how the war conflict brought destruction and death to Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. Countries where Christian communities suffer the direct and indirect consequences of the war: not only bombings, but also the absence of pilgrims, which "has aggravated an already deep economic and employment crisis," writes the Custos. "Many Christian families, who drew sustenance from the Holy Places and from activities related to pilgrimages, are now in great difficulty. The lack of security and work makes it increasingly difficult to support families and, even more, to imagine a future for young people and for the new generations," continues Br. Ielpo.
With the Good Friday Collection, it will be possible to "support schools, parishes, charitable works, social projects and emergency interventions, keeping alive the Christian presence in the places where Christianity was born", giving great importance to education, the only true key to a culture of dialogue, encounter and peace.
The Prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, Card. Claudio Gugerotti, in his Letter published on the 16th March 2025, addressed to the Catholic Bishops of the world, launched an appeal in support of the Collection: "Weapons continue to fire, people to die, lands to be disputed, Christians to emigrate to save their lives. Even schools do not often receive teachers because they are not allowed to pass".
The cardinal invites us to prayer, to hope – "God is our hope" – and to a concrete gesture "to help our brothers and sisters in extreme danger to live one day longer, to find the possibility of hope and to start again".
A sign of conversion, communion, closeness, and fraternity with those suffering the consequences of war, not forgetting the words of Pope Leo pronounced during the Angelus on the 15th March: "On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and of all women and men of good will, I address those responsible for this conflict: Hold your fire! Let us reopen paths of dialogue! Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace that the people await."
Read the Letter of the Custos of the Holy Land: Italiano - English - Español
Read the Letter of Card. Gugerotti: Italiano - English - Español
