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Marinella Bandini

Marinella Bandini

Monsignor Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French Bishops Conference, presides over the Mass that took place on Sept. 14, 2024, at Maison Abraham (Abraham House) in Jerusalem during the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of its foundation as a pilgrim guest house run by Secours Catholique-Caritas France. / Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

New Pilgrimage Brings Christians, Muslims, and Jews Together in Holy Land at Abraham House

On Sept. 14 in Jerusalem, a new pilgrimage called “Pilgrims of Hope Way” was inaugurated at the 60th anniversary celebration...

An external view of the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem during the procession of the Franciscan friars after the first vespers of the Ascension solemnity on May 8, 2024. The procession circled the chapel three times. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Catholics Ascend to Mount Olives, Site of Jesus’ Ascension, Only Day They Can Use Chapel Currently Under Muslim Control

“I’m excited to have come to pray in the actual place of the Ascension... I want to be closer to...

Catholics in Gaza are Burying Dead in Muslim Cemeteries

Muslim cemeteries have opened to receive the bodies of Christians and give them a dignified burial. 

With the incense burned from the newly blessed fire, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, incenses the "Stone of Anointing," located at the entrance of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, where, according to tradition, the body of Jesus was anointed and prepared with aromatic oils for burial. March 30, 2024. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

"The mother of all holy vigils": Jerusalem Basilica is First Place to Announce Easter

In the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, the church of the Lord’s resurrection, the Easter Vigil is held on Saturday...

On Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. They prayed the “station” dedicated to the column during the daily procession that the Franciscans perform inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. At the end, they intoned the hymn “Columna nobilis” and then, one by one, they performed an act of veneration. March 27, 2024. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

Holy Wednesday in Jerusalem: Venerating the Pillar of Christ’s Flagellation

In Jerusalem on Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according...

The apostolic nuncio to Jordan, Bishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, speaks during an interview with CNA at the headquarters of the apostolic nunciature in Amman on Jan. 11, 2024. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

Nuncio Highlights Jordan’s Unique Role in Holy Land Church Today

Bishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, who became the first resident nuncio to Jordan one year ago, says the Church there...

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa blesses the people with the water he previously collected from the River Jordan. The cardinal presided over the Mass of the Feast of Baptism, on Friday, January 12, near the Jordan River. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

Thousands Gather at Jordan River with Patriarch to Mark Baptism of Jesus

For 2,000 years, since Jesus descended into the waters of the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist,...

On the afternoon of Jan. 6, three Franciscan friars portrayed the Magi in Bethlehem. After the Second Vespers of the Epiphany, they descended in the Grotto of the Nativity, in Bethlehem, where they brought their gifts to the places of Jesus' manifestation. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

The Magi reach Bethlehem, finding smaller crowd of faithful amid ongoing war

The Magi made their appearance for the recitation of the Second Vespers of the Epiphany, marking the conclusion of the...

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke about the "courage" and the "madness" of working for peace during his homily during the Mass of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God, on Jan. 1, 2024, in the Pro-Cathedral of the Latin Patriarchate, in Jerusalem. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

The Church in the Holy Land Rings in the New Year with Pleas for Peace

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, urged the faithful "to cherish the desire for encounter, to cultivate freedom...

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presides over the Christmas Midnight Mass in the Church of St. Catherine in Bethlehem. With him, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, papal envoy, H. E. Adolfo Tito Yllana, Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine, and the bishops of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem concelebrated. Dec. 25, 2023. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

Midnight Mass in Bethlehem: Patriarch Addresses Gazan Christians, Calls for End to War

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presided over midnight Mass for Christmas at the Church of St. Catherine...

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, 2023. | Credit: Marinella Bandini, Catholic News Agency

Israel-Hamas War Casts Pall over Christmas Eve Vespers in Bethlehem

At Bethlehem’s Basilica of the Nativity, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa presided over the first vespers of Christmas.

A moment at the vigil in preparation for Christmas, held on Dec. 22 at the Church of St Saviour in Jerusalem. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

Catholics in the Holy Land Gather at Prayer Vigil to Prepare for Christmas

The weekend before Christmas began with an evening of prayer and music at the Church of St. Saviour, the Latin...

The famous Banksy’s Armored Dove of Peace, the painting of a peace dove wearing a flak jacket. The dove is painted on a wall near the separation wall between Bethlehem (Palestinian Territories) and Israel. Nov. 18, 2023. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Christmas Celebrations Canceled in Bethlehem in the Midst of War

The strands of lights are falling down one after another, forming a kind of curtain of threads in front of...

Weekday Mass is celebrated in the Church of Sts. Simeon and Anne in Jerusalem, where the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community (keilla) gathers together. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

"A battle inside us": Hebrew Catholics in the Holy Land Wrestle with Challenges of War

The Israel-Hamas war has brought challenges to Hebrew Catholics in Israel, but the diverse and vibrant community holds on to...

Daily procession of the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land (Calvary, Latin Chapel), Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem. Oct. 9, 2023. | Credit: Marinella Bandini

In the Holy Land, Franciscans are Keeping Doors to Holy Sites Open — for Now

On Saturday, Oct. 7, Israel suddenly found itself in a state of war. A barrage of rockets from the Gaza...

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. | Credit: Jorge Lascar via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

New Discoveries May Change What We Know About Jerusalem’s Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher

Ongoing archaeological investigations have now allowed scientists to trace “the entire material history of the religious complex.”