Cardinal Claudio Guggerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, called on the faithful around the world to take part in the Good Friday collection aimed at helping Christian communities in the Holy Land.
good friday collection One of the primary sources of support for the Custody of the Holy Land is the Franciscan Order, which for centuries has protected sites related to the life of Christ and supported the Christian communities living in the area.
The Prefect called on the faithful around the world to respond with a concrete gesture of solidarity. “I would like to present to you a small initiative: to contribute a little of my wealth to help my brothers and sisters who find themselves in extreme distress, to live another day, to find hope, and to find the possibility of starting anew.”
“How many times have I personally met Christian minorities who wake up every morning and face the threat that they no longer have a place to live!” Guggerotti wrote in the March 18 letter, which was also signed by the secretary of the dicastery, Archbishop Michel Jalakh.
The Cardinal said, “Help us to give them concrete hope, not just words of consolation – for we who visit them will go away, while they live with their fears, even with the fear that, because they are Christians, they may be exterminated.”
The Cardinal explained that Good Friday charity has a double importance: on the one hand, providing material assistance to people living amid war and poverty, and on the other, challenging the conscience of the faithful.
“It is also important for us, because without sacrifice, without real change in the way we live, we risk remaining passive in the face of a world in flames – and thus becoming complicit in its destruction,” he said.
Guggerotti said many Christians in the Holy Land have lost their means of livelihood, especially those who depended on religious tourism, which historically sustained a large portion of the local economy.
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, causing a sharp decline in religious tourism.
“A large number of Christians in the Holy Land have lost everything, even the work they get from serving pilgrims,” he said.
By early 2025, Israel’s Ministry of Tourism With 1.3 million international arrivals, this year marked a turning point. However, 2026 has once again proven to be a highly problematic year for pilgrimages, primarily due to the military escalation by the United States and Israel against Iran, which has thrown the entire region into crisis.
The sharp decline in pilgrimages and the prevailing climate of insecurity have further worsened the situation. “Now, because of fear, almost everyone avoids going to those countries,” he said.
What is done with the money collected?
In 2023 – the most recent year for which official data is available – Holy Land collections raised 6,571,893 euros ($7.5 million).
The Custody of the Holy Land usually receives 65% of the income, while the remaining 35% goes to the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, which uses it to fund the formation of priests and to subsidize various dioceses and eparchy in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Iraq.
The Custody of the Holy Land typically invests 20% of the funds received in the maintenance of the sites. where Jesus Christ walked, while the remainder goes to Christian families, who made up 20% of the local population in 1948 but now account for less than 1.4%.
In the Gaza Strip, it collaborates with Latin parishes and the Atfa-Luna Association to provide psycho-social support to “about 1,000 children and 300 adults”, as well as distributing emergency kits and aid to families of disabled people.
In Lebanon, the Church responded to the 2024 crisis (fighting between Israel and Hezbollah) by providing “hot meals for about 500 beneficiaries every day” and ensuring “drinking water for about 250 people every day.”
The Custody of the Holy Land also manages hundreds of housing units at nominal rents to prevent emigration.
The Cardinal said, “It has been said that peace has been achieved; however, even though the media today talk about it much less than before, shootings continue, people are dying, land remains disputed and Christians are fleeing to save their lives.”
According to 2023 data released by the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, 2,376,167 euros ($2.7 million) were donated to seminaries, houses of religious formation and cultural institutions.
The Franciscan Custody allocated more than 2 million euros ($2.3 million) for the education of youth in the Holy Land in 2023, funding scholarships at various universities in the region.
About 1 million euros ($1.15 million) were allocated to the Pontifical Oriental Institute, which now incorporates the Pontifical Gregorian University, on the instructions of Pope Francis.
A portion was also invested in Bethlehem University, one of the prestigious underwriting foundations. An academic study of 3,300 youth, both Muslim and Christian, was conducted with the aim of educating them to build a future of peace in the Holy Land.
A solid gesture: Giving is a ‘strong signal of trust’
In his message, the Cardinal invited bishops and pastoral leaders to raise awareness among the faithful of the importance of maintaining the Christian presence in the places where Christianity was born.
“Let us ensure that our people approach the collection with the awareness that giving is a strong sign of trust,” he wrote. He said, “A holy land without believers is a lost land, because the living memory of salvation is lost.”
“Pope Leo XIV never ceases to bring to our hearts and minds a commitment to unite, so that there can be peace – not a temporary truce, not permanent hatred, not huge spending on arms, but a contribution to our common rebirth,” the cardinal wrote.
The bishop concluded his letter by acknowledging that the collection would be only “a drop in the ocean,” but that “the ocean, as a result of losing its drops, is turning into a desert.”
except for Assistant The Franciscan mission in the Holy Land aims to protect holy places, sustain local Christian communities and promote peace in the region where Jesus lived, the cardinal said, adding Christians can actively contribute to support this work and inspire new vocations by praying or making pilgrimages to discover the roots of Christianity.
this story was first published By ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language affiliate of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
