“France needed to hear directly from a pastor who lives side by side with the people of the Holy Land every day.” With these words, Msgr. Hugues de Woillemont, Director General of L’Œuvre d’Orient, expressed the deeper meaning behind the visit of His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to France from June 8 to 14, accompanied by Msgr. William Shomali, General Vicar, and Fr. Davide Meli, Chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate.
Invited jointly by L’Œuvre d’Orient and the Shrine of Paray-le-Monial, where he presided over the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus under the theme “Jerusalem, the First City of the Heart of Jesus,” Cardinal Pizzaballa’s visit was more than a series of official meetings and liturgical celebrations. It became a moment of encounter between the Church in France and the living reality of the Church of Jerusalem, carried through the voice and witness of its shepherd.
During his stay, the Patriarch met Church leaders, French civil authorities, and thousands of faithful, sharing with them the hopes, sufferings, and perseverance of the Christian communities of the Holy Land. Since the outbreak of the current conflict, many voices have spoken about the region; yet, as Msgr. de Woillemont noted, few can convey the human, spiritual, and pastoral depth of a shepherd whose daily ministry embraces Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Jordan.
This article draws on an exclusive interview with Msgr. Hugues de Woillemont, Director General of L’Œuvre d’Orient, together with coverage of Cardinal Pizzaballa’s recent visit to France.
A Gesture of Recognition
A highlight of the visit was Cardinal Pizzaballa's reception at the Élysée Palace, where President Emmanuel Macron conferred upon him the insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honor in recognition of his longstanding commitment to dialogue, justice, peaceful coexistence, and his service to the people of the Holy Land.
The Patriarch saw this recognition not just for himself, but for all the people of the Holy Land, as well as the French institutions working on the ground, serving the vulnerable, through hospitals and schools.
Throughout the visit, French authorities reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the Christian presence in the Holy Land, safeguarding the historical Status Quo of the Holy Places in Jerusalem, and continuing humanitarian assistance.
President Emmanuel Macron confers upon the Patriarch the insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honour
A Pastoral Voice from the Holy Land
During his stay in Paris, Cardinal Pizzaballa met with the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, as well as members of the Permanent Council of the French Bishops' Conference. The meetings provided an opportunity to share the reality of daily life in the Holy Land and the mission of the local Church, offering a first-hand perspective at a time when the region remains at the center of important international discussions.
For Msgr. Hugues de Woillemont, the visit also brought renewed attention to an often overlooked dimension: the mission of Christians in the Holy Land is not limited to responding to humanitarian needs. “It also involves supporting their specific vocation: to remain in this land, to sustain educational, social, and ecclesial institutions, and to continue to be artisans of dialogue and peace,” he said.
“They are often mentioned when they are under threat,” he added, “but far less when they continue to live, teach, provide care, pray, and serve their communities.” This continuity of daily life, he emphasized, is itself a form of witness. In this sense, the Patriarch’s message went beyond the language of crisis, Msgr. de Woillemont observed. “He came to speak of a future for the people of the Holy Land.
Card. Pizzaballa meeting with representatives of Catholic education at the headquarters of the Diocesan Directorate of Catholic Education in Paris on On June 10, 2026.
From "the Holy City" to "the City of the Sacred Heart"
The second part of the visit brought Cardinal Pizzaballa to the Shrine of Paray-le-Monial, where he presided over the celebrations for the Feast of the Sacred Heart. The choice of Paray-le-Monial carried deep significance, as the place of the apparitions of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, allowing pilgrims to reconnect this devotion with its biblical source in Jerusalem, where Christ revealed the fullness of divine love through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
In his homily on the Feast Day, Cardinal Pizzaballa invited the faithful to contemplate the Heart of Christ not as a private devotion, but as the source of all Christian life. Reflecting on the readings, he emphasized the gratuitous love of God, who freely chooses, creates, and sustains humanity. As he explained, "The love of God is the source of everything. Out of love God creates, out of love God saves, out of love God leads, and for the same love Jesus came among us." From this conviction flows the Christian vocation: not to rely solely on human effort, but to respond to the love that precedes us. As the Patriarch continued, "The life of the world does not depend first on our own efforts, but on God's love that sustains us. We become builders of love only insofar as we respond to that love." He concluded by reminding the faithful that the Heart of Christ is the place where believers encounter this love and find the strength to carry their burdens, for Christ does not promise a life without difficulties, but His presence in the midst of them.
"Before our answer there is a call; before any merit from our side, there is the gratuitousness of God," inviting Christians to understand their lives as a response to the love they have first received.
Card. Pizzaballa giving the homily during the Mass for the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Looking back on the visit, Msgr. Hugues de Woillemont emphasized the coherence of the Patriarch’s message throughout the week, from official meetings to moments of prayer in Paray-le-Monial. At its core was a single invitation: to face reality without yielding to the dehumanization of others, and to believe that reconciliation remains possible.
“Cardinal Pizzaballa does not minimize any suffering, nor does he sidestep any difficulty,” he said, “but he refuses to consider reconciliation impossible. In the current context, these words carry particular weight.”
For Msgr. de Woillemont, this perspective also sheds light on the vocation of Christians in the Holy Land: not only to endure hardship, but to remain, to educate, to serve, and to sustain spaces of encounter in a fractured society.
Shared call to keep one’s heart open
It is no coincidence that the visit culminated in Paray-le-Monial. “Between Jerusalem and Paray,” he noted, “there is a shared call to keep the heart open.”
In his encounters with public leaders, Church representatives, and pilgrims gathered in prayer, he presented the Church of Jerusalem not merely as a community marked by hardship, but as a living witness entrusted with proclaiming the dignity of the human person, guarding the possibility of communion, and making present the love of Christ in a land still scarred by division and conflict.
