“It is hoped that the Christian Information Center can stand as a beacon of hope and unity among all the Christian Churches and Institutions who work for the benefit of the local Christian community, whose faith started here in this Holy Land, and also a bridge of dialogue and reconciliation at an interreligious and social level in this Holy City for Jews, Christians and Muslims.”
Fr. Jerzy Kraj, ofm, director of the CIC
On May 23rd and 24th, 2023, the Christian Information Center (CIC), located at the intersection of the Christian and Armenian quarters, opposite the Jaffa Gate, marked its 50th anniversary since its creation in 1973. Founded by the Custody of the Holy Land in order to “serve pilgrims, tourists and the local community” it was “conceived as a modest ‘bridge’ between all the Churches”, to provide information and cultural activities to the Christians of the Holy Land and abroad.
To mark the center’s 50th anniversary, the center held a celebration that included speeches by Fr. Jerzy Kraj, the center’s director, Fr. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Narcyz Klimas and Sr. Naomi Zimmermann, who gave a brief history of the center, and finally Fr. Tomasz Dubiel, who presented the exhibition “Experience of the Resurrection”, inaugurated during his mandate as director – as well as performances by members of the Magnificat institute, led by Fr. Alberto Pari. The celebration was notably attended by His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mgr Adolfo Tito Yllana, Apostolic Nuncio to the Holy Land, and Mgr Rafiq Nahra, Patriarchal Vicar for Israel.
Cécile Leca