HOLY LAND - On Wednesday, March 2, which Pope Francis has called a day of fasting and prayer for peace, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, will preside over the Mass of Ash Wednesday in the Co-Cathedral of the Latin Patriarchate at 9:00 a.m. Another Mass at the Holy Sepulchre will be held by the Franciscans at 6:30 a.m.

During Lent, there will be a solemn entry in the Holy Sepulchre every Saturday afternoon except for March 26th and April 2nd, after a procession that will begin at the Latin Patriarchate.

A Mass will also be celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre at 6:30 a.m., on the altar of Mary Magdalene, every Sunday without exception. The Mass will be always preceded by a procession from the Latin Patriarchate.

NB: the clock used at the Holy Sepulchre for the application of the status quo never changes. Starting from March 25, 2022, following the change to daylight saving time in Jerusalem (GMT+3), the services will be shifted by one hour (e.g., after March 25, 2022, Sunday morning Masses will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m., local time).

The Patriarch will celebrate the Mass in honor of the Feast of St. Joseph on Saturday, March 19, in Nazareth, at 5:30 p.m.

On Friday, March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation will be celebrated during a Mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation, in Nazareth, at 10:00 a.m., following the Vespers ceremonies and a Vigil on Thursday evening.

Throughout this period, the highlights of Lent will be broadcast in real-time by the Christian Media Center.

The Custody is also making available to the faithful a calendar indicating the dates, times and places of the main ceremonies conducted by the Franciscans of the Holy Land.

As every year, starting from March 16, a Mass will be celebrated every week in the Holy Places commemorating the Passion of Our Lord, usually on Wednesday afternoon, by the Franciscans, in the name of the whole Church. Last year, upon these occasions, Fr. Lukasz Popko, a Dominican father belonging to the Convent of St. Stephen and a member of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF), preached beautiful homilies - some excerpts of which can be found on the Custody's website, listed in chronological order.