Easter in the Holy Land

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Thousands of pilgrims from around the world celebrated Easter in the Holy Land, commemorating the day when according to Christian tradition Jesus was resurrected in Jerusalem two millennia ago.


Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal led Mass at the Holy Sepulchre church in Jerusalem on Sunday. The site is where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.


In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, worshipers prayed and lit candles at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.

Easter was also celebrated in Gaza where less than three thousand Christians live among about 1.7 million Muslims.


Christian communities in the Holy Land, as well as elsewhere in the Middle East, have been declining in recent years due to regional turmoil.


Easter in the Holy Land

 

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and Head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Fuad Twal (C), leads an Easter Sunday mass in the Church of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City on April 20, 2014. (photo credit: AFP PHOTO/GALI TIBBON)


Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine and Syria in an Easter Sunday address before 150,000 faithful in which he also condemned the “neglect and dire poverty” behind the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa.


“We ask you to enlighten and inspire the initiatives that promote peace in Ukraine,” the Catholic leader said in his prayer for the holiday, which this year coincides with Easter in the Orthodox calendar.


Five rockets fired from the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel during this Easter Monday morning. No one was injured. Military officials said they had not responded to the salvo.


But residents of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza said an Israeli helicopter opened fire there, though it was not clear what it was targeting.
Pope Francis is due to visit the Holy Land from the 24th to the 26th of May.


Vatican Radio spoke to The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal who spoke to us about Easter in the Holy Land especially in light of the Pope’s upcoming visit there.


He says, that in this season of Easter in the Holy Land despite the problems in the region, … “we want to be at the same time a Church of Resurrection, of hope of welcoming of collaboration with all of us.”


Listen Easter in the Holy Land


Source: timesofisrael.com, en.radiovaticana.va (Apr. 21, 2014)