The Christian celebrations of Holy Week continue in Jerusalem, but under conditions strictly supervised by the security context. Following an agreement with the Israeli police, Catholic officials were able to organize services at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, without the presence of the public.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, led Holy Thursday prayers behind closed doors, while the city’s main holy sites remain closed due to the ongoing war with Iran. Israeli authorities have validated a “limited prayer framework”, restricting ceremonies to a reduced number of clergy and religious personnel for the whole of Holy Week.
In this exceptional context, the cardinal described an atmosphere marked by the contrast between interior meditation and exterior tensions. “There is a tension that we cannot ignore: outside, the doors of the Holy Sepulcher are closed. The war transformed this place into a refuge,” he said. “We are here as if in a space of peace, while the world around us is torn apart,” he added, expressing the wish to see the situation calm down.
This agreement comes after an incident that occurred a few days earlier, when the police prevented the patriarch from accessing the church, citing security reasons linked to Iranian missile attacks. This decision sparked strong reactions internationally.
Despite the restrictions, the religious authorities chose to maintain the celebrations, adapted to the constraints imposed by the security situation, in order to preserve spiritual continuity in a climate of crisis.
