Living the Jubilee of Mercy in the Holy Land

On Sunday, December 13, in the Basilica of the Agony at Gethsemane, Msgr. Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, opened the Holy Year of Mercy in Jerusalem.

Two other Holy Doors allow pilgrims to live the Jubilee: one that was opened in Bethlehem on December 24, at the Latin Church of St. Catherine – beside the basilica which was built on the site where Jesus was born – and the other in Nazareth on December 27, the Feast of the Holy Family, at the Basilica of the Annunciation.

Other Jubilee Doors are also open in the Holy Land, dedicated more closely to the local communities. In particular, with regard to Catholics belonging to the Latin Rite, Msgr. Twal opened the Holy Door in Gaza on December 20 at the Church of the Holy Family, while in Amman, Jordan, the Holy Door was opened on December 12 at the Church of St. John the Baptist de la Salle.

(January 4, 2016)