Marinella Bandini

Born and raised in Italy, Marinella Bandini has been a professional journalist since 2008. She works for several news agencies and online newspapers in the Catholic space. Currently based in Jerusalem, she collaborates with the Custody of the Holy Land.

Articles by Marinella Bandini

People gather at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family on Palm Sunday in al-Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on March 24, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Catholics in Gaza are burying dead in Muslim cemeteries

Apr 16, 2024 / 06:00 am

Muslim cemeteries have opened to receive the bodies of Christians and give them a dignified burial.

An improvised barricade covered with barbed wire. In the background, the tent of activists from the “Save the Armenian Quarter” (ArQ) association who are guarding the “Cow’s Garden” parking lot. Credit: Marinella Bandini

New episode involving land dispute shakes Armenian community in Jerusalem again

Apr 5, 2024 / 12:00 pm

According to a communique, on April 3 “an unlawful eviction was initiated by Israeli police on the grounds of the Cows’ Garden.”

With the incense burned from the newly blessed fire, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, incenses the "Stone of Anointing," located at the entrance of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, where, according to tradition, the body of Jesus was anointed and prepared with aromatic oils for burial. March 30, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

‘The mother of all holy vigils’: Jerusalem basilica is first place to announce Easter

Mar 31, 2024 / 09:45 am

In the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, the church of the Lord’s resurrection, the Easter Vigil is held on Saturday morning instead of at night.

The Catholic faithful gathered in the Cenacle in Jerusalem for the Mass of the Lord's Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here and over the centuries Jews and Muslims have leveraged this to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deemed sacrilegious. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Friars and faithful gather in Upper Room in Jerusalem to mark the Last Supper

Mar 28, 2024 / 17:15 pm

On Holy Thursday, the doors of the Cenacle in Jerusalem were opened to welcome the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land.

On Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. They prayed the station dedicated to the column during the daily procession that the Franciscans perform inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. At the end, they intoned the hymn “Columna Nobilis” and then, one by one, they performed an act of veneration. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Holy Wednesday in Jerusalem: Venerating the pillar of Christ’s flagellation

Mar 27, 2024 / 15:00 pm

In Jerusalem, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to Luke’s Gospel, were stained with Jesus’ blood during his passion.

Some Greek Orthodox monks at the entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher wait for the solemn entrance of the patriarch on Saturday, March 23, 2024, for the First Vesper of the first Sunday of Lent, called the "Sunday of Orthodoxy." Credit: Courtesy of Gianfranco Pinto Ostuni

PHOTOS: As Catholics enter Holy Week, Orthodox churches begin Great Lent in Holy Land

Mar 26, 2024 / 17:00 pm

As the Catholic Church in the Holy Land entered Holy Week by literally retracing the steps of Jesus’ passion, the Orthodox Churches took their first steps into Lent.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, gives the final blessing with the relic of the holy cross at the end of the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Palm Sunday procession in Holy Land celebrates ‘joy in being Christians’

Mar 25, 2024 / 14:30 pm

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, led the procession, which departed from Bethphage on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives.

The daily procession of the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. Due to the restoration works inside the basilica, Franciscans, as well as other communities, had to change the route of their processions. These are all issues that need to be discussed, as they fall within the Status Quo. Credit: Courtesy of Silvia Giuliano

What is the ‘Status Quo’ that governs some of Jerusalem’s holiest sites?

Mar 24, 2024 / 06:00 am

A decree going back to 1852 governs the possession and rights of use for Catholic and Orthodox Christian communities at important sanctuaries in the Holy Land.

Suhail Shadi Abu Dawod with Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Gaza, on the seashore in Gaza last summer 2023. Romanelli, belongs to the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE), a Catholic clerical religious institute founded in Argentina on March 25, 1984, which Abu Dawod has petitioned to join. Credit: Courtesy of Father Gabriel Romanelli

Gaza teen waits to follow vocation: ‘My faith is flourishing amidst the challenges of war’

Mar 11, 2024 / 06:00 am

Suhail Shadi Abu Dawod was planning to join the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) in Italy — then the Israel-Hamas war broke out.

Woolen scarves produced at the Rafedìn tailoring workshop in Amman, Jordan. The workshop is hosted in the premises of the Latin parish of Mar Yousef and it provides employment for approximately 20 young Iraqi women who sought refuge in Jordan. Credit: Marinella Bandini

This tailoring shop in Jordan helps Iraqi refugees knit their lives back together

Mar 3, 2024 / 07:00 am

Founded by Father Mario Cornioli, the shop called Rafedìn has been helping Iraqis rebuild their lives over the past eight years.

On Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, approximately 1,000 children and youth from Christian schools in Jerusalem walked the Via Dolorosa in the Old City, offering prayers for peace. The crowd brought life to the streets of the Holy City for the first time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last October. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: 1,000 Christian youth walk the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem for peace

Feb 26, 2024 / 13:30 pm

“The Way of the Cross… A Way of Peace” was organized by the Custody of the Holy Land and involved 12 institutions.

A view of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian Territories from behind a window in the Comboni Sisters' house in East Jerusalem. Credit: Marinella Bandini

These religious sisters are a ‘bridge’ between Israel and the Palestinian territories

Feb 17, 2024 / 06:00 am

“By placing ourselves in the middle, we listen to the injustice faced by the Palestinians and also to the fears of Israeli families,” said Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella.

Father Nikodemus Schnabel, abbot of the Benedictine Basilica of the Dormition in Jerusalem, speaks during an ecumenical prayer service that took place at the Cenacle on Jan. 25, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Attack on priest in Jerusalem brings intolerance of Christians back into focus

Feb 8, 2024 / 07:00 am

Harassment of Christians in the Holy Land is not new. “Education is key,” says an expert on Jewish-Christian relations.

Father Peter Vasko, OFM, and Sister Naomi Zimmermann, FSE. Credit: Marinella Bandini; photo courtesy of Sister Naomi Zimmermann, FSE

Living the religious life in the Holy Land: Two Americans share their stories

Feb 2, 2024 / 12:22 pm

On World Day for Consecrated Life, Father Peter Vasko and Sister Naomi Zimmermann — both Franciscans — are grateful for God’s call to the Holy Land.

Students of the Studienjahr during a lesson at Beit Josef, the headquarters of the program, within the compound of the Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition in Jerusalem. The Studienjahr program (launched in 1973) is an annual program of ecumenical studies. It brings together every year about 20 German-speaking theology students from all Christians denominations. January 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Abbey in the Holy Land brings Christian students from different denominations together

Jan 26, 2024 / 17:30 pm

For 50 years, the Benedictine Dormition Abbey, which stands on Mount Zion, has hosted German-speaking students for an ecumenical theology program.

Father Rafiq Khoury at the beginning of the 2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity shows the first three volumes of the "ecumenical catechism" that was adopted in 2000 by public schools of the Palestinian Authority as a textbook for Christian education. Credit: Marinella Bandini

‘Ecumenical catechism’ for public schools in Holy Land a sign of Christian unity

Jan 24, 2024 / 14:00 pm

As the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began, Father Rafiq Khoury shared the story of the Christian textbook being used by schools of the Palestinian Authority.

The apostolic nuncio to Jordan, Bishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, speaks during an interview with CNA at the headquarters of the apostolic nunciature in Amman on Jan. 11, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Nuncio highlights Jordan’s unique role in Holy Land Church today

Jan 21, 2024 / 07:00 am

Bishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, who became the first resident nuncio to Jordan one year ago, says the Church there is “active” and “rich in vocations.”

Worshipers in front of the Latin church dedicated to the Baptism of Jesus, in the locality known as "Bethany beyond the Jordan," at the exit of the Mass of the feast of Baptism, on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Thousands gather at Jordan River with patriarch to mark baptism of Jesus

Jan 13, 2024 / 15:00 pm

For 24 years, the Catholic community in the region has made a pilgrimage, gathering around its patriarch, to celebrate the baptism of Jesus on Jan. 12.

The private garden of the Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem seen from above. The property is close to the Cows’ Garden and it is one of those threatened by the lease deal between the Armenian Patriarchate and the real estate company Xana Gardens. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Land dispute in Jerusalem threatens Armenian Christians, nonviolent group says

Jan 10, 2024 / 12:45 pm

In the last two months, members of the Armenian community have suffered attacks due to an ongoing conflict regarding a property contract.

Three Franciscan friars portray the Magi in Bethlehem on the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2024. After the Second Vespers of the Epiphany, they descended in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where they brought their gifts to the places of Jesus' manifestation. Credit: Marinella Bandini

The Magi reach Bethlehem, finding smaller crowd of faithful amid ongoing war

Jan 7, 2024 / 11:00 am

The Magi made their appearance for the recitation of the Second Vespers of the Epiphany, marking the conclusion of the solemnity.