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

A Greek Orthodox monk pours oil into the lamps in front of the edicule of the Holy Sepulcher, which contains the venerated tomb. The three communities responsible for the Holy Sepulcher are the Greek Orthodox, the Latin Catholic, and the Armenian. Every movement and schedule inside the basilica is governed by the Status Quo. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Archaeologists uncover early use of site beneath Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

Apr 18, 2025 / 06:00 am

Archaeological excavations launched in 2022 in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem have yielded significant data on the site’s original use and appearance.

The main entrance to the Armenian Patriarchate and the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Armenian Patriarchate takes legal action to halt Jerusalem’s tax foreclosure

Apr 13, 2025 / 06:00 am

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem have issued a statement expressing “great concern” and voicing their solidarity with the Armenian Patriarchate.

Speakers present at the briefing presenting the report “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem” by the Rossing Center on March 27, 2025. From left to right: Hana Bendcowsky, director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations at the Rossing Center; Bernard Sabella, a retired professor of sociology; Federica Sasso (Rossing Center)), moderator, Hussam Elias, executive director of the project; and Jesuit Father David Neuhaus. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Christian communities in Israel face growing hostility, annual report reveals

Mar 29, 2025 / 09:00 am

On March 27, in Jerusalem, the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue presented findings from its annual report, “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem.”

Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, stops at the Eighth Station of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem during the Good Friday Via Crucis on March 29, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Challenges and triumphs: The custos of the Holy Land reflects on 9 years

Jan 28, 2025 / 06:00 am

As he gets ready to retire, Father Francesco Patton talks to CNA about his years leading the Custody of the Holy Land with fraternity amid war and political tension.

The entry of the cross into the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth on Dec. 29, 2024, marks the opening of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope in the Holy Land. The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, crossed the threshold of the basilica carrying the jubilee cross accompanied by Archbishop Moussa Hage, Maronite archbishop of Haifa and the Holy Land (on his right), and Archbishop Youssef Matta, Greek Catholic (Melkite) archbishop of Acre, Haifa, Nazareth, and Galilee (on his left). Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Cardinal Pizzaballa opens 2025 Jubilee Year in Holy Land

Dec 30, 2024 / 13:30 pm

The entry of the jubilee cross into the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth on Dec. 29 marked the opening of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope in the Holy Land.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, leans on his pastoral staff while listening to the proclamation of the Gospel during the Christmas Eve Mass at the Church of St. Catherine, the Latin section of the Basilica of the Nativity, on Dec. 24, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Patriarch of Jerusalem: Let us look to the future with hope, without hatred or violence

Dec 26, 2024 / 10:50 am

“Our commitment this Christmas is to rebuild our trust and renew our hope for life here in Bethlehem and throughout Palestine,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said.

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, lights a candle in the Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza during his visit there on Dec. 22, 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

PHOTOS: Cardinal Pizzaballa shares Christmas message after Gaza visit

Dec 23, 2024 / 17:15 pm

The press conference was not only a chance for the Latin patriarch to share an annual Christmas message but also an opportunity to share about his visit to Gaza.

A young girl hangs an ornament on the Christmas tree inside the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza. Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Gabriel Romanelli

PHOTOS: Gaza Catholic parish prepares for second Christmas under war

Dec 22, 2024 / 06:00 am

As Christmas approaches, the Latin Church of the Holy Family in Gaza is alive with activity as the people at the parish continue to suffer great hardship.

Bassem Giacaman in his shop in Bethlehem in December 2024. The artisans in Bethlehem are almost all Christians. They primarily work with olive wood. Most of the businesses in Bethlehem are family businesses. Credit: Marinella Bandini

War, economic struggles threaten Bethlehem’s century-old crafts tradition

Dec 21, 2024 / 13:00 pm

The tradition of being an artisan in Bethlehem is being threatened by the flight of young people from the area and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The interior of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem. In the background, the most well-known depiction of Our Lady of the Milk. According to a Christian tradition dating back to the sixth century, the Virgin Mary was nursing the baby Jesus here, and when, in haste to flee to Egypt, she took him off her breast, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning the stone completely white. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Bethlehem’s ‘Milk Grotto’: A pilgrimage site of hope for families seeking miracles

Dec 15, 2024 / 06:00 am

The Milk Grotto has long been a favored pilgrimage site for women and families seeking the blessing of a child or facing challenges with pregnancy and nursing.

Children welcome the custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, upon his entrance into Bethlehem on Nov. 30, 2024, for the beginning of Advent. The custos’ entry was festive, but at the same time, it was impossible to ignore the echoes of war. The children were holding signs with messages of peace and solidarity for those suffering due to the war. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Holy Land Christians begin another Advent in the midst of war

Dec 2, 2024 / 13:45 pm

This past weekend, the people in Bethlehem welcomed the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, led by the custos, to inaugurate Advent celebrations.

Monica Biboso and her employer, Ester Rot, while celebrating Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) in the dining room of Kibbutz Be'eri in 2022. “I don’t feel like a hero because I saved Ester” during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, Biboso told CNA. “I would do anything to save her. I just treated her like my mother. Every child would do the same.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Monica Biboso

‘Without God, I wouldn’t be here’: Catholic woman recounts survival of Oct. 7 Hamas attack

Oct 7, 2024 / 05:00 am

In a conversation with CNA, Monica Biboso recalled that day she and the elderly woman she cared for survived when Hamas terrorists set their home ablaze.

Monsignor Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French Bishops Conference, presides over the Mass that took place on Sept. 14, 2024, at Maison Abraham (Abraham House) in Jerusalem during the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of its foundation as a pilgrim guest house run by Secours Catholique-Caritas France. Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

New pilgrimage brings Christians, Muslims, and Jews together in Holy Land at Abraham House

Sep 19, 2024 / 07:00 am

On Sept. 14 in Jerusalem, a new pilgrimage called “Pilgrims of Hope Way” was inaugurated at the 60th anniversary celebration of Abraham House.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition cover the altar, just dedicated by the cardinal. The covering of the altar signifies that it is both the place of the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Lord’s table. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant Church reopens in the Holy Land, new altar dedicated

Sep 12, 2024 / 07:00 am

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, recently came to the basilica to dedicate its new altar on the occasion of the church’s reopening.

Sabeen Rahil and Elias Johny Al Arja in Bethlehem. In the background behind them is the bell tower of the Church of the Nativity, which stands on the site where Jesus was born. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Staying in Bethlehem: Christian couple opts to marry and put down roots despite hardships

Sep 7, 2024 / 06:00 am

Two young Christians from Bethlehem have decided to marry and settle down in their hometown despite the ongoing war and escalation of violence around them.

Some young people from Gaza during study aid activities in a gazebo inside the compound of the Latin Parish of the Holy Family. Beginning June 10, 2024, about 150 children and teenagers ages 4 to 17 who are sheltering in the Latin parish and in the Orthodox parish have taken up their books and notebooks again to reconnect with their studies. Three gazebos in the garden host study groups. They were open-sided, but they have been closed to help the youth avoid distractions, as there are always people around. Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Gabriel Romanelli

Under patronage of St. Joseph, parish priest restarts schooling for students in Gaza

Jul 20, 2024 / 10:00 am

The program had to be suspended for two weeks in July due to Israeli military action in Gaza City but resumed on July 19.

A group of young people from the Apostolic Movement of Jish, led by Father Sandy Habib, during prayer before the meal on July 12, 2024, at the Maronite convent in Jerusalem. The aim is “bringing ourselves closer to Jesus,” Habib explained to CNA. “We try to achieve this through spiritual activities, social activities like trips, and by announcing Jesus Christ.” Credit: Marinella Bandini

Faith amid bombs: Priests minister to Christians in border towns of Lebanon and Israel

Jul 16, 2024 / 05:47 am

Christian communities on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border have been put to the test since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The entrance into the Franciscan church in Aleppo, Syria, of the twins George and Johnny Jallouf, friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, who were ordained priests on July 6, 2024. The two ordinands are wearing the priestly vestments with which they were clothed during the ordination rite. They were 15 when the war in Syria broke out. Their vocation was born and grew amid the Battle of Aleppo. “I tried to attend Mass every day,” George recounted. “I was afraid, but I kept repeating to myself ‘I fear nothing because you are with me.’ This phrase guided me, reassured me, gave me peace.” Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tawk Center

Different paths to same vocation: Twin brothers ordained priests in Aleppo, Syria

Jul 10, 2024 / 07:00 am

It marked the first priestly ordination in 17 years at St. Francis Church in Aleppo, a city that suffered massive destruction during the 2012–2016 Syrian War.

Danny Miran shows the T-shirt with a photo of his son Omri, one of the Israelis kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and who is still being held hostage in Gaza. On the T-shirt, the Hebrew inscription reads: “Bring them home now!”, the motto of the campaign to bring back the hostages. A few days after Oct. 7, Danny Miran, 79, left his home in northern Israel and joined the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv. His life’s purpose has become bringing his son back home. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Father of Israeli hostage who met with pope is on a mission to ‘bring them all home’

Jul 4, 2024 / 07:00 am

Danny Miran met Pope Francis at the Vatican in April. In mid-June he shared his testimony with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and a group of 160 Catholic pilgrims.

A group of cello students from the Magnificat Institute of Jerusalem performs on May 30, 2024. Today, the Magnificat Institute welcomes over 200 students each year (as young as 5 years old) and relies on the collaboration of 25 teachers. It has a choir (which also serves the liturgies of the Custody of the Holy Land) and several orchestras. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Jerusalem’s Magnificat Institute: ‘Every day we witness a small but significant miracle’

Jun 26, 2024 / 06:00 am

The Magnificat Institute brings Jews, Christians, and Muslims together to make music — not an easy feat as the longest war since the founding of Israel rages on.