Palestine

The Latest

After his Angelus on Sept. 15, 2024, Pope Francis appealed for the release of the remaining Hamas hostages and said he is praying for the victims and their families.

Pope Francis urges release of Hamas hostages, end of conflict in Israel and Palestine

Sep 15, 2024

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis on Sunday urged the release of the remaining Hamas hostages as he remembered 23-year-old American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and... Read more

Pope Francis said he prays every day for an end to the war in Israel and Palestine during a prayer service June 7, 2024, in the Vatican Gardens, commemorating 10 years since the symbolic planting of an olive tree in the presence of the presidents of Israel and Palestine in 2014.

Pope Francis recalls 2014 embrace of Palestine and Israel presidents at prayer for peace

Jun 8, 2024

By Hannah Brockhaus

A prayer service in the Vatican Gardens marked the 10th anniversary of the 2014 “prayer for peace in the Holy... Read more

Lara Al-Sayegh, a Catholic from Gaza, collapsed and died of heatstroke as she and her mother tried to leave Gaza and find safe haven in Egypt on April 24, 2024. The 19-year-old lived in northern Gaza and the family had already lost their father and husband after he died at Gaza’s Latin Holy Family Church due to a lack of adequate medical care.

19-year-old Catholic woman dies attempting to flee Gaza with her mother

Apr 30, 2024

By Sanad Sahelia

The tragic death of Lara Al-Sayegh highlights the suffering of Gaza’s dwindling Christian minority. Read more

Pope Francis appears in the window of the Apostolic Palace to give his Sunday Angelus address on Jan. 14, 2024.

Pope Francis: ‘War itself is a crime against humanity’

Jan 14, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Speaking at the end of his Angelus address, the pope urged people to pray for all who are suffering due... Read more

Moral theology professor Joseph Capizzi speaks with Tracy Sabol on “EWTN News Nightly” Dec. 22, 2023.

CUA theology dean: Just war doctrine requires Israel to avoid civilian casualties

Dec 28, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

Joseph Capizzi, a professor of moral theology and ethics at the Catholic University of America, said the Israeli military “cannot... Read more

Father Gabriel Romanelli (center), the Latin parish priest of Gaza, is among the celebrants at a Mass to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine and the Holy Land at the shrine dedicated to her at Deir Rafat on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.

‘These are very hard times’: Pastor of Gaza Catholic church gives update on Christians’ plight

Dec 6, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

“The pope called us daily, to check on us,” said Father Gabriel Romanelli in a recent interview where he discussed... Read more

Workers distribute medical aid and medicines to Nasser Medical Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, which recently arrived through the Rafah crossing on Oct. 29, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

U.S. bishops renew call for peace in the Holy Land

Oct 31, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

The U.S. bishops are renewing their call for peace in the Holy Land as the Israel-Hamas war moves towards it... Read more

Displaced Palestinians who fled their houses amid Israeli strikes wait at a food distribution point as they shelter in tents set up in a United Nations-run center following Israel's call for more than 1 million civilians in northern Gaza to move south, in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.

EU leaders to call for humanitarian corridors in Gaza as war rages

Oct 26, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Leaders will call for the establishment of “humanitarian corridors and pauses” to transport aid to civilians into the Gaza Strip. Read more

A general view of tents set up for Palestinians seeking refuge along the Gaza Strip on Oct. 20, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

Catholic Relief president on aid to Gaza: Let’s ‘get it going,’ ‘take care of these people’

Oct 20, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

The leader said he was hoping for a quick reopening of border access in Gaza and deployment of aid to... Read more

A Palestinian man injured during an air strike is wheeled into the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis on the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 17, 2023.

Hamas says Israel behind deadly hospital blast; Israel blames terrorist group

Oct 17, 2023

By Daniel Payne

News reports on Tuesday said Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist hospital had been hit with a strike that killed as many as... Read more

CNA

Catholic Relief Services calls for ‘immediate humanitarian access’ to Gaza Strip

Oct 16, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

The charity group on Saturday asked for aid access “before a dire humanitarian situation becomes a catastrophe.” Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, patriarch of Jerusalem.

Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem offers to be exchanged for hostages held by Hamas

Oct 16, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Israel Defense Forces announced Monday that 199 Israeli hostages, including children, are being held by Hamas. Read more

Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa blesses the congregation at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on April 4, 2021.

Catholic patriarch calls day of prayer and fasting for peace in the Holy Land

Oct 12, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa has urged Catholics to organize times of prayer with Eucharistic adoration and recitation of the rosary. Read more

Pope Francis prays during a general audience in St. Peter's Square on Sept. 20, 2023. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, celebrates Easter Sunday Mass at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on April 4, 2021.

Pope Francis, Jerusalem patriarch call for peace after Hamas attack

Oct 8, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The pope issued an appeal Sunday to “please stop weapons attacks!” Read more

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks on the red carpet at the premiere of the film "Route 60: The Biblical Highway" on Sept. 12, 2023.

New movie explores Christian and Jewish perspectives of the Holy Land’s history

Sep 15, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

The new documentary “Route 60: The Biblical Highway” might be a “road trip” film, but the setting and the characters... Read more

Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem condemns Israeli military action

Jul 5, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa condemned the military operation and bemoaned the damage to the Roman Catholic parish in Jenin. Read more

Pope Francis greets the crowd at his Regina Caeli address on May 14, 2023.

Pope Francis prays for cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians

May 14, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The pope spoke hours after a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militants in Gaza went into... Read more

Pope Francis prayed for peace in the Holy Land at the end of his Angelus address on Jan. 29, 2023.

Pope Francis expresses sorrow over ‘spiral of death’ in the Holy Land

Jan 29, 2023

By Courtney Mares

In his Sunday Angelus address, the pope expressed “great sorrow” for the death of Palestinians killed in an Israeli military... Read more

A view of modern-day Jericho, the site of a recently uncovered sixth-century church.

Archaeologists uncover early Christian church with ornate mosaic in Jericho

Jan 13, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

A team of Israeli archaeologists has discovered a sixth-century Byzantine church with highly decorated mosaic floors.  Read more

Members of the Holy Land Coordination meet with young people of Jerusalem at St James the Apostle Beit Hanina parish, May 21, 2022.

Bishops lament threats facing Jerusalem's Christians

May 26, 2022

By CNA Staff

At the end of a trip to the Holy Land, a group of European bishops lamented the threats to Jerusalem’s... Read more