Good Friday collection creates ‘living contact’ with Holy Land

By Devin Watkins

As Christians prepare spiritually for Easter during Lent, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches has recalled the vital connection between faith and charity.

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti sent a letter to all Catholic Bishops on Monday, March 17, to invite them to promote the annual Good Friday Collection, taken up at the liturgy on that holy day.

Each year, the faithful contribute money to support Christians in the Holy Land and the Church’s mission to care for the places linked to Jesus’ earthly life.

In his letter, Cardinal Gugerotti urged Catholic Bishops—in the name of the Holy Father—to convey the Church’s appeal “in response to the cry of those who are suffering so much.”

He said the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war has halted the destruction that has killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza.

“Our hearts are lifted by the ceasefire in effect,” he said. “We know that it is fragile and that, by its very nature, it will not be enough on its own to solve the problems and extinguish the hatred in that area.”

Cardinal Gugerotti expressed the Church’s hope in Christ’s eternal victory over death, but noted that the Christians residing in the Holy Land require the concrete assistance of the universal Church.

He recalled Pope Francis’ letter to Catholics of the Middle East, sent on October 7, 2024, in which the Pope called them “a seed loved by God.”

As darkness surrounds Christians in the Holy Land, said the Pope in his letter, they must keep the light of faith alive and testify to love and unity amid tension and words of hatred.

Cardinal Gugerotti urged Christians to remember our “duty” to help life be reborn, starting with rebuilding schools were children can learn and play together “without the fear of seeing the satanic grin of death again.”

“For us Christians, the Holy Places have a special value,” he said. “They are the incarnation of the Incarnation.”

The Cardinal Prefect also thanked the Franciscan Friars Minor who have provided pastoral care through the Custody of the Holy Land for centuries.

He pointed to the many initiatives they run, including parishes, schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly, and assistance centers for migrants, displaced persons, and refugees.

Cardinal Gugerotti said this year’s Good Friday Collection will provide an “essential resource,” especially following the pandemic years and the disruption to pilgrimages that resulted from the war in Gaza.

“If we want to strengthen the Holy Land and ensure living contact with the Holy Places,” he said, “we must sustain Christian communities that, in their various traditions, offer perennial praise to the God-with-us, also in our name.”

The Prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches urged Catholic Bishops to help remind Christians of our connection to the Holy Land and its people.

“I implore you to feel the Collection as one of your pastoral priorities,” he concluded. “At stake is the survival of this precious presence of ours, which dates back directly to the time of Jesus.”