Catholics of the Holy Land need the ongoing support to even survive in war-torn regions and countries where they live.  The annual ‘Pro Terra Sancta’ collection will be taken up at Masses around the world on Good Friday.

Cardinal Sandri explained that the Holy Land is the physical place where Jesus lived and suffered and we have been granted with salvation through His infinite love. 

“The Holy Land and especially the Christian community that lives there has always occupied an important place in the heart of the universal Church” the cardinal wrote. 

He goes on to mention the hardships that Christians were forced to endure over the centuries, noting that the suffering is not over yet. 

“They see themselves deprived of the most basic goods, such as the right to a peaceful childhood, to a harmonious school education, to dedicating one’s youth to looking for a job and forming a family, to discovering one’s vocation, to an industrious and dignified adult life, and to a peaceful old age,” he added. 

According to him, the church continues its work to protect Christians on the Holy Land and the Middle East which includes, among other things, education, material help and different means of support. 

“Thanks to the generosity of the faithful around the world, the Church continues to make accommodation available to young people who wish to form a new family, as well as to facilitate their search for employment. Likewise, she continues to provide concrete material assistance where there are forms of endemic poverty, such as health needs and humanitarian emergencies linked to the flow of refugees and foreign migrant workers”, he wrote.

Cardinal Sandri added that without the support, the church wouldn’t be able to perform its work in the Holy Land and for this reason he asks the faithful community to support Christians in the Middle East. 

Photo is courtesy of Flickr.