On the Monday afternoon of 21 July the new Custodian of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, made his solemn entrance into the Church of Saint Saviour in Jerusalem—an event that, together with the handing over of the seal by the outgoing Custodian, Father Francesco Patton, marks the official beginning of his mission in the Holy Land.
Interview with Fr. Francesco Ielpo
Father Ielpo, you begin your custodial mandate at perhaps the most difficult time this land has experienced since the war of 1967, if not since 1948. In Gaza, 57,000 people have died over the past 22 months, and the much-announced ceasefires have yet to materialize. In the West Bank, settler attacks are becoming more frequent and violent. Even the Christian minority is suffering repeated violence—as seen in the incursions by settlers into the Christian village of Taibeh and, most notably, last Thursday’s shelling of the Catholic parish in Gaza, which left three dead and ten injured.
Yes, I’m well aware that this is a very difficult time. Especially because, as is well known, ours is not merely a custodianship of sacred places, but a living pastoral presence alongside the Christians of this land. And beyond the objective challenges, there are also subjective ones. I am very aware of the gap between the role entrusted to me and my personal limitations. But I also see this gap as an opportunity—in the sense that it allows more space for the action of the Holy Spirit. And I place my trust above all in that. Because it is thanks especially to the Spirit’s action that the Franciscans have managed, for 800 years and through many adversities, to witness to the Christian presence in the land of Jesus.
Read more: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2025-07/new-custodian-of-the-holy-land-arrives-in-jerusalem.html
By Roberto Cetera in Jerusalem | vaticannews
