Where are all the pilgrims? The current state of religious tourism in the Holy Land

Marinella Bandini   By Marinella Bandini for CNA

June 4, 2024 Catholic News Agency News Briefs 3 Print

 

The entrance of Jaffa Gate (interior), one of the main access points to the Old City of Jerusalem, was almost empty around noon on Friday, May 24. According to data from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, just over 80,000 people entered the country in April 2024, a decrease of 77 percent compared to April 2023. The same decrease was recorded for the first quarter of 2024. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Jerusalem, Jun 4, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

During the month of May in Jerusalem, the major holidays of the three major religions — Christian Easter, Jewish Passover, and the month of Ramadan — passed with an almost total absence of pilgrims from abroad.

The holy sites and the streets of the Old City are usually crowded with tourists and pilgrims at this time of year, but they have been empty for the past eight months due to the Israel-Hamas war.

Muslims orderly make their way to the entrances of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound for noon prayer, but otherwise, the Via Dolorosa is completely empty. There are no pilgrims ascending to the Holy Sepulcher. The Sanctuary of the Flagellation, maintained by the Franciscans at the starting point of the Via Crucis path, is always open — but that is empty, too.

The "Sacred Garden," the oldest part of the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed on the night of Holy Thursday. “Before the war, we had more than a hundred groups a day. Today, we welcome two or three groups on a good day,” said Brother Siniša Srebrenović, the guardian of the Franciscan Convent of the Agony (Gethsemane), to CNA. May 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The “Sacred Garden,” the oldest part of the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed on the night of Holy Thursday. “Before the war, we had more than a hundred groups a day. Today, we welcome two or three groups on a good day,” said Brother Siniša Srebrenović, the guardian of the Franciscan Convent of the Agony (Gethsemane), to CNA. May 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Things aren’t any better at Gethsemane.

“Before the war, we had more than a hundred groups a day. Today, we welcome two or three groups on a good day,” Brother Siniša Srebrenović, the guardian of the Franciscan Convent of the Agony (Gethsemane), told CNA. “They mostly come from Asia or South America. Some come from Eastern Europe, mainly Orthodox Christians.”

The absence of pilgrims also means the absence of income.

“We friars sustain ourselves with the offerings of the pilgrims. The charity of the pilgrims also helps cover the maintenance expenses of the sanctuary and some development projects,” Srebrenović explained. “Today, everything is at a standstill. Workers from the Palestinian Territories do not have permission to come, and the financial resources are only enough for the ordinary. Despite this, the custody continues to financially support its workers and has not laid off any of them.”

At the Holy Sepulcher, the waiting time to enter the edicule (where Jesus’ tomb is kept) is just a few minutes, compared with up to two hours last year. The daily procession of the Franciscan friars inside the basilica is attended by only a handful of faithful — mostly residents of Jerusalem.

The Via Dolorosa, at the location of the Church of the Flagellation, is completely deserted in the afternoon of Friday, May 24, 2024. Usually, Friday is the day when many Christian pilgrims walk the Via Dolorosa in the footsteps of Jesus to the Holy Sepulcher. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The Via Dolorosa, at the location of the Church of the Flagellation, is completely deserted in the afternoon of Friday, May 24, 2024. Usually, Friday is the day when many Christian pilgrims walk the Via Dolorosa in the footsteps of Jesus to the Holy Sepulcher. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Even Bethlehem is empty

“Tourism in Palestine is effectively zeroed out. Every day we lose $2.5 million,” lamented Majed Ishaq, director general of the marketing department of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Palestine.

He described to CNA a dramatic situation: “Tourist facilities are closed; people working in the sector — including many Christians — have had no income for months. People are trying to sell houses, cars, furniture, to survive.”

“International tourism passes through Israel; they control our borders. We are under a kind of siege,” Ishaq continued. “Reaching Bethlehem is still possible, but cities in the north, like Nablus or Jenin, and also Hebron further south, are almost unreachable. Even local tourism and internal travel are severely affected due to attacks by settlers.”

Some groups arrive, especially via Jordan. The hope is that something will move at least by the end of the year, especially for the Christmas holidays.

According to data from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, just over 80,000 people (tourists and pilgrims combined) entered the country in April — a decrease of 77% compared with April 2023 and 80% compared with April 2019, the peak year before the pandemic.

Cumulatively, from January through April, about 285,000 tourist arrivals were recorded, a decrease of about 78% in relation to the corresponding period in 2023.

“The decline is attributed to the impact of the ‘Iron Swords’ war [the name Israel has given to the campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the events of Oct. 7, 2023] although in the months that have passed since the outbreak of the war, there has been a certain increase in the number of tourist arrivals to Israel, but it is not yet possible to identify any trend.”

A small group of Orthodox Christians from Romania inside the Basilica of Gethsemane kiss the stone on which, according to tradition, Jesus sweated blood during the night of Holy Thursday. May 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
A small group of Orthodox Christians from Romania inside the Basilica of Gethsemane kiss the stone on which, according to tradition, Jesus sweated blood during the night of Holy Thursday. May 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Dr. Yaron Ergas, director of research, statistics, and information management at the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, told CNA that “the Ministry of Tourism conducts a survey among incoming tourists, where they are asked several questions including the main purpose of their visit. Tourists choosing ‘pilgrimage/faith based tour’ are considered religious tourists. That percentage, in 2019, was 16.6%” out of about 5 million entries.

At the outbreak of the war, in October 2023, “we stopped the surveys,” Ergas explained, so there is no useful data on religious tourism since then.

“Recovery is not expected until late 2025,” he added.

Other statistics, focused on Christian pilgrims, were provided to CNA by the Christian Information Centre (CIC), sponsored by the Custody of the Holy Land. CIC has been providing information about Christianity and on the Holy Land, including shrines, holy places, and liturgies, for more than 50 years. Additionally, it is the only official channel for booking Masses in the holy sites.

From October to December 2023, approximately 2,800 groups (107,000 individuals) had booked at least one celebration through the CIC, and they all canceled as soon as the war broke out. Of these, 95% were Catholics and 4% were Protestants. Ninety percent were groups from abroad. From January to April of this year, the groups registered by the CIC ranged from 100 to 200 per month (averaging 5,000 to 6,000 individuals per month).

The lack of Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land is especially due to the fact that many companies are unwilling to issue insurance policies for those heading to a territory considered dangerous and risky.

A group of Christian pilgrims from the Philippines at the Gethsemane sanctuary. In these months of war, arrivals from Southeast Asia and South America continue. This is largely due — as the pilgrims themselves recount — to the fact that agencies do not refund prepaid trips, which many have invested their life savings in. This compels people to travel despite everything. Credit: Marinella Bandini
A group of Christian pilgrims from the Philippines at the Gethsemane sanctuary. In these months of war, arrivals from Southeast Asia and South America continue. This is largely due — as the pilgrims themselves recount — to the fact that agencies do not refund prepaid trips, which many have invested their life savings in. This compels people to travel despite everything. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Arrivals from Southeast Asia and South America continue, however (while the United States remains the top country for entries, the second group surprisingly comprises Indonesians). This is largely due — as the pilgrims themselves admit — to the fact that agencies do not refund prepaid trips, which many have invested their life savings in. This compels people to travel despite everything.

“We want to encourage Jews and Christians leaders to push their believers to come on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We assume, and I think it is correct, that there’s a desire to come and visit,” Pini Shani, deputy director general and head of marketing administration of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, shared with CNA.

Hopes for the 2025 Jubilee

In 2025 there will be two interesting events for religious tourism in the Holy Land.

“A special exhibition of the Isahia scrolls will be held in 2025 at the Israel Museum to commemorate its 60th anniversary. We are confident that many people will show interest. We will try to engage people who come on pilgrimage to the Holy Land to visit this special exhibition,” Shani said.

Furthermore, in 2025, Catholics will celebrate a jubilee year.

“We were very encouraged by the pope’s call for the jubilee,” Shani said. “The churches of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the Annunciation in Nazareth, and the Nativity in Bethlehem will be jubilee places; people will be encouraged to visit them, and we’re sure it will help to recover tourism.”

Some pilgrims pray at the eighth station of the Via Crucis. The holy sites and the streets of the Old City, usually crowded with tourists and pilgrims at this time of year, have been empty for the past eight months due to the war. “We want to encourage Jews and Christians leaders to push their believers to come on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land,” Pini Shani, deputy director general and head of marketing administration of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, told CNA. May 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Some pilgrims pray at the eighth station of the Via Crucis. The holy sites and the streets of the Old City, usually crowded with tourists and pilgrims at this time of year, have been empty for the past eight months due to the war. “We want to encourage Jews and Christians leaders to push their believers to come on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land,” Pini Shani, deputy director general and head of marketing administration of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, told CNA. May 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

The main Christian religious leaders in the Holy Land have never stopped issuing appeals to pilgrims to return to the holy places. “Do not be afraid, return to Jerusalem and to the Holy Land! Your presence is always a presence of peace, and we sincerely need peace today; may you come and bring us your peace,” said the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, at the end of the Palm Sunday procession.

An echo of those words is found in the message released by the Dicastery for Evangelization on May 28, on the occasion of the 45th World Tourism Day, to be held on Sept. 27 on the theme “Tourism and Peace.”

“The interest that moves millions of tourists can easily be linked with the commitment to brotherhood, so as to constitute a network of ‘messengers of peace’ who speak to the entire world to invoke the end of all war and the reopening of territories full of history, culture, and faith. … Being peace-builders is not only possible; it is required of those who embark on a journey,” the dicastery’s message said. 

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News Briefs

What did Pope Francis say about sinners, baptism and the communion of saints?

February 3, 2022 Catholic News Agency 8
Pope Francis at the General Audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, Feb. 2, 2022. / Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Denver Newsroom, Feb 3, 2022 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

Any talk about apostates and former Catholics who persecute the Church is bound to grab attention, and Pope Francis’ Wednesday audience drew a reaction from some who wondered whether he had intentionally included the damned in the communion of saints.

For all the controversy, the pope’s comments seem to reflect his personal emphasis on Catholic Christians’ links to the saints in heaven, but also to our loved ones and neighbors who are baptized but currently reject the faith.

“We are brothers. This is the communion of saints. The communion of saints holds together the community of believers on earth and in heaven, and on earth the saints, the sinners, all,” the pope said during his Feb. 2 general audience. During his catechesis, he emphasized that reliance on the intercession of a saint “only has value in relation to Christ.”

“Christ is the bond that unites us to him and to each other, and which has a specific name: this bond that unites us all, between ourselves and us with Christ, it is the ‘communion of saints’,” said the pope.

He cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which defines the communion of saints as “the Church.” 

“What does this mean? That the Church is reserved for the perfect? No,” the pope added. “It means that it is the community of saved sinners.”

“No one can exclude themselves from the Church, we are all saved sinners. Our holiness is the fruit of God’s love manifested in Christ, who sanctifies us by loving us in our misery and saving us from it. Thanks always to him we form one single body, says St Paul, in which Jesus is the head and we are the members,” he said.

The image of the Church as the Body of Christ helps us understand what it means to be bound to one another in communion, the pontiff continued. This body can suffer together, or be glorified together. 

Summarizing St. Paul, Pope Francis said: “we are all one body, all united through faith, through baptism… All in communion: united in communion with Jesus Christ. And this is the communion of saints.”

The joy and sorrow of each Christian’s life affects every other Christian, said the pope, and this has consequences for how Christians respond to each other.

“I cannot be indifferent to others, because we are all in one body, in communion,” he explained. “In this sense, even the sin of an individual person always affects everyone, and the love of each individual person affects everyone.”

By virtue of the communion of the saints, every Christian is bound to another in “a profound way,” he said, adding “this bond is so strong that it cannot be broken even by death.”

The communion of saints includes the dead, said the Pope. 

“They too are in communion with us,” he said. “Let us consider, dear brothers and sisters, that in Christ no one can ever truly separate us from those we love because the bond is an existential bond, a strong bond that is in our very nature; only the manner of being together with one another then changes, but nothing and no one can break this bond.”

Pope Francis then raised an objection from a hypothetical speaker: “let’s think about those who have denied the faith, who are apostates, who are the persecutors of the Church, who have denied their baptism: Are these also at home?”

The pope responded: “Yes, these too. All of them. The blasphemers, all of them. We are brothers. This is the communion of saints. The communion of saints holds together the community of believers on earth and in heaven, and on earth: the saints, the sinners, all.” 

“In this sense, the relationship of friendship that I can build with a brother or sister beside me, I can also establish with a brother or sister in heaven,” he said, continuing to explain devotion to the saints.

The pope’s remarks about apostates, persecutors, and those who deny their baptism drew some reaction on the internet. 

CNA sought comment from Father Roch Kereszty, a Cistercian monk and retired University of Dallas theology professor. He said that papal talks are in the genre of “a fatherly exhortation, not a binding document” and must always be interpreted in a Catholic context. 

“Most of Wednesday’s talk is a beautiful meditation on the communion of the saints in which Pope Francis emphasizes so enthusiastically the baptismal bond’s strength that some of his statements can easily be misunderstood,” Kereszty said Feb. 3. “Aware of his many attestations that he is a son of the Church and teaches only what the Church teaches, I exclude an intention to contradict the Church’s faith.”

“Baptism imprints an indelible mark on the soul, called baptismal character, and if there is no opposition by the soul, it also results in sanctifying grace in virtue of which Christ lives in the soul and joins us to himself and to all Christians both on earth and heaven,” he continued. “By grave, mortal sin we lose sanctifying grace and thus the indwelling of Christ in the soul and, of course, the right to heaven. But no sinner, no matter how obstinate, can lose the indelible mark of the baptismal character.”

“Every mortal sin breaks the bond of love on the part of the sinner, but it does not delete the character,” Kereszty said.

“The Pope quoted the Catechism: ‘The communion of the saints is the Church.’ Yes, but the living members of the Church are those in a state of sanctifying grace,” the priest added. “Those baptized members in a state of mortal sin are dead members, but the prayers of the Church are surrounding them with the love of a grieving mother. They will be saved only if they repent.”

“So it seems that when the pope speaks of the baptismal bond he does not distinguish between the character of baptism which one cannot lose, but which does not in itself save, and the bond of love which saves because it assures Christ’s presence in the soul,” Kereszty explained. “But this bond of love is destroyed by mortal sin on the part of the sinner. The Church, by her prayers, however, tries to obtain the grace of repentance for the sinner. And the baptismal character in the sinner may work in his heart to obtain his conversion.”

Asked about baptism and hell, Kereszty said, “the Communion of Saints and the baptismal bond does not include those in hell. One should speak about hell, but not necessarily in the same talk.”

Pope Francis does not particularly focus on hell in his preaching, but he has referred to hell and God’s judgement in the past. 

In Nov. 22, 2016 remarks during a morning meditation at his residence the Casa Santa Marta, he reminded his audience of “(the) call from the Lord to think seriously about the end: about my end, the judgement, about my judgement.”

The pope remarked that children traditionally learn the “four last things” from the Catechism, namely “death, judgement, hell or glory.”

While some might say “Father, this frightens us,” Pope Francis said, he answered: “It is the truth. Because if you do not take care of your heart… (and) you always live far away from the Lord, perhaps there is the danger, the danger of continuing in this way, far away from the Lord for eternity. This is very bad!”

“Today it will be good for us to think about this: what will my end be like? How will it be when I find myself before the Lord?” the pope said.

He recounted Christ’s words from the Book of Revelation: “Be thou faithful unto death… and I will give you the crown of life.”

“Fidelity to the Lord: this does not disappoint,” he said in 2016. “If each one of us is faithful to the Lord, when our death comes, as shall we say what St. Francis said: ‘Sister death, come’. It will not frighten us.”

[…]

3 Comments

  1. I believe the October 2023 attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorists is the main reason that created a pall that deterred tourists. Today, there is turmoil throughout the region. Moreover, with the blitzkrieg attack, killing 34 thousand Palestinians, nearly half are women and children. Israel has been labelled with genocide on the innocent Palestinians in Gaza. Netanyahu continues his unabated assault using American made 2,000 lb fire bombs designed to spread death over a large area. The cleric are Noticeably absent.

    The faithful tourists must feel abandonned being ubable to safely visit the Holy Land.

    Reply

    • Tourists are scarce in Israel but there are still some arriving. One of my children was there just recently. They said the security was a little higher but everything was mostly going on as usual.
      Some tour guides have shifted to posting YouTube video tours of the Holy Land sites.

      Reply

  2. Greetings, blessings and heartfelt prayers from Ireland! Thinking of all the people in The Holy Land! I’ve long wanted to return especially since my conversion to The Catholic Church! Is there anyone in Ireland with a desire to travel there with me? My email address is familywrenne@yahoo.com
    Be assured of my continuing prayers and warmest good wishes for everybody. Thank you and God bless you all!
    Mary Wrenne, Cork, Ireland 🇮🇪 🙏 ❤️

    Reply

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