The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and highest authority for Catholics in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presided this Good Friday over the liturgy of the Passion of Christ in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre,
According to a statement from the Patriarchate, the mass was celebrated in the morning at the Calvary, the part located to the right of the altar inside the basilica, located in the Christian neighborhood of the occupied Old City of East Jerusalem, where tradition places the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
Yesterday, Holy Thursday, Pizzaballa also officiated in this basilica the mass of the Lord’s Supper, which included the ancient rite of washing the feet and a procession around the Sepulchre.
Due to restrictions on the number of people who can gather as a result of the war with Iran, the mass was limited to the patriarch and four religious, in addition to the friars who reside in the Holy Sepulcher complex, the Patriarchate detailed.
Last Sunday, the Israeli Police did not allow Pizzaballa to enter the Holy Sepulchre, where he was going to officiate a blessing and mass for Palm Sunday without an audience.
Security restrictions limit capacity to groups of a maximum of 50 people, due to the conflict with Iran, as long as there is a shelter or bunker nearby (non-existent in occupied East Jerusalem).
The , with European leaders in Italy, France, Hungary, Spain and Portugal condemning the measure adopted by the Israeli Government, but also the US ambassador to Israel himself, Mike Huckabee, who pointed out that with Jewish prayer the Israeli authorities were not being equally restrictive.
“Jerusalem churches, synagogues and mosques comply with the restriction of 50 people or less. It is difficult to understand or justify the patriarch being prevented from entering the church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony,” Huckabee said in X, after arguing that the four representatives accompanying him “were well below” the 50-person limit.
Hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed down, saying in another statement that Pizzaballa could “hold religious services as it wishes” this Holy Week.
“I have given instructions to the competent authorities to grant Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch, full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem,” he said in X, after having previously justified his veto of the basilica for reasons of “security.”
