Israel Agrees to Let Church Leaders Celebrate Holy Week at Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israel

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced on March 30 that an agreement with Israeli authorities allows Holy Week and Easter celebrations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Reports differ on the sequence that led to it. According to Detroit Catholic, Israeli police barred Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Father Francesco Ielpo, the custos of the Holy Land, from entering the church on March 29. France 24 reported that police blocked the Cardinal from entering to hold Palm Sunday Mass and cited security concerns.

The two reports also differ on how the event happened. The Latin Patriarchate said Pizzaballa and Ielpo were travelling privately, without a ceremonial procession, when officers forced them to turn back, according to France 24. The Patriarchate described the barring as a “grave precedent” and said it was the first time in centuries that Church heads had been prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the Holy Sepulchre. Detroit Catholic reported that the Patriarchate said the barring disregarded the sensibilities of billions of people.

Pizzaballa held a Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of All Nations on the Mount of Olives instead, France 24 reported. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Cardinal Pizzaballa to express sorrow over the event. Herzog said the incident stemmed from security concerns about continuous threats of missile attacks from Iran, and he noted that Iranian missiles had fallen in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days, according to Detroit Catholic.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem had regained “full and immediate access” to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, France 24 reported. Detroit Catholic reported that the agreement was finalized one day after the barring, which had prevented the celebration of Palm Sunday.

Both reports tie the arrangement to the wartime setting. France 24 reported that Israel enforces a ban on gatherings in synagogues, churches, and mosques during the ongoing war with Iran. Detroit Catholic reported that, because of the current state of war, existing restrictions on public gatherings remain in force, so liturgies and prayers will be broadcast live. Access to a holy site in Jerusalem, in this account, has become a matter of both church practice and public security, and the two reports present those concerns in different terms.

Palestine’s mission to the United Nations stated on X that Israel has for decades denied Palestinian Christians access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as Detroit Catholic reported. The mission’s statement is its own claim and was not independently confirmed in the reports.