Readers who desire to visit the Holy Land but are unable to will appreciate learning about the Franciscan Monastery of The Holy Land in America located in Washington, D.C. (myfranciscan.org). Its mission statement appears below. Those interested in knowing more about the history and culture of the land in which our Lord lived and the places he walked would benefit enormously by Fr. David Wathen’s recently published book “A Pilgrim’s Spiritual Handbook to the Holy Land”. They would also enjoy visiting the monastery to take the “tour” of the holy sites that have been replicated there.
The Franciscan Monastery in Washington
800 years ago, the Romand Catholic Church entrusted the guardianship of the Holy Land of the Christian religion to the Holy Land Friars of the Order of St. Francis, creating what is now known as the Custody of the Holy Land. The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America is run the Custody’s friars based in America.
The Franciscan Monastery is home to the Holy Land Franciscan Friars whose purpose is to support the Holy Land, its people and its holy sites. The Franciscan Friars’ work in the Holy Land is vital. As Pope Francis says, “We will not resign ourselves to imaging a Middle East without Christians.” We preserve the holy places and make it possible for Christians to remain in the lad of Jesus.
This work has grown to include support of schools and missions in the Holy Land, as well as care for refugees and other needy people throughout the region. Conflict in the Middle East and the Jerusalem Barrier Wall have led to a declining Christian population in the region, making our work increasingly important. The ability of families in many of these regions to stay in their home countries is increasingly being threatened by the lack of employment and education opportunities. We help care for children, families, refugees and others in need throughout the region, and keep Christianity alive in the land made holy by the birth, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
The Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C. is a national shrine that sustains this 800 year mission of the Franciscan Friars in the Holy Land by serving as a “Little Jerusalem” in America. It serves America’s Holly Land pilgrims through education, fundraising, recruiting vocations, promoting pilgrimages and providing pastoral ministry locally to religious, lay Catholics and to all of good will.
The Franciscan Monastery is home to a thriving Holy Land Franciscan community, self sustaining and capable of fulfilling its mission on behalf the Holy Land, its Friars and the Church Universal.