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The commotion in Heaven is tremendous! The day of the Child's birth arrives, and here "Child" is capitalized because it is the Word, "all things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be" (John 1:3). God the Father had this Child in mind when He...

  Andrew, like his brother Simon, hailed from Bethesda and resided in Capernaum, a village on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where he worked as a fisherman. After the miraculous first catch of fish, he, along with the other three fishermen who became...

This prayer addressed to the Virgin Mary is the oldest hymn in which her role as Mother of God is proclaimed. It appears in a Greek document from the year 250, so it is highly likely that this prayer was already being recited prior to that date. The Greek word Θεοτόκε...

Olive trees in December, the road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Photo: Reed Miller.The spectacular expansion of Jerusalem's urban fabric in recent decades has led to the disappearance of farmland around the city, particularly olive groves. These now exist only as...

We sincerely appreciate your expressions of affection, messages, and prayers in this painful situation. It is always a valuable help to have your support and prayers for peace in this Holy Land. We will keep in touch and, God-willing, will be able to welcome your...

The clock and the daily rush. We live in a fast-paced world, and at the end of every school year, I find that we all need a break that aligns with what Pope Benedict XVI once described as the ideal vacation: "a time to relax the body and strengthen the spirit." So, I...

On the last Sunday of October, the invocation "Mary Queen of the Holy Land" is venerated in Jerusalem, which this year is celebrated on October 29th.  This feast was confirmed by St. John Paul II on January 24, 1994. Mary has been venerated as the Queen of Heaven...

Among the parables of the Kingdom of Heaven, preached from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus explains one easily understandable to the lake's fishermen: " The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it...

Approximately three and a half years ago, participants in the third edition of Holy Land Dialogues (HLD) were flying back to their respective countries just days before borders around the world closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Historically, neither distances,...

Saxum International Foundation and Claret Publications (Hong Kong) have reached an agreement to distribute a special edition of 'In the Footprints of Our Faith' (the English translation of 'Huellas de nuestra fe') throughout various countries in Asia and Africa. The...

Mount Carmel, being the only promontory on the coast, is the first visual contact with the Holy Land for anyone arriving by sea. The books of the Old Testament mention Mount Carmel several times, always emphasizing its prominent position or fertility. In the Song of...

The people of Israel viewed wisdom as a means of communicating with Yahweh. Devout Jews used not only the Torah but also the Psalms, the Book of Proverbs, and the other wisdom writings in their prayers. Unlike the objective culture of Greece and Rome, they addressed...

Shalom!   Shalom! Let me tell you there’s no better way to experience the Holy Land than during the weeks I have spent at the Saxum Visitor Center. I arrived at the start of Holy Week and was able to join the crowds on Palm Sunday and witness thousands of locals and...

The most important building in Jerusalem during the times of Jesus was its temple. The building, having been expanded by Herod, was built on an elevated surface, of near rectangular shape, more than five hundred meters in length and three hundred meters in width. That...

We continue with the series of articles about the Sea of Galilee. In the first article, we analyzed "The Sea of Galilee and its Climate" and in the second "The Winds at the Sea of Galilee". The strongest winds often bring storms, and as the Gospel points out, on at...

One wonders why John the Baptist's clothing would interest Matthew so that he takes time to describe it. "Now John wore a garment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey" (3:4). Returning to the historical...

By the end of the Middle Ages, illuminations in the books of hours depicted the Visitation scene following very conventional models. The Virgin Mary is cloaked in a sky-blue mantle; her cousin Elizabeth in a purple robe or mantle, with a white veil. The encounter...

My trip to the Holy Land came as an unexpected but welcome blessing. Fortunately, we Filipinos don't need a visa to enter Israel. Most importantly, I entrusted my trip and mission to God. One goal I had at the top of my mind was to help the pilgrims coming from the...

Tel Aviv airport, the gateway for every pilgrim that arrives in the Holy Land, is located in the neighboring municipality of Lod – formerly Lydda or Diospolis. In this city, St. Peter stopped to cure Aeneas, a sick disciple (Acts 9:32-35), while traveling from...

This article is a continuation of my previous article, “The Sea of Galilee and Its Climate.” Jesus was well aware of the weather conditions at the Sea of Galilee because he lived for three years in the shore town of Capernaum. As narrated by Saint Luke (12:54-59),...

Pilgrims to the Holy Land might be unaware of the fact that their devotion to the Virgin Mary is shared by numerous Muslims. Starting with the sacred book of Quran, many Islamic writings praise our Lady, presenting her as an example of virtues and obedience to God,...

More than one pilgrim who has visited the Holy Sepulcher is perplexed by the complexity of that church, enclosed within a group of connected buildings and in which the multiple chapels appear to displace the importance of the two main places in the history of...

As recounted by Saint Matthew, “when [Jesus] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali” (Mt 4, 12-13). Jesus begins his public life in Capernaum, a small...

Three cultures coexist in Israel at the time Jesus is born in Bethlehem of Judea. On the one hand, are the people of Israel, a civilization that has existed for 1,800 years. It originates with a group of nomads beginning with Abraham and which, guided by Jehovah, is...

Many treasures are hidden inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. On the fringes of the classic walk that takes the pilgrim from Calvary to the Tomb of Our Lord, with a stop at the Stone of Unction, there are a good number of chapels that commemorate the events of...

Saint Jerome lived many years in Bethlehem, where he translated the Bible into Latin.  To him, this land was a sort of “fifth Gospel,” because if each of the four Gospels provides us with additional insight about Jesus, getting to know the geography of the land where...

"Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!...”(Mt 11:21). With these harsh words, Jesus condemns the hardness of heart and lack of faith of two cities in which he undertook the first phase of his public ministry. Returning to Galilee with his disciples after...

The Bible tells a great story starring God and man, which is the story of salvation. It is not a conventional story about ancient Israel, but neither is it an imaginary fiction about an ancestral time. Its pages speak of relevant people and events of the past that can...

After the circumcision, the Law of Moses established that the firstborn son was to be presented to the Lord and then ransomed; in addition, the mother had to purify herself of the legal impurity contracted (cf. Ex 13:2; 12-13. Lev 12:2-8). This offering of every...

During pilgrimages, guides habitually ask the accompanying priest to read a Gospel passage related to the place the pilgrims are visiting. At the basilica of the Annunciation, the Grotto of the Nativity, or the Church of the Transfiguration, to cite three examples, it...

Saul marches towards Damascus to round up as prisoners the Christians that had fled the persecution in Jerusalem, when suddenly a light appears, he falls to the ground and hears a voice from heaven that says to him “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” At that...

Christmas stories In the Middle Ages, Catholic pilgrims would visit the main sites of Jerusalem, and then set out on a multi-day pilgrimage to Bethlehem and the mountains of Judah. They were accompanied by a guide and interpreter (the dragoman) and by some Franciscan...

Most probably, the Holy Family traveled to Bethlehem along the pilgrim’s way.  It wasn’t the shortest, but it was the safest and most cost-effective for a poor and pious family. Upon leaving Nazareth, Joseph and Mary went across Cana.  Before reaching the Lake of...

A covenant is a bilateral agreement in which each of the contracting parties makes some sort of serious commitment. In the ancient Near East, covenant treaties between heads of nomadic clans, or also between nations and kingdoms, established agreements between peoples...

The legacy of Isaiah in the Bible is grandiose. In the fourth century, Saint Jerome, with his passion for Scripture, calls him "not just prophet, but evangelist and apostle" (PL XXIV, 18). As evangelist, he draws a portrait of the Messiah -700 years before his coming-...

Until the thirteenth century, many theologians thought that Mary was conceived with the stain of original sin and subsequently, the same as John the Baptist and others, was cured of it in the maternal womb.  Even Thomas Aquinas describes it that way, saying that “if...

"As he was passing by the Sea of Galilee,” one day, Jesus “saw Simon and Andrew, Simon's brother, casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen" (Mk 1,16). Later, under very similar circumstances, Jesus called the sons of Zebedee. "And they left their father...

“The sultan's tent: where is it, please?” a man dressed in rags asks politely but firmly. The Muslim guards, overwhelmed by so much candor and daring, escort the poor man to the presence of Al-Kamil, nephew of Saladin the sultan of Egypt. The scene took place in 1219...

God's call to Abram, in the eighteenth century before Christ, is God's entry into human history. God makes himself known to Abram as the only true God and asks him to leave his land and set out for a country to which He will guide him. To encourage him to obey, God...

The Golden Gate and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross From the front of the Church of “Dominus Flevit” in Jerusalem, a tour guide calls his pilgrims attention to the eastern wall of the Esplanade of Mosques. Just below the Dome of the Rock, the double arch of an...

A gateway to the Bible Saxum International Foundation publishes Bible Portico, a book that helps to better understand the Sacred Scripture, with timelines, maps and graphics for each of the books. For centuries, pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela have seen their faith...

Msgr.Fernando Ocáriz visited Saxum Visitor Center during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This past August, we had the joy of receiving the visit of the Prelate of Opus Dei, Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, who has been a great promoter of the Saxum project since its...

Yesterday morning, Wednesday June 9, a forest fire broke out in Mount Har Haruah, an area close to Saxum.

“Things, as they have been running until today, shall remain as at present, pending a final agreement.” This was the declaration made in 1852 that established what was shortly after called the Status Quo.

One year ago, when we first started to hear about the coronavirus spreading from China, we were immersed in preparations for the third Holy Land Dialogues (HLD).  HLD is a pilgrimage to the Holy Land that combines spiritual and academic elements with participants from around the world.  

Yet another biblical story on Mount Tabor… The first major event in the history of the Bible which took place in the surroundings of Mount Tabor was the victory of Deborah and Barak in their battle against the Canaanites. 

Martin and Jernej, two German university students, talk about what it was like visiting the Holy Land this past August. Their group stopped by Saxum Visitor Center at the end of their trip.

On July 6, Saxum received a special visit from Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli. Archbishop Girelli is the Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and the Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine. The Nuncio is the diplomatic representative of the Holy See and serves as the liaison between the Holy See and the Church in that particular nation.

I was in the Holy Land in 2010 on a week long course based in Jerusalem. I therefore knew a little of what to expect, and had of course been to a lot of the Holy Places before. This trip, however, far exceeded my expectations.