Amid wartime restrictions reminiscent of the COVID lockdowns, only ten Franciscan friars were able to gather to pray the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem on Good Friday.
Father Ibrahim Faltas, O.F.M., head of schools of the Custody of the Holy Land, wrote that “since February 28, it has not been possible to fully live the poignant liturgical season of Lent due to the war that has spread throughout the Middle East, affecting even Jerusalem … On the journey that will lead us to Holy Easter 2026, we have encountered violence, death, and sorrow for the suffering of so many brothers and sisters who have been denied so many rights, who have been denied love.”