At a Good Friday service in your parish, you may have heard that a collection was going to be taken up that day for the Holy Places. That kind of collection is called an “imperative collection,” which means that it is taken up in a spirit of solidarity and openness for a specific purpose.
Since the introduction of the Good Friday Collection in 1421, the majority of the amount collected has gone to the Custody of the Holy Land. But it would be more appropriate to say that the collection is for the Christians of the Holy Land; sixty percent of what the Custody receives through the collection goes to the “living stones,” that is the Christians living in the Holy Land.
Every year, the Custody of the Holy Land reports to the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on its use of the money it has received. In June 2008, Custos Pierbattista Piezzaballa presented the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO) the breakdown of the distribution of the proceeds from the collection.
By allocating most of the money to the living stones, the Custody is able to support Christian families in a concrete way by helping meet their housing, education, and employment needs. It would not be able to accomplish its mission without this annual collection, which is the product of the generosity of the Christians in the Universal Church.
The Custody of the Holy Land’s figures include 300 friars, 50 sanctuaries, 23 parishes, 14 schools, 4 homes for the sick, 5 facilities to accommodate pilgrims (Casa Nova), 3 academic institutions, 1 ecumenical center, 2 editing houses, more than 1000 jobs, 540 residences for families in need, and 289 scholarships for university students.
The Good Friday Collection is organized by the approximately 80 commissaries of the Holy Land operating in the 69 commissariats across the world.
If your parish does not participate in the collection and you would like to support the work of the Custody of the Holy Land, the commissioners are at your service.
There are also two associations that support the Custody of the Holy Land: for North and South America, the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land (FFHL) , and for Europe, the Holy Land Association (ATS). These two associations support specific projects and could benefit from donations from private donors, companies, or local authorities. Both associations offer the possibility of making a secure donation online.
Every year, decisions about how funds are allocated to Christians and to sanctuaries and other recipients are made based on present needs and future expectations.
The next Good Friday will be on April 10, 2009.
Click here to go to the website of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
Since the introduction of the Good Friday Collection in 1421, the majority of the amount collected has gone to the Custody of the Holy Land. But it would be more appropriate to say that the collection is for the Christians of the Holy Land; sixty percent of what the Custody receives through the collection goes to the “living stones,” that is the Christians living in the Holy Land.
Every year, the Custody of the Holy Land reports to the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on its use of the money it has received. In June 2008, Custos Pierbattista Piezzaballa presented the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO) the breakdown of the distribution of the proceeds from the collection.
By allocating most of the money to the living stones, the Custody is able to support Christian families in a concrete way by helping meet their housing, education, and employment needs. It would not be able to accomplish its mission without this annual collection, which is the product of the generosity of the Christians in the Universal Church.
The Custody of the Holy Land’s figures include 300 friars, 50 sanctuaries, 23 parishes, 14 schools, 4 homes for the sick, 5 facilities to accommodate pilgrims (Casa Nova), 3 academic institutions, 1 ecumenical center, 2 editing houses, more than 1000 jobs, 540 residences for families in need, and 289 scholarships for university students.
The Good Friday Collection is organized by the approximately 80 commissaries of the Holy Land operating in the 69 commissariats across the world.
If your parish does not participate in the collection and you would like to support the work of the Custody of the Holy Land, the commissioners are at your service.
There are also two associations that support the Custody of the Holy Land: for North and South America, the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land (FFHL) , and for Europe, the Holy Land Association (ATS). These two associations support specific projects and could benefit from donations from private donors, companies, or local authorities. Both associations offer the possibility of making a secure donation online.
Every year, decisions about how funds are allocated to Christians and to sanctuaries and other recipients are made based on present needs and future expectations.
The next Good Friday will be on April 10, 2009.
Click here to go to the website of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.