The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa ofm, celebrating Mass in the historic College Chapel of Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, during his first visit to Ireland in July 2024 (Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem)
This weekend an international delegation of Catholic bishops, including an Anglican bishop, is undertaking its annual pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The theme of the 2026 visit is, ‘A Land of Promise: Encounter and Dialogue with People of Hope.’
The official title for the group is the ‘Holy Land Co-ordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy Land’, and it comprises bishops from Europe, the United States and Canada. Representing Ireland is Bishop Paul Dempsey, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Dublin and chairman of Trócaire; Mr Seán Farrell, chief executive officer of Trócaire; and, Rev Dr Gary Carville, executive secretary of the Commission for Social Issues & International Affairs of the Bishops’ Conference.
According to Bishop Dempsey, “Our visit is pastoral in nature and seeks to offer confidence and reassurance to the Christian communities of the Holy Land by way of prayer, pilgrimage, presence and dialogue. We also hope to remind Catholics across the world to remain attentive to the conditions under which their sisters and brothers live, and worship, in the land of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. We are particularly looking forward to meeting the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa OFM, who visited Ireland in July 2024.”
Mandated by the Holy See, the Holy Land Co-ordination meets and travels to the Holy Land every January with a focus on prayer, pilgrimage and persuasion. Its aim is to act in solidarity with the Christian community as it experiences pressure in the Holy Land. Since 1998 the Coordination group has met at the invitation of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land.
ENDS