The Pontifical Collection for the benefit of the Holy Places is scheduled this year on Good Friday April 3, 2015. As we respond to this appeal, the visit of Pope Francis in the Holy Land from May 24 to 26, 2014 vividly comes to mind and we revisit the words of Scripture that marked his prayer at the Holy Sepulchre: “I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as He said. Come; see the place where the Lord lay.” (Matthew 28: 5-6)
The Pontifical Collection of Good Friday is a unique moment of loyalty to the Resurrection of the Christ Jesus and of solidarity with the Christians who are the “living stones” of those consecrated places. We are invited to this gesture of commemoration and unity for the benefit of the Holy Places and Christians so as to give a tangible form to the remembrance of the Christ Jesus and the constant support of our present day brothers and sisters!
With gratitude,
Gilles Bourdeau, OFM
Commissary of the Holy Land in Canada
