Holyland Tour Dec 2019

Church of Visitation, Jerusalem The Church of the Visitation (formerly Abbey Church of St John in the Woods) is a Catholic church in Ein Karem, Jerusalem, and honors the visit paid by the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. (Luke 1:39–56) This is the site where tradition tells us that Mary recited her song of praise, the Magnificat, one of the most ancient Marian hymns. Church of St John the Baptist, Jerusalem The Church of Saint John Ba-Harim is dedicated to John the Baptist and built over previous chapels from the Byzantine and Crusader periods. Inside the church is a cave where according to tradition was the birthplace of John the Baptist. John is an important figure in Christianity , and regarded as the "forerunner" - since John Baptized Jesus,  and proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah. Abu Gosh (Our Lady of the Ark of Covenant Church) The Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant Church is a religi...

Catholic Supported Centres in Bethlehem Catholic Orphanage in Bethlehem Holy Family Children's Home http://holysepulchre.ie/index.php/reflections/23-reflections2 Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem https://birthplaceofhope.org/holyfamilyhospital/ Bethlehem Town Bethlehem initially named after Canaanite fertility god Lehem is a city located in the central West Bank, Palestine, about 10 km (6.2 miles) south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000 people. The economy is primarily tourist-driven, peaking during the Christmas season, when Christians make pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity. Church of Nativity Entering the church that marks the site of Christ’s birthplace means having to stoop low. The only doorway in the fortress-like front wall is just 1.2 metres high. The previous entrance to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was lowered around the year 1500 to stop looters from driving their carts in. Today’s basili...

Jerusalem Past & Present Mt of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jerusalem's Old City. It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. The southern part of the Mount was the Silwan necropolis, attributed to the ancient Judean kingdom. The mount has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves, making it central in the tradition of Jewish cemeteries. Several key events in the life of Jesus, as related in the Gospels, took place on the Mount of Olives, and in the Acts of the Apostles it is described as the place from which Jesus ascended to heaven. Because of its association with both Jesus and Mary, the mount has been a site of Christian worship since ancient times and is today a major site of pilgrimage for Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants.  Garden of Gethsemane Gethsemane was a garden at the foot of the M...

Mt Zion Jerusalem Old City Conventus S Francisci The Franciscans hold a convent (Monastery) in Mount Zion, near the Zion Gate outside the walls of the old city. The Franciscan order has been entrusted by the pope with the upkeep of the Holy Land Christian shrines since the 14th Century.  Cenacle (Hall of the Last Supper) The Cenacle room on Mt Zion in Jerusalem is where two major events in the early Christian Church are commemorated: The Last Supper and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. The Last Supper was the meal Jesus shared with his apostles the night before he died. During this meal he instituted the Eucharist. The coming of the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost, is recognised as marking the birth of the Christian Church. The Cenacle is on the upper floor of a two-storey building near the Church of the Dormition, south of the Zion Gate in the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. The Cenacle is not universally accepted as the site of the “upper r...

Holy Sepulchre Church Jerusalem Old City The site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is identified as the place both of the crucifixion and the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. The church has long been a major pilgrimage center for Christians all around the world. According to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, “the place of the skull” (Matt. 27:33–35; Mark 15:22–25; John 19:17–24). This has been identified as an area of abandoned stone quarries just outside the city wall of the time. About 10 years after the crucifixion, a third wall was built that enclosed the area of the execution and burial within the city, and this accounts for the Holy Sepulchre’s location inside the Old City of Jerusalem today. The Roman emperor Constantine I, a convert to Christianity, had the temple of Venus in Jerusalem demolished to make way for a church. In the course of the demolition a tomb was discovered that was thought to be the tomb of Jesus. The first Church of t...