The season of Lent has kicked off with full solemnity in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Every weekend in Lent sees the Franciscan fraternity of Saint Saviour Monastery, together with that of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, fully occupied with the liturgical celebrations at the holiest Christian shrine, namely the church in which Christians venerate the rock of Calvary, where Christ was crucified, and the empty Tomb from where He rose from the dead on Easter Sunday.

Every Friday afternoon at 3pm the Francsican friars organize the “Via Crucis” along the streets of Jerusalem which mark the journey of Christ from Pilate’s Pretorium to Golgotha. Hundreds of pilgrims take part in this devotional procession. Readings are proclaimed in Italian, English and Arabic or Spanish, for the meditation of those present.

On Saturday afternoon, at 2.30pm, the 50 or so Franciscans living in Saint Saviour’s Monastery, headquarters of the Holy Land Custody, half of whom are Franciscan students, go to the Latin Patriarchate, to accompany the Latin Patriarch, Mgr. Michel Sabbah, for the solemn entrance and procession in the Holy Sepulchre. They are accompanied by the traditional “kawwas”, still wearing their traditional robes dating from the time of the Ottoman Turks. However, this ceremonial accompanyment is nowadays aided by the more efficient escort of the Israeli police and the vigilant security of the Israeli soldiers in the piazza in front of the Basilica. The Patriarch is escorted by the Franciscans in the Basilica since, according to “Status Quo” rules dating from the 18th century, the Franciscans alone are recognized as the official Catholic proprietors in the Basilica by the other proprietors, namely the Greek and Armenian Orthodox monks.

At 3pm the solemn procession takes place along all the stations in the Basilica, stopping particularly in the place where St. Helena found the Holy Cross in the year 325, on Calvary, and in front of the Tomb of Christ. Here the Franciscans and the Patriarch go round the Tomb for three times in an anti-clockwise procession under the “Anastasis” or dome of the resurrection, singing the Easter hymn with the basilica organ blasting out its melodious voice from the thousands of pipes in the gallery. The fragrance of incense, the splendid vestments, the hundreds of candles make the procession an experience not to be missed.
The Franciscans return to the Basilica in a quieter form round about 11.30pm for the night vigil, presided by the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM, or his Vicar, Fr. Artemio Vitores OFM. The vigil celebration is held in the Latin, or Catholic, section of the Basilica, and includes the psalms and readings of Matins, plus another procession round the holy Tomb, with the singing of the “Benedictus” canticle and the reading of the Gospel of the Resurrection.

At 8.30am on Sunday the Franciscan friars go again to the Latin Patriarchate to accompany the Latin Patriarch (Catholic Bishop) of Jerusalem to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre for Pontifical Mass. The singing in Gregorian chant is done by the Franciscan students, while the homily is delivered in Arabic by the Franciscan parish priest of the parish of Saint Saviour, the only Catholic parish in Jerusalem.

These celebrations are repeated every Saturday and Sunday all during Lent, until Palm Sunday, when the solemn Easter celebrations start.

Besides these celebrations, the Franciscan friars also go for a “peregrinatio”, or pilgrimage to the shrines linked with the Passion of Christ, in and around Jerusalem. Every Wednesday evening they go to celebrate Mass to commemorate the various mysteries: at Dominus Flevit on the Mount of Olives on 15 March, at the Basilica of the Agony of Jesus in Gethsemani on 22 March, at the Flagellation Church in Jerusalem, seat of the Franciscan Faculty of Biblical Sciences and Archaeology on 29 March, at Bethany, house of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, on Thursday 30 March, at the Lithostrotos Church in the Via Dolorosa on 5 April, and on the Altar of the Virgin Mary of Sorrows on Calvary on Friday 7 April. This day marks the liturgical feast of the Virgin Mary of Sorrows, which is also very popular in the Maltese islands, particularly in the devotional procession which the Franciscan friars in Valletta organize from the Church of Saint Mary of Jesus (Ta’ Giezu), and which, together with the Good Friday processions, originated from the Maltese Franciscans who brought over this devotion from the Holy Land during the 17th century.