Michele Dunne, OFS
The name of our fraternity—Mt. St. Sepulchre—derives directly from the site in Jerusalem of the crucifixion and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The monastery where we 3 meet is the U.S. base of the Holy Land Friars, whose purpose is to serve the sites and people of the Holy Land, as they have for more than 800 years
We have decided as a fraternity to spend some time this year getting to know the Holy Land better, starting with understanding the Franciscan role there. To get started, please read this excerpt from a much longer passage from the website of the Holy Land Custody:
“The Custody of the Holy Land is usually traced back to the year 1217, when the first General Chapter of the Friars Minor was celebrated at St. Mary of the Angels, near Assisi. In an act of inspiration, Francis decided to send his friars to all nations.
The world was, so to speak, divided into Franciscan “provinces,” and the friars from Assisi went out to the four corners of the world. On that occasion, the Holy Land was not forgotten. The Holy Land appears among the eleven Mother Provinces of the Order. In the documents, it is designated by various names: Syria, Romania, or Ultramarina. included the Empire of Constantinople, Greece and the Greek Isles, Asia Minor, Antioch, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, Egypt, and the rest of the Orient…
From the very beginning, it was considered to be the most important “province” of the Order. Perhaps this is why it was entrusted to the care of Brother Elias, a prominent figure in the burgeoning fraternity due to his organizational talent and his culture and experience. It would be interesting to know the initiatives taken by Brother Elias to organize and consolidate this part of the Order, characterized by particular environmental problems and by the vastness of the territory. His zeal, and the qualities that distinguished him as a leader must have driven him during the years of his mandate to lay the foundations of the Franciscan apostolate in all regions situated in the southeastern basin of the Mediterranean.
In 1219, St. Francis himself wanted to visit at least a part of the Province of the Holy Land. Well-known documents speak of the ‘Poor man of Assisi’ among the Crusaders, below the walls of Damietta. His encounter with the Sultan of Egypt, Malik al-Kamel, nephew of Saladin the Great, is also well documented.
The same documents add that after leaving Damietta, Francis went to Syria. In any case, the visit of St. Francis to the holy places certainly took place between 1219 and 1220. In this regard, Jacques de Vitry, bishop of Acre, wrote: ‘We saw the arrival of the friar Francis, founder of the Order of Friars Minor. He was a simple and unlettered man, but most lovable and dear to God and to men. He arrived when the army of the Crusaders was encamped below Damietta; he was immediately respected by all.’ During his brief voyage, Saint Francis showed by his own demeanor how future Franciscan missionaries should conduct themselves in those regions, and the specific field of their activity. According to the technique of the Poverello, evangelization must be done in a friendly way and with extreme humility, exactly as he had done with regard to the Sultan. Also, the holy places must be loved and venerated for their relationship with the most salient moments of the life of Christ.
Historians have argued that after the 13th century, and especially after the failure of the Crusades, access to the holy places was guaranteed using a new strategy, and that the missionary apostolate, with the unarmed presence of the Franciscans, replaced military expeditions.
The reconquest of Acre by the Muslims on May 18, 1291 marked the end of the Latin kingdom in the Holy Land. The Christians were put to severe hardship. The Franciscans were expelled from the Holy Land and forced to take refuge in Cyprus where, at the time, the Provincial headquarters was located. From the nearby island of Cyprus, the Franciscans never lost interest in the Holy Land. Like exiles far from their country, their constant desire was to find the means to live near the holy places. Nothing was overlooked in the pursuit of this goal. Historical documents of the time testified to private devotional visits and visits authorized by the Holy See in order to restore the Catholic presence in the holy places. A first benevolent gesture on behalf of the Franciscans was made by Sultan Baibars II (1309-10), who gave them the ‘Church of Bethlehem,’ but the Sultan died soon afterward, and the friars were unable to take possession of it.
In 1347, the Franciscans settled permanently in Bethlehem near the Basilica of the Nativity of our Lord. The first statutes of the Holy Land, which date back to 1377, provided for no more than twenty religious at the service of the holy places: the Holy Cenacle, the Holy Sepulcher, and Bethlehem. Their main activity consisted of ensuring the liturgical life in the shrines mentioned, and in providing religious assistance for European pilgrims. A document from 1390, specifies that the Province of the Holy Land, with its headquarters in Cyprus, also had a Custody in Syria, including four convents: Mount Zion, the Holy Sepulcher, Bethlehem, and Beirut.
The presence of the Franciscans in the Holy Land was primarily linked to the shrines and their care because, ultimately, all other activities were connected to this purpose and were considered as primary and of exclusive importance for the entire Church.”
(Source: https://www.custodia.org/en/custody-and-its-history