Israeli police blocked the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem's access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

On Catholic Palm Sunday, Israeli police restricted access of RCC clergy to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, making it impossible to hold a celebratory Mass. According to Vatican News, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custodian of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, were stopped by security forces on their way to the shrine and forced to turn back.

A joint statement by the Latin Patriarchate and the Custodia of the Holy Land emphasized that the incident occurred when the hierarchs were on their way to the shrine privately, without a solemn procession. The authors of the document called the incident a «dangerous precedent,» noting that for the first time in centuries, the heads of the Church were deprived of the opportunity to celebrate Palm Sunday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The action by the Israeli police was characterized as a «completely unjustified and clearly disproportionate measure.»

According to the official report, the Church has shown maximum responsibility since the beginning of the military conflict, observing all restrictions on mass events and providing broadcasts of services for millions of believers around the world. The Patriarchate leadership said the decision violates the basic principles of religious freedom and the long-standing Status Quo of holy sites, and ignores the feelings of billions of Christians for whom Jerusalem is the center of spiritual attention during the Easter celebrations.

The Patriarch and Custodian expressed their «deep sorrow» to the faithful of the Holy Land and around the world that prayer on one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar has been suppressed in this manner.

Recall that on March 26, 2026 in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, a meeting of heads of local Christian churches was held on the preparation for the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. The meeting participants discussed the order of divine services and coordination of actions of religious communities in the context of the ongoing military conflict in the region.