Bishops Call for Pilgrims!

Bishops call the faithful to be Pilgrims Of Hope for the Holy Land

Each year Bishops from across Europe, North America, and South Africa visit Israel/Palestine to meet the local Christian community: the "Living Stones" of the Holy Land. Those faithful whose presence is an unbroken link to the apostles in the land of the Resurrection. These Bishops are the Holy Land Coordination, and their visit in 2025 coincided with our own trip to the region.

Mass at the Holy Family Church of Gaza

A Pilgrimage of Hope in a Time of Crisis:

The delegation arrived in January describing themselves as "pilgrims of hope." They met with communities in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Aboud and Taybeh. And they held a virtual visit with Fr Romanelli of Holy Family Parish in Gaza to learn of the devastation faced by the people there.

Child born at Holy Family Hospital Christmas 2025

The Final Communique:

Following their mission the Bishops wrote a report for the faithful of their own countries to communicate what they found. The final communique from the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales makes stark reading. It tells of a community in crisis. A people forgotten. They describe the road closures that inhibit daily life, the growth of settlements and the increasing isolation of churches. Isolation that has deepened over the last two years and now threatens the very existence of these communities.

Holy Family Hospital - Bethlehem

Despite these struggles, the bishops were moved by the Christians' commitment to provide healthcare and education for everyone in the region, regardless of religion or ethnicity. They praised the efforts of organisations like Caritas Jerusalem and Holy Family Hospital, Bethlehem for upholding human dignity at a time when life seems cheap.

The future of the Holy Land.

Although the Christian population is small, their contribution is huge, their presence essential for peace, and their absence would spell disaster for all who live there.

They are truly the salt and yeast - "a light shining in a darkened land."

But more than anything - their report was a call to action. A challenge to all UK Christians to support their brothers and sisters. Simple, urgent and direct - it is the command Christ gave to His first disciples - "Come and See!" (John 1:39)

Be present. Be Pilgrims. Bring hope.

Come and travel in the footsteps of Christ alongside the people of Palestine.

Walk with them and hear their story.

Eat, stay, and pray with them.

"We make a heartfelt appeal to Christians in our home countries:

Do not be afraid to come on pilgrimage. But come as pilgrims of solidarity. Visit communities like Aboud, Ephraim-Taybeh, and Ramallah so they too can draw inspiration from your faithfulness. Meet the local people, listen to their stories, and buy their crafts. Your presence is a powerful message that they are not forgotten."

Bishops of the Holy Land Coordination 2025

The Bishops' communique ended with a promise. A promise that we must fulfil:

"You are not alone!"

"We came to tell you that you are not alone; that you are not forgotten. Your faith and resilience strengthen our own faith. We hope that our coming among you encourages you and will inspire Christians from our different countries to return to the Holy Land on pilgrimage."

Their message has increased the resolve of our own mission in Liverpool. The call

from the Bishops is the call we wish to answer:

To be Present

To build Connection 

To Advocate for peace.

Ours is an Incarnational faith. If any people should understand the holiness of presence and the theology of fellowship, it is surely the people of Christ!

The Living Stones cry out - "Let anyone who has ears to hear, listen!"

To answer the bishops' call and join the movement today, please visit:

 Pilgrims of Hope for the Holy Land