Via Dolorosa and the Custodia
The Custodia de Terra Sancta The Franciscan Order was founded in 1219, twenty years after Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn (Saladin) conquered Jerusalem from the Crusaders. Already with the founding of the Order…
Christianity After the Crusades
Christianity After the Crusades The re-conquest of the Land of Israel by the Muslims was completed in 1291. From that time onward, Catholics were generally not permitted to gain a…
Spanish Spirituality in Jerusalem
Christianity in the Ottoman Period The conquest of Jerusalem by the Ottomans led to an increase in the flow of Christian pilgrims to the Holy City. It was important for…
Orthodox Spirituality in Ottoman times
The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre During the Ottoman period in Jerusalem, the Greek Orthodox Church held a senior and dominant status—both because it was the largest Christian community and…
New Catholic French Spirituality
French Catholic Spirituality From the 17th century to the 20th century, there was a surge of French Catholic spirituality that influenced the entire world, perhaps as a reaction to the…
Return of the Catholics
The Return of the Catholics to Jerusalem The French saw themselves as the protectors of Catholics in the Holy Land, but they were not the only Catholic nation in Europe,…
Marian Apparitions in Israel
Marian Apparitions in Israel Starting from the 13th century, Mary began to intervene in world events through apparitions to individuals and later to groups, during which she sought to protect…
Russian Spirituality and Churches
Russians and the Orthodox world The Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe number more than 300 million people, more than all the peoples of Western Europe combined, and the leader of…
All Nations Jerusalem
The Romanian Connection After the Russian Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church is the largest Orthodox Church in the world, with more than 20 million believers and a deep mystical…