Catholic leaders lead prayers in a Jerusalem church without public attendance as the city’s major holy sites continue to be closed due to the ongoing Iran war.
The Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, led Holy Thursday prayers at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem without public attendance.
“There is a tension we cannot ignore: outside, the doors of the Holy Sepulchre are closed. War has turned this place into a refuge, an inside cut off from an outside weighed down by tension. We are here as within a womb of peace, while the world around us is being torn apart, and we wish we could change all of this,” says Pizzaballa.
Israel’s police said it approved a “limited prayer framework” for the church, which announced that the rest of Holy Week will be limited to a number of clergymen and church staff.
The agreement came after police caused an international uproar on Sunday by barring Pizzaballa from the church, citing safety concerns amid Iranian missile fire.
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Thursday, April 2, 2026
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