Good Friday, Holyland collection

Each year, the Holy Father asks all Catholic parishes to take up the Good Friday Collection to keep a Christian presence in the Holy Land. This collection on April 18, 2025, supports the Franciscan ministry work offered to the sacred shrines and parishes in the Holy Land. It also provides for the formation and education in communities and schools, and supports the basic needs of our sisters and brothers during their current hardships. Our parish communities have always been generous in contributing to this collection.  

In a letter sent to the world’s bishops, Claudio Cardinal Gugerotti expresses the sentiments of Pope Francis as he writes: “The Holy Land, the holy places, the holy people of God are your family, because they are the heritage of all of us. I ask you to consider the collection as one of your pastoral priorities: The survival of this precious presence of ours, which dates back directly to the time of Jesus, is at stake here. This year the Collection becomes an essential resource: after the pandemic, with the almost complete interruption of pilgrimages and the small economic activities that Christians in particular have created alongside them, many have been forced into exile. If we want to strengthen the Holy Land and ensure living contact with the Holy Places, we must sustain Christian communities that, in their various traditions, offer perennial praise to the God-with-us, also in our name. For this to happen, we absolutely need the generous support of your communities.”

The Good Friday collection supports the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, an autonomous province of the Franciscan order that has safeguarded Christian sites for centuries. The Franciscan province uses the collection to carry out its mission of preserving most of the shrines connected with the life of Jesus while also providing pastoral care, running schools, operating charitable institutions, and training future priests and religious.

Please send the contribution of your parish to Financial Services at the ACC, Account No.  200448. There are no envelopes provided for this collection.

A reminder that collected funds forCatholic Relief Services/Operation Rice Bowl held during Lent, March 5 through April 19, 2025 should be remitted to the Office of Life, Justice and Peace.

As we begin the second half of the Lenten journey, let us continue to strive to reflect Jesus’ presence and the Good News which is at the heart of our faith in our relationships with all those whose lives we touch.