JERUSALEM — The new podcast “Life as Friars in Jerusalem” is a four-part audio journey produced by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and curated by journalist Anna Maria Selini, who wants to discover what it means to be Capuchin today in the Holy City. The podcast is both a religious journey and a human reportage that intertwines the daily life of the friars with the history of the region. From the foundation of the House, to its transformation into a British barracks and Israeli mental hospital, to its restoration led by the missionary friars.
According to journalist Anna Maria Selini, the audio project “Life as Friars in Jerusalem” “explores the life and history of the friars who have given and continue to give life to the presence of the Capuchin friars in Jerusalem, who in turn, as exceptional guides, accompany us to the symbolic places of the Holy City.”
The first episode of the podcast is being released on the occasion of the Minister General’s visit to Jerusalem; the other episodes will be released every Saturday until January 17, 2026.
You can listen to “Life as Friars in Jerusalem” on our website www.ofmcap.org and on the Spreaker platform https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/vita-da-frati-a-gerusalemme–6831673.
SYNOPSIS
Why do people still choose to wear the habit today, and why specifically that of the Capuchin Friars Minor? How is it different in Jerusalem? When was the Capuchin house in the Holy City founded, and what role does it play? What does it mean to be Christian in the place where the Holy Scriptures were born, and how much is the political tension in the area felt in everyday life, especially after October 7, 2023? And finally, how do the charisma and fraternity of the Capuchins translate into everyday life?
The podcast “Life as Friars in Jerusalem” aims to answer these questions and other curiosities, with a journalistic slant, but at the same time offering moments of entertainment and profound reflections on faith and religion. Through the stories of journalist Anna Maria Selini and other Italians, we will get to know the friars who live in the house in Jerusalem, who in turn, as exceptional guides, will accompany us to the symbolic places of the old city and the Christian quarter of the Holy City.
Genre: Documentaries
Format: Narrator with testimonials.
Structure: 4 episodes of about 20 minutes each.
Release date: December 27, 2025 (first of 4 episodes, one per week).
Location: Jerusalem and Rome.
List of guests: friars from the house in Jerusalem and the General Curia of the Capuchin Friars Minor, Francesca Romana Stasolla, Nello del Gatto, Alessandra Buzzetti.
Ideal listener: general public.
Author and host: Anna Maria Selini
Editor and sound designer: Fra Francisco Javier Castillo Ramírez
Bio: Anna Maria Selini is a professional freelance journalist specializing in crisis areas. She has reported extensively on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the Gaza Strip, through written reports, films, and podcasts. Among other works, she wrote the book Vittorio Arrigoni, ritratto di un utopista (Vittorio Arrigoni, Portrait of a Utopian) (2019) for Castelvecchi and created the three-season podcast Palestina Israele (Palestine Israel) for Altreconomia: Oslo30. L’illusione della pace (Oslo30. The Illusion of Peace); La Guerra dei giornalisti (The War of Journalists) and Bambini senza pace (Children Without Peace). For Chora Media, he created the podcast “Smemorati” (Forgotten) about his father’s story and Alzheimer’s disease.