JERUSALEM – From December 22 to 26, 2025, the General Minister Br. Roberto Genuin made a fraternal visit to the community in Jerusalem, accompanied by General Councilor Br. Maurizio Placentino. As with any visit by a brother from the General Curia, this too was an opportunity to connect with the whole Order in a meaningful way.
The visit began with a special Eucharistic celebration in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. After this time for prayer, the General Minister took the opportunity to meet with the friars of the fraternity.
The General Minister then had the opportunity to meet with several religious authorities, including His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Br. Francesco Ielpo, OFM, Custos of the Holy Land, and the Most Rev. Adolfo Tito Yllana, Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Apostolic Delegate to Palestine.
During his stay, he had the opportunity to visit the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and the École Biblique, academic institutions with which the Order collaborates in the field of biblical and archaeological studies, due to some of our friars studying and teaching there.
The highlight of the visit was the local chapter, where the fraternity received words of encouragement from the General Minister, suggestions for our presence in the Holy Land, and the service of the friars in order to support the community’s journey and the specific mission entrusted to the house in Jerusalem.
On Christmas Eve, the General Minister concelebrated the Eucharist in the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and on December 25, he celebrated the Eucharist with the friars in our chapel. The date, the place, and the presence of Br. Roberto and Br. Maurizio with the friars of the Jerusalem fraternity brought special significance to the celebration.
As a sign of gratitude, the fraternity presented the Minister with a “Baby Jesus” carved from olive wood – the work of a craftsman from Bethlehem. The visit ended in an atmosphere of joy and fraternity, reaffirming the mission of our presence in Jerusalem as a place of hospitality, a center of spirituality and formation under the motto: “I am the light of the world.”