In many ways, the Christians of the Holy Land rely on pilgrimages for their survival. In 2019 over 4.5 million pilgrims flocked to the holy sites to experience the places of Christ’s birth, ministry, death and resurrection.

The pounds and dollars pumped into the local economy, with tourists buying goods such as olive wood carvings – rosaries and icons – help sustain the region’s Christians as they face severe socio-economic hardship.

All this has changed in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global restrictions on travel has turned off this essential financial lifeline.

The Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Reverend John Wilson, is the newly-appointed Grand Prior of the Lieutenancy of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre in England and Wales. The Knights and Dames support the ‘Living Stones’ – the Christians of the Holy Land.

Archbishop Wilson encourages us to keep the Christians of the Holy Land in our prayers and tells us how we can help.