Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Pope Francis postponed the traditional Good Friday collection for the Holy Land to Sunday 13 September, 2020, on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.
As the statement from the Congregation for the Eastern Churches explains, "the current pandemic situation due to Covid-19 involves many nations and many of them are taking preventive measures that prevent the normal community celebration of Holy Week rites. Christian communities in the Holy Land, also exposed to the risk of contagion and living in contexts that are often already very tested, benefit every year from the generous solidarity of the faithful from all over the world, in order to able to continue their evangelical presence, in addition to maintaining schools and the welfare structures open to all citizens for human education, peaceful coexistence, and care above all for the youngest and poorest".
The Holy Father approved the date chosen for the collection because it is near feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. In the East as in the West, the Exaltation of the Cross commemorates the discovery of the relic of the cross by St. Helen and the beginning of public worship in Jerusalem with the construction of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. This will make the collection a sign of hope and salvation rediscovered after the Passion adding that it is a sign of "solidarity with those who continue to live the Gospel of Jesus in the land where 'it all began'". (SL) (Agenzia Fides 10/4/2020)
