Franciscan Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, is urging pilgrims to return to a land nearly devoid of pilgrims over the last two years not only as an opportunity to be where Christ was, but also as a sign of solidarity with Christians in the area whose livelihoods depend on pilgrims.

The Israel-Hamas war, launched when Hamas attacked Israel Oct. 7, 2023, has left the area devoid of pilgrims who came to walk the land that Christ Himself walked 2,000 years ago.

Ielpo’s call comes despite a deadly strike on Gaza Jan. 31 that killed over 30 people and is threatening an already shaky detente.

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Meeting with pilgrims from Rome at the Franciscan headquarters in Jerusalem, Ielpo said the presence of Christians from around the world visiting the Holy Land "generates hope and strengthens the reason for coming here — not to see a museum, but to encounter a living Church."

Ielpo said he is often asked how "to help this land and these peoples." The most helpful thing, he said, according to Vatican News, was to "return as pilgrims to this land."

Pilgrimages are "one of the principal sources of economic support, primarily — but not only — for the local Christian community," he said.

For Michael Kelly, director of public affairs for Aid to the Church in Need Ireland, pilgrims should consider Ielpo's appeal because he, like many men and women religious in the Holy Land, understands "the reality on the ground, and they would not invite pilgrims there if the situation was unsafe."

While the ceasefire in Gaza is fragile, "around Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee the situation is safe," Kelly said.

Kelly, who has led dozens of group pilgrimages to the Holy Land over the past 20 years, urged pilgrims on the fence about visiting to "leave the hesitation at the door, because it is not outsiders telling people to come, it is the people who live the reality every single day who are asking pilgrims to come."

"Even before the current war, people had a perception that the Holy Land is unsafe," he said. "I used to say to people, take the words of Jesus to heart 'come and see' — and I can tell you honestly, of the 6,000 or so pilgrims I have brought to the Holy Land, not one said they were concerned or worried once they were there."

With religious tourism slowing to a trickle, he lamented, Christians in Bethlehem and Jerusalem are reaching a breaking point, both economically and mentally.

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"They are suffering isolation and hardship because pilgrims have not come in over two years," he said. "They want people to come back, but not just for their material benefit (which is important) but because they want to share their lives of faith with Christians from all over the world.

"Many of the workers in the hotels and restaurants are Christians, and by patronising these businesses we are helping Christians to survive.” 

A report by the U.S. State Department said Christian clergy and pilgrims are facing increased harassment, including incidents of spitting and verbal assault by ultra-Orthodox extremists. Asked how one reconciles the spiritual call to return with the physical reality of rising hostility on the streets, Kelly acknowledged that authorities in Jerusalem must do more to ensure that pilgrims "do not have negative experiences."

"Jerusalem is a holy city for Jews, Christians and Muslims. All of these believers must be allowed to be free to exercise their faith in the city," he said, noting that rabbis in Jerusalem denounced Jewish extremists for their harassment, which is "not in keeping with authentic Judaism."

"I have to say, any time I have witnessed an incident and I have reported it to the Israeli police, they took action immediately," he said. "This hostility on the streets comes from a very small but vocal faction, and it is necessary for Israeli leaders and politicians to denounce it."

Kelly said when such incidents occur on pilgrimages he has led, he tells pilgrims, "This is how it was. The Lord did not have a sanitized walk to Calvary; try to enter more deeply into His passion with this very small experience of adversity.' ”

"The streets of Jerusalem were hostile on that first Good Friday, when the Lord carried His Cross," he said. "Who are we to expect anything less?"

Nevertheless, the images of war and death remain the biggest hurdle in convincing pilgrims to return.

"People are rightly greatly troubled by the huge loss of life and the intensity of the violence," Kelly said. While noting that major pilgrimage stops, such as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum and the Jordan River are safe, he urged pilgrims to overcome their fear by visiting the Holy Land, deepening their faith and supporting the local Christian community.

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"We have to help Catholics around the world understand that the importance of the Holy Land lies not just in the ancient sites there, but in the life of the local Christians descended from the first followers of Jesus," Kelly said.

"My hope is that every Catholic parish in the world will give serious consideration to organizing a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, not only to see the holy sites associated with Jesus, but to be with the local Christian community — to show them that they are really part of the body of Christ, and we will support them.”