Marinella Bandini

Born and raised in Italy, Marinella Bandini has been a professional journalist since 2008. She works for several news agencies and online newspapers in the Catholic space. Currently based in Jerusalem, she collaborates with the Custody of the Holy Land.

Articles by Marinella Bandini

A young girl hangs an ornament on the Christmas tree inside the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza. Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Gabriel Romanelli

PHOTOS: Gaza Catholic parish prepares for second Christmas under war

Dec 22, 2024 / 06:00 am

As Christmas approaches, the Latin Church of the Holy Family in Gaza is alive with activity as the people at the parish continue to suffer great hardship.

Bassem Giacaman in his shop in Bethlehem in December 2024. The artisans in Bethlehem are almost all Christians. They primarily work with olive wood. Most of the businesses in Bethlehem are family businesses. Credit: Marinella Bandini

War, economic struggles threaten Bethlehem’s century-old crafts tradition

Dec 21, 2024 / 13:00 pm

The tradition of being an artisan in Bethlehem is being threatened by the flight of young people from the area and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The interior of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem. In the background, the most well-known depiction of Our Lady of the Milk. According to a Christian tradition dating back to the sixth century, the Virgin Mary was nursing the baby Jesus here, and when, in haste to flee to Egypt, she took him off her breast, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning the stone completely white. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Bethlehem’s ‘Milk Grotto’: A pilgrimage site of hope for families seeking miracles

Dec 15, 2024 / 06:00 am

The Milk Grotto has long been a favored pilgrimage site for women and families seeking the blessing of a child or facing challenges with pregnancy and nursing.

Children welcome the custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, upon his entrance into Bethlehem on Nov. 30, 2024, for the beginning of Advent. The custos’ entry was festive, but at the same time, it was impossible to ignore the echoes of war. The children were holding signs with messages of peace and solidarity for those suffering due to the war. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Holy Land Christians begin another Advent in the midst of war

Dec 2, 2024 / 13:45 pm

This past weekend, the people in Bethlehem welcomed the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, led by the custos, to inaugurate Advent celebrations.

Monica Biboso and her employer, Ester Rot, while celebrating Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) in the dining room of Kibbutz Be'eri in 2022. “I don’t feel like a hero because I saved Ester” during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, Biboso told CNA. “I would do anything to save her. I just treated her like my mother. Every child would do the same.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Monica Biboso

‘Without God, I wouldn’t be here’: Catholic woman recounts survival of Oct. 7 Hamas attack

Oct 7, 2024 / 05:00 am

In a conversation with CNA, Monica Biboso recalled that day she and the elderly woman she cared for survived when Hamas terrorists set their home ablaze.

Monsignor Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French Bishops Conference, presides over the Mass that took place on Sept. 14, 2024, at Maison Abraham (Abraham House) in Jerusalem during the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of its foundation as a pilgrim guest house run by Secours Catholique-Caritas France. Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

New pilgrimage brings Christians, Muslims, and Jews together in Holy Land at Abraham House

Sep 19, 2024 / 07:00 am

On Sept. 14 in Jerusalem, a new pilgrimage called “Pilgrims of Hope Way” was inaugurated at the 60th anniversary celebration of Abraham House.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition cover the altar, just dedicated by the cardinal. The covering of the altar signifies that it is both the place of the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Lord’s table. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant Church reopens in the Holy Land, new altar dedicated

Sep 12, 2024 / 07:00 am

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, recently came to the basilica to dedicate its new altar on the occasion of the church’s reopening.

Sabeen Rahil and Elias Johny Al Arja in Bethlehem. In the background behind them is the bell tower of the Church of the Nativity, which stands on the site where Jesus was born. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Staying in Bethlehem: Christian couple opts to marry and put down roots despite hardships

Sep 7, 2024 / 06:00 am

Two young Christians from Bethlehem have decided to marry and settle down in their hometown despite the ongoing war and escalation of violence around them.

Some young people from Gaza during study aid activities in a gazebo inside the compound of the Latin Parish of the Holy Family. Beginning June 10, 2024, about 150 children and teenagers ages 4 to 17 who are sheltering in the Latin parish and in the Orthodox parish have taken up their books and notebooks again to reconnect with their studies. Three gazebos in the garden host study groups. They were open-sided, but they have been closed to help the youth avoid distractions, as there are always people around. Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Gabriel Romanelli

Under patronage of St. Joseph, parish priest restarts schooling for students in Gaza

Jul 20, 2024 / 10:00 am

The program had to be suspended for two weeks in July due to Israeli military action in Gaza City but resumed on July 19.

A group of young people from the Apostolic Movement of Jish, led by Father Sandy Habib, during prayer before the meal on July 12, 2024, at the Maronite convent in Jerusalem. The aim is “bringing ourselves closer to Jesus,” Habib explained to CNA. “We try to achieve this through spiritual activities, social activities like trips, and by announcing Jesus Christ.” Credit: Marinella Bandini

Faith amid bombs: Priests minister to Christians in border towns of Lebanon and Israel

Jul 16, 2024 / 05:47 am

Christian communities on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border have been put to the test since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The entrance into the Franciscan church in Aleppo, Syria, of the twins George and Johnny Jallouf, friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, who were ordained priests on July 6, 2024. The two ordinands are wearing the priestly vestments with which they were clothed during the ordination rite. They were 15 when the war in Syria broke out. Their vocation was born and grew amid the Battle of Aleppo. “I tried to attend Mass every day,” George recounted. “I was afraid, but I kept repeating to myself ‘I fear nothing because you are with me.’ This phrase guided me, reassured me, gave me peace.” Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tawk Center

Different paths to same vocation: Twin brothers ordained priests in Aleppo, Syria

Jul 10, 2024 / 07:00 am

It marked the first priestly ordination in 17 years at St. Francis Church in Aleppo, a city that suffered massive destruction during the 2012–2016 Syrian War.

Danny Miran shows the T-shirt with a photo of his son Omri, one of the Israelis kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and who is still being held hostage in Gaza. On the T-shirt, the Hebrew inscription reads: “Bring them home now!”, the motto of the campaign to bring back the hostages. A few days after Oct. 7, Danny Miran, 79, left his home in northern Israel and joined the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv. His life’s purpose has become bringing his son back home. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Father of Israeli hostage who met with pope is on a mission to ‘bring them all home’

Jul 4, 2024 / 07:00 am

Danny Miran met Pope Francis at the Vatican in April. In mid-June he shared his testimony with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and a group of 160 Catholic pilgrims.

A group of cello students from the Magnificat Institute of Jerusalem performs on May 30, 2024. Today, the Magnificat Institute welcomes over 200 students each year (as young as 5 years old) and relies on the collaboration of 25 teachers. It has a choir (which also serves the liturgies of the Custody of the Holy Land) and several orchestras. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Jerusalem’s Magnificat Institute: ‘Every day we witness a small but significant miracle’

Jun 26, 2024 / 06:00 am

The Magnificat Institute brings Jews, Christians, and Muslims together to make music — not an easy feat as the longest war since the founding of Israel rages on.

The sisters Madeleine and Marie-Liesse together with Louis Antona at the entrance of Greece. The three young people covered the distance from Paris to Jerusalem on foot, arriving in mid-May 2024. “I needed to walk 4,500 kilometers to understand that Jesus is not just in Jerusalem, but was by my side every step of the way,” Antona told CNA. Credit: Photo courtesy of French pilgrims Madeleine and Marie-Liesse

Three young adult pilgrims walk from Paris to Jerusalem ‘to deepen our faith’

Jun 18, 2024 / 06:00 am

“Every day of this pilgrimage was a miracle,” said Louis Antona, 24, of the journey he made with two young women from France to the Holy Land.

A reporter from an Israeli news outlet at a press conference hosted by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue. The Center presented its report called “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem” on June 4, 2024, at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Interreligous group releases report highlighting harassment of Christians in Holy Land

Jun 11, 2024 / 07:00 am

According to the report, there were 90 known attacks in 2023, a notable increase in cases of spitting, physical, and verbal harassment.

The entrance of Jaffa Gate (interior), one of the main access points to the Old City of Jerusalem, was almost empty around noon on Friday, May 24. According to data from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, just over 80,000 people entered the country in April 2024, a decrease of 77 percent compared to April 2023. The same decrease was recorded for the first quarter of 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Where are all the pilgrims? The current state of religious tourism in the Holy Land

Jun 4, 2024 / 07:00 am

During the month of May in Jerusalem, the major holidays of the three major religions passed with an almost total absence of pilgrims from abroad.

A moment of prayer during the procession through the narrow streets of the Christian quarter of Bab-Touma (St. Paul) in the Old City of Damascus on July 9, 2023, in celebration of the liturgical feast of the Martyrs of Damascus. Credit: Courtesy of HS/Custody of the Holy Land

Joy in Syria: Pope Francis gives ‘green light’ for canonization of ‘Martyrs of Damascus’

May 23, 2024 / 17:11 pm

The Vatican has announced that eight Franciscan friars and three laymen who were killed for their faith in Syria will be canonized.

Israel Antiquities Authority excavation in Rahat (aerial view), May 2024. Credit: Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority

Archaeological discovery sheds light on Christian pilgrimages to Holy Land 1,500 years ago

May 23, 2024 / 10:31 am

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have discovered a Byzantine-period church in the northern Negev desert with wall art displaying ships.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, listens to a question during the May 20, 2024, press briefing with a small group of journalists at the Latin Patriarchate headquarters in Jerusalem about his recent visit to visit the Catholic community in Gaza. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Cardinal Pizzaballa meets with journalists to discuss visit to Catholic parish in Gaza

May 20, 2024 / 17:04 pm

After returning from the Catholic parish in northern Gaza, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch, spoke to the press about his visit.

An external view of the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem during the procession of the Franciscan friars after the first vespers of the Ascension solemnity on May 8, 2024. The procession circled the chapel three times. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Catholics gather at site of Jesus’ ascension in Jerusalem

May 9, 2024 / 18:45 pm

“I’m excited to have come to pray in the actual place of the Ascension... I want to be closer to God and Jesus,” 14 year-old Joelle Sammour told CNA.