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

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.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III exits the Aedicule of the Holy Sepulcher on May 4, 2024, in Jerusalem, showing the faithful the two candles just lit from the oil lamp that is believed to have been miraculously ignited inside Jesus' tomb. Credit: Studio Sami Jerusalem

‘Holy Fire’ ceremony at Jesus’ tomb marks beginning of Orthodox Easter celebrations

May 5, 2024 / 09:00 am

Though its authenticity is disputed, the “Holy Fire” refers to a flame of purported divine origin that ignites inside Jesus’ tomb.

Professor Mouna Maroun is the first Arab to be elected as the rector of an Israeli university, the University of Haifa. Maroun belongs to the Arab minority in Israel, the Christian minority among Arabs, and the Maronite minority among Christians. She says she is proud of her religious affiliation and wears a golden crucifix around her neck. "My election is an important message that everything is possible in the Israeli academia," she told CNA. Credit: Marinella Bandini

First Arab Christian woman to lead Israel’s University of Haifa

May 4, 2024 / 07:00 am

The announcement of Professor Mouna Maroun’s appointment was made amid tensions with Iran and as anti-Israel protests were mounting around the world.

A family of religious Jews walks at the beginning of Armenian Quarter Street, the entry point to the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem in April 2024. Behind them stands the complex of the Tower of David Museum. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Orthodox rabbis in Jerusalem call on Jews to stand against spitting at Christians

May 1, 2024 / 13:05 pm

Several posters and pamphlets appeared in the streets of the Old City calling on the public to avoid harassment toward Christians and non-Jews.

A view of the modern area of the Catholic cemetery located on the southern hillside of Mount Zion in April 2024. In the background are the buildings of the Arabic neighborhood of Abu Tor. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Franciscans file petition to stop cable cars from passing over Holy Land Catholic cemetery

Apr 27, 2024 / 07:00 am

The Jerusalem Development Authority is exploring the opportunity to use the piece of land in the cemetery to place a cable car support pylon.

People gather at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family on Palm Sunday in al-Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on March 24, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Catholics in Gaza are burying dead in Muslim cemeteries

Apr 16, 2024 / 06:00 am

Muslim cemeteries have opened to receive the bodies of Christians and give them a dignified burial.

An improvised barricade covered with barbed wire. In the background, the tent of activists from the “Save the Armenian Quarter” (ArQ) association who are guarding the “Cow’s Garden” parking lot. Credit: Marinella Bandini

New episode involving land dispute shakes Armenian community in Jerusalem again

Apr 5, 2024 / 12:00 pm

According to a communique, on April 3 “an unlawful eviction was initiated by Israeli police on the grounds of the Cows’ Garden.”

With the incense burned from the newly blessed fire, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, incenses the "Stone of Anointing," located at the entrance of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, where, according to tradition, the body of Jesus was anointed and prepared with aromatic oils for burial. March 30, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

‘The mother of all holy vigils’: Jerusalem basilica is first place to announce Easter

Mar 31, 2024 / 09:45 am

In the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, the church of the Lord’s resurrection, the Easter Vigil is held on Saturday morning instead of at night.

The Catholic faithful gathered in the Cenacle in Jerusalem for the Mass of the Lord's Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here and over the centuries Jews and Muslims have leveraged this to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deemed sacrilegious. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Friars and faithful gather in Upper Room in Jerusalem to mark the Last Supper

Mar 28, 2024 / 17:15 pm

On Holy Thursday, the doors of the Cenacle in Jerusalem were opened to welcome the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land.

On Holy Wednesday, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerated the column to which, according to tradition, Jesus was bound to be scourged. They prayed the station dedicated to the column during the daily procession that the Franciscans perform inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. At the end, they intoned the hymn “Columna Nobilis” and then, one by one, they performed an act of veneration. March 27, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Holy Wednesday in Jerusalem: Venerating the pillar of Christ’s flagellation

Mar 27, 2024 / 15:00 pm

In Jerusalem, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land venerate the two stones that, according to Luke’s Gospel, were stained with Jesus’ blood during his passion.

Some Greek Orthodox monks at the entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher wait for the solemn entrance of the patriarch on Saturday, March 23, 2024, for the First Vesper of the first Sunday of Lent, called the "Sunday of Orthodoxy." Credit: Courtesy of Gianfranco Pinto Ostuni

PHOTOS: As Catholics enter Holy Week, Orthodox churches begin Great Lent in Holy Land

Mar 26, 2024 / 17:00 pm

As the Catholic Church in the Holy Land entered Holy Week by literally retracing the steps of Jesus’ passion, the Orthodox Churches took their first steps into Lent.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, gives the final blessing with the relic of the holy cross at the end of the Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage to Jerusalem on March 24, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: Palm Sunday procession in Holy Land celebrates ‘joy in being Christians’

Mar 25, 2024 / 14:30 pm

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, led the procession, which departed from Bethphage on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives.

The daily procession of the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. Due to the restoration works inside the basilica, Franciscans, as well as other communities, had to change the route of their processions. These are all issues that need to be discussed, as they fall within the Status Quo. Credit: Courtesy of Silvia Giuliano

What is the ‘Status Quo’ that governs some of Jerusalem’s holiest sites?

Mar 24, 2024 / 06:00 am

A decree going back to 1852 governs the possession and rights of use for Catholic and Orthodox Christian communities at important sanctuaries in the Holy Land.

Suhail Shadi Abu Dawod with Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Gaza, on the seashore in Gaza last summer 2023. Romanelli, belongs to the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE), a Catholic clerical religious institute founded in Argentina on March 25, 1984, which Abu Dawod has petitioned to join. Credit: Courtesy of Father Gabriel Romanelli

Gaza teen waits to follow vocation: ‘My faith is flourishing amidst the challenges of war’

Mar 11, 2024 / 06:00 am

Suhail Shadi Abu Dawod was planning to join the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) in Italy — then the Israel-Hamas war broke out.

Woolen scarves produced at the Rafedìn tailoring workshop in Amman, Jordan. The workshop is hosted in the premises of the Latin parish of Mar Yousef and it provides employment for approximately 20 young Iraqi women who sought refuge in Jordan. Credit: Marinella Bandini

This tailoring shop in Jordan helps Iraqi refugees knit their lives back together

Mar 3, 2024 / 07:00 am

Founded by Father Mario Cornioli, the shop called Rafedìn has been helping Iraqis rebuild their lives over the past eight years.

On Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, approximately 1,000 children and youth from Christian schools in Jerusalem walked the Via Dolorosa in the Old City, offering prayers for peace. The crowd brought life to the streets of the Holy City for the first time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last October. Credit: Marinella Bandini

PHOTOS: 1,000 Christian youth walk the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem for peace

Feb 26, 2024 / 13:30 pm

“The Way of the Cross… A Way of Peace” was organized by the Custody of the Holy Land and involved 12 institutions.