Catholic Church in Palestine
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (November 2023) |
 |
| Part of a series on the |
| Catholic Church by country |
|---|
.svg) |
 Catholicism portal |
The Catholic Church in Palestine is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
There are over 80,000 Catholics in the State of Palestine (including Jerusalem) mostly in the agglomeration between Ramallah and Bethlehem, including the West Bank suburbs of Jerusalem. Adherents are mostly of the Latin Church,[citation needed] but there are also small communities of the Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and Jerusalem, belonging to the Melkite Catholic Church, as well as the Maronite Church. All three are in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church.
There are two archbishops of Jerusalem, one for each jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories includes 17 parishes, two of which are in Jerusalem.[1] The current Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
History
[edit]Early Christianity
[edit]The land of Palestine has a long history with Catholicism and Christianity dating back 2,000 years. Jesus lived and preached in the so called areas of Judea and Galilee, today's West Bank and Israel. After the Crucifixion of Jesus, Jerusalem became a hub for the first followers of Christianity. Despite that, the prosecution of Christians in the Roman Empire only intensified, until the Edict of Milan, which granted religious freedom. When the Byzantine Empire came into play, Palestine had already become a thriving Christian center, with thousands of annual pilgrims and many churches and monasteries were built in that time.
Islamic Conquest and the Crusader Period
[edit]After a series of wars between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire, the region of the Middle East had been left weakened and that presented the perfect opportunity for the Rashidun Caliphate to strike. In 638 AD, the Muslim armies finally conquered Jerusalem. The Christians were granted Dhimmi status, which theoretically meant that they would be protected and respected, but wouldn't have the same rights as Muslims.
In 1054, during the schism, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem aligned with Constantinople, choosing Orthodoxy over Catholicism.
In 1099, the crusaders of the First Crusade managed to capture Jerusalem and the Holy Lands and installed Latin rule, with the Roman Catholic clergy replacing Orthodox ones. Everything contributed to the rise of the Catholics in the region. In 1187, Saladin recaptured Jerusalem, but respected the Christians in the Holy Lands.
Mamluk and Ottoman Rule
[edit]In 1291, it was the Mamluks' turn to rule Palestine. They reinstated the Islamic dominance and completely removed Catholic influence, expelling the Latins.[2]
After 1517, the Ottoman Empire conquered the entirety of the Mamluk Sultanate, which meant the land of Palestine, as well. The Ottomans let Christians enjoy more freedom than previous caliphates and in addition, foreign powers stepped in to become guardians of the Christians in the empire, with the populations of Palestine, Syria and the Levant were set to be protected by France. This placed Palestinian Christians with protection privileges, and access to missionary schools, which enabled them to engage in commerce with European traders. In addition, Christian merchants had lower rates of duty to pay than their Muslim counterparts, and thus they established themselves as bankers and moneylenders for Muslim landowners, artisans and peasants. This growing middle class produced several newspaper owners and editors and played leading roles in Palestinian political life.[3]
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem was finally re-established in 1847 by Pope Pius IX, after 660 years, ever since the fall to Saladin. This re-establishment marked a significant moment in the history of the Latin Church in Jerusalem, restoring the position of the Latin Patriarchate after centuries of Muslim rule.[4]
Modern Day
[edit]In 1920, the British Mandate of Palestine was put in place with a task to apply the Balfour Declaration and make Palestine the Jews' "homeland". Both the Catholics and Christians in their entirety, along with the Muslims stood united against the idea of Zionism in the region and set up the Muslim-Christian Associations.
After World War II, with the tensions between the Jews and Arabs reaching a breaking point, the United Nations finished up the partition plan with the two-state solution of the separate states of Israel and Palestine.
In the next years the Christian and Catholic decline started. The Nakba left the Arab Christians in disarray. At Iqrit and Bir'im the IDF ordered Christians to evacuate for a brief spell, an order that was then confirmed as a permanent expulsion. In the Galilee, more lenience was applied to the Christians where expulsion mostly affected Muslims: at Tarshiha, Me'eliya, Dayr al-Qassi, and Salaban, Christians were allowed to remain while Muslims were driven out.
After the war of 1948, the Christian population in the West Bank, under Jordanian control, dropped slightly, largely due to economic problems. This contrasts with the process occurring in Israel where Christians left en masse after 1948. These trends accelerated after the 1967 war in the aftermath of Israel's takeover of the West Bank and Gaza.[5]
Pope Francis had consistent contact with the only Roman Catholic Church in Gaza throughout his papacy during the conflict intensifying in 2023.[6]
See also
[edit]- Catholic Church in Israel
- Catholic Church in the Middle East
- Caritas Jerusalem
- Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
- List of parishes of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
- Our Lady of Palestine
- Custody of the Holy Land
- Latin Church in the Middle East
- Redemptoris nostri cruciatus
- Catholic Near East Welfare Association
References
[edit]- ^ "en.lpj.org". Archived from the original on 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
- ^ Asbridge, Thomas. "The Crusades Episode 3". BBC. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
- ^ Bernard Regan (30 October 2018). The Balfour Declaration: Empire, the Mandate and Resistance in Palestine. Verso Books. p. 57.
- ^ "About us". lpj.org. Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
- ^ Laura Robson, Colonialism and Christianity in Mandate Palestine, p. 162
- ^ Sherlock, Ruth. "From his hospital bed, Pope Francis stays in touch with Catholic parishioners in Gaza". NPR.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
