Nearly 100 Israeli, Palestinian and Italian runners put aside all differences as they participated in the 8th annual Pope John Paul II Bethlehem-Jerusalem Peace Run on October 24. The annual race is sponsored by Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the Vatican’s official travel agency, and the Israeli tourism ministry. The hope is that events like these will ...read more

In nearly six years at S+L, my most challenging film shoot was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Widely considered the holiest shrine in the world, the church features prominently in the documentary Within Your Gates. Gaining access to film in the edicule—the small structure marking Jesus’ burial tomb—felt like a minor ...read more

“Good morning Jenna,” a friendly male voice chimed. “It appears that you have drawn the short straw!” These were the warm words I heard as I picked up the first phone call of the day on the morning after one of the best days of my life. The voice belonged to Mr. Jerry Adler at ...read more

A year ago I visited Bethlehem, where residents can claim to celebrate Christmas every day. For those who have never traveled to the region, the city holds a number of surprises. For one, Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity (believed to be the place where Jesus was born) and the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (containing the ...read more

At 9pm ET / 6pm PT this evening, S+L will premiere the full-length version of Within Your Gates: A Pilgrim Guide to the Holy Land. The film originally aired in May to coincide with the first anniversary of Pope Benedict’s trip to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Tonight’s broadcast includes scenes from the city ...read more

If you travel here, you will feel it all, the brightest and the darkest. The lyrics of “Traveler’s Song” by Future of Forestry were not written with the Holy Land in mind, but few places in the world are saturated with such extremes of joy and pain. Jerusalem, in particular, is a sacred, resplendent city ...read more

The tone of S+L’s latest documentary is set by a lone organ. Playing the instrument is Joe Zambon, a folk singer-songwriter originally from the rural town of Iroquois, Ontario, but now residing in Toronto. A guitar joins the organ moments later, and then the hushed lyrics, “In the darkest night of my soul, God Himself ...read more

Earlier this week on the blog, Fr. Thomas Rosica shared his homily for the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. That message was preached in Rome at the Generalate of the Christian Brothers de la Salle, a religious order renowned for operating schools around the world. Notable among them is Bethlehem University. ...read more

Regular blog readers will recall that in November, Salt + Light filmed extensively in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Tonight we show you the first film from that trip: Within Your Gates: A Pilgrim Guide to the Holy Land. This evening’s broadcast commemorates the first anniversary of Pope Benedict’s own voyage to the Holy Land. ...read more

Two weeks ago today, I finally made a visit to the Royal Ontario Museum for their exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Much of the exhibit was focused on providing context to the scrolls, as well as the brief history of their finding and restoration. One week ago today, I was scheduled to be in ...read more