The flush region of Caesarea Philipi is about an hour’s drive north of the Sea of Galilee.  It was given to Herod the Great by Caesar Augustus around 20 BCE, who in turn handed it down to his son Philip.  Philip named it Caesarea in honor of Caesar, and his own name eventually became associated ...read more

(CNS photo/Paul Haring) There is a new Franciscan Custodian of the Holy Land. The Order of Friars Minor elected Father Francesco Patton, OFM as the new Custos. He replaces Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa who ended a 12 year term as Custos in April. Father Patton is 53 years old and comes from the Trent region of ...read more

A couple of months before arriving in Jerusalem, I was driving my six-year-old daughter to school and she asked me about Jesus’ footprints. Not the real one located inside the Chapel of the Ascension, rather, she wanted to talk about the ones from famous poem called Footprints. She had seen the poster of it hung ...read more

We know very little about the woman who is described as the apostle of the apostles, so this village helps fill in some background. ...read more

Our recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land offered the chance to visit the ancient sites where key events in our faith story took place, and meet people living there today who are making sure those sites do not become museums. Visiting Qubeibeh, the West Bank, we met the Salvatorian sister who helped found the Qubeibeh ...read more

Have you ever wondered why they call it the Wailing Wall? It’s evident as soon as you get closer to it and make your way through the faithful standing before it, finding just enough space to press your hand against its cold brick to pray. During Salt and Light’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land in February, each ...read more

Lent is a time of penance, a period for us to refresh our faith with God. This year, I had an unforgettable time during lent and it took part in the Holy Land.   From Feb 25th to Mar 6th, I had the opportunity to follow Salt + Light on a pilgrimage, led by Fr. ...read more

Our first few days in the Holy Land granted us full and beautiful access to the Mount of the Beatitudes Church, the guest house located on the property and the incredible landscape. For each of the days we stayed at the guest house, Lou-Kevin and Jay — the cameramen — and myself would get up ...read more

Salt + Light made a pilgrimage on the footsteps of Jesus in the heart of Lent and offers us reflections of the holy places we visited. In this meditation we meet at the Cenacle in Jerusalem where Jesus shared one last meal with his friends. During this Last Supper, we are confronted with Christ’s radical ...read more

Fr. Rosica with one of the residents of Qubeibeh. The unofficial theme of Salt + Light’s 12 day pilgrimage to the Holy Land was “Living Stones.” For every biblical site visited, there was a visit to a place where Christians are currently putting the Gospel into action. The combination of the ancient and new Christian ...read more