For Franciscan Father David Grenier, the Pontifical Good Friday collection is not just another Church collection. It is vital to the roots of Catholicism as it funds ministries and outreach in the Holy Land.
“This is where our faith comes from as a Church,” said Father Grenier, commissary for the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America.
In 1342, Pope Clement VI designated the Franciscans as the Church’s custodians of the Holy Land where they not only maintain the holy places, but minister to the Christian communities there.
When St. Pope Paul VI established the international collection in 1964, he wrote, “… it is necessary for Christians from all over the world to show their generosity, bringing to the Church of Jerusalem the charity of their prayers, the warmth of their understanding and the tangible sign of their solidarity.”
Father Grenier noted that the collection is an important part of how the Franciscans’ work is funded.
“Without it, it would be very difficult to maintain, taking care of pilgrims and maintain our charity over there,” he said.
Not only did COVID have an impact upon the Good Friday collection in the U.S. — $17 million collected in 2019 but only $8 million in 2020 — but the needs in the Holy Land were greater as there were no tourists and those who made their living through tourism-related jobs were unemployed.
“A lot of our income comes from pilgrims,” the priest explained. “And Christians working in restaurants and hotels didn’t have jobs during that time.”
Money from the Good Friday collection, which includes $19,406 collected in the Diocese of Richmond last year, is used to staff and maintain shrines, operate schools, support seminarians, provide pastoral care at 29 parishes and tell the Holy Land story throughout the world.
Father Grenier pointed out that in 1948, 25% of the population in the Holy Land was Christian. Today, Christians make up less than 1% of Palestine’s 4.8 million people, and 1.4% of Israel’s 9.2 million.
“Seeing the home of Christianity without Christians affects us,” the priest said. “We need everyone’s help to continue our work there.”
Editor’s note: To learn more about the Pontifical Good Friday collection, visit https://myfranciscan.org.