The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has been blocked from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
A statement released jointly by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land explained that “this morning, the Israeli Police prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, together with the Custos of the Holy Land, the Most Reverend Fr Francesco Ielpo OFM, the official guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, as they made their way to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass”.
The Patriarch had already announced that there would be significant changes to the schedule of Holy Week due to the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran. In a letter dated March 22, the cardinal confirmed that the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives had been cancelled and that the Chrism Mass would be postponed.
The cardinal and the Custos of the Holy Land were acting within those agreed limitations and were “proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act” before being forced to turn back by Israeli police.
The action prevented Holy Mass from being celebrated on Palm Sunday in the Holy Sepulchre for the first time in centuries.
The event is a watershed moment in relations between the Israeli state and the Church in the Holy Land. The statement explained that since the outbreak of conflict across the region, the Church in Jerusalem has “acted with full responsibility” and has “complied with all imposed restrictions”. However, it described the actions of the Israeli police as setting a “grave precedent” and disregarding “the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem”. The strongly worded statement continued: “This action represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the Status Quo.”
The statement concluded by expressing “profound sorrow to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar has thus been prevented”.
The incident comes as Pope Leo made perhaps his clearest denunciation of the ongoing conflict during the Palm Sunday liturgies at St Peter’s. The Pontiff said: “This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.” While not explicitly mentioning any nation, he said that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them”.
During the final blessing, he lamented the plight of Christians in the Holy Land, saying that they are “suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict” and that “in many cases, they cannot live fully the rites of these holy days”.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Jesus’s Crucifixion, burial and Resurrection, has been closed to the public since February 28, 2026, by Israeli authorities. However, it is understood that liturgical functions carried out by the various Christian churches recognised under the Status Quo agreement would be allowed to continue in a private and modified manner.
The Times of Israel reported that police said the cardinal and the Custos of the Holy Land had been told on Saturday that their request to reach the Holy Sepulchre the next day had not been approved.
The actions have drawn international criticism, with the United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, saying Israel’s decision was “difficult to understand or justify”.
Vatican correspondent Michael Haynes said the situation “marks another instance in which Israeli authorities have moved to restrict Catholic worship”. He further explained that “this is by no means infrequent, and, as Cardinal Pizzaballa highlights, is severely impacting the lives of local Catholics”.
Yaron Sideman, Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, said he had called Cardinal Pizzaballa to “express my great sorrow over this morning’s unfortunate incident in the Old City of Jerusalem”. He added that “the incident stemmed from security concerns due to the continuous threat of missile attacks from the Iranian terror regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents in which Iranian missiles fell in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reiterated that the action was due to security concerns, explaining that the restrictions imposed on the cardinal were “out of special concern for his safety” and that “there was no malicious intent whatsoever”.
The Prime Minister’s office further sought to offer reassurance by stating that “given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days”.
