So often when our eyes turn to the Middle East it is because of tragedy. The events of 7 October and the ongoing crisis in Gaza have grabbed the world’s attention, but they also obscure the reality of everyday life for many people across the Holy Land. In this, its birthplace, the Church is far from a monolith: Christians are numerous in Lebanon and Egypt but form only one per cent of the population of the West Bank and Gaza and just a slightly higher proportion in Israel itself.
Middle-Eastern Christianity is a rich tapestry, but there is one community whose small size makes it all the easier to overlook: the Hebrew-speaking Catholics of Israel. Their pastoral and spiritual care is the concern of the St James Vicariate, whose current head is Fr Piotr Zelazko, a Polish priest in Jerusalem.
