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Parishes throughout the Albany Diocese will take up the Holy Land collection on Good Friday, April 6.

The annual pontifical collection supports Christians in Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine and other countries that comprise the Holy Land. It buoys pastoral, charitable, educational and social works the Church supports in these countries.

"For the Church to survive in the Holy Land," wrote Bishop Howard J. Hubbard in a pulpit letter, "it must rely upon a loving and nurturing solidarity on the part of each Christian, a solidarity which bears witness to faith in Him who was born in that land, who preached the Gospel there and who also died and was resurrected there.

"Today, Christians living in the Holy Land are called the 'living stones' because they are descendants of those who first believed and lived the Christian faith. Because of the special challenges that Christians face in the Holy Land, the needs are great."

The Holy Land Franciscans have served the area for close to 800 years, according to their website. Funds raised from the collection help them:

• offer pastoral care for 29 parishes and spiritual direction for pilgrims;

• operate schools - often at no charge to students and open to all religions and nationalities;

• provide health care and housing for the poor; and

• care for parishes, shrines, chapels and oratories.

Previous collections enabled the Franciscans to carry out major renovations in Bethlehem to the Chapel of St. Helen and the ancient Milk Grotto. Other work was done in Jerusalem, Cana and Jaffa.

The last collection raised more than $18 million in the U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia.[[In-content Ad]]

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