Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo were barred from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land said on Sunday, in a move that tightened Israeli restrictions on Christian worship in Jerusalem during Holy Week.
The incident comes amid sweeping closures imposed by Israeli authorities on major religious sites, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, citing security concerns linked to the US-Israel war on Iran, disrupting observances during one of the holiest periods in the Christian calendar.
Church officials said the restrictions halted religious services at the Holy Sepulchre, revered as the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, and forced the cancellation of key Holy Week rites, including Palm Sunday processions and other communal Easter liturgies.
While clergy had been allowed to enter Jerusalem’s holy sites in recent days, the latest move suggests a further tightening of access restrictions, with senior clerics now blocked from entering the church itself.
On March 23, Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, announced the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. A patriarchate statement said it would be replaced by a prayer gathering at another location, which was not disclosed.
The Chrism Mass, also held during Holy Week, was postponed to a later date.
To comply with Israeli restrictions on gatherings, Pizzaballa urged worshippers to pray at home. “The harshness of this time of war, which affects us all, today bears the added burden of not being able to celebrate Easter together and with dignity,” he said.
The latest measures fit a broader pattern of pressure on Christian and Muslim religious life in Jerusalem. Since the start of the war on Lebanon and Iran, Israeli authorities have imposed strict restrictions on Palestinian Christians and Muslims seeking to attend religious services in Jerusalem.
Church leaders say the latest closures mark an unprecedented disruption. The Holy Sepulchre has been a focal point of Christian pilgrimage for centuries, and local communities view access to it as a religious right.
Human rights groups and church officials say pressure on Christian communities had already been rising before the current war. Palestinian Christians have reported difficulty obtaining permits, as well as harassment and violence around major religious occasions, pressure that intensifes during periods of heightened security.
Whether access will be restored before Easter remains unclear. For now, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre remains effectively closed not only to pilgrims, but increasingly even to its highest-ranking clergy.
