Over two days, June 7th and 8th, the Catholic Church in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Virgin Mary and the Apostles, which marked the birth of the Church. The celebrations featured the inauguration of the new Pentecost Room at Notre Dame, a Vigil of Prayer, and two solemn Masses on Pentecost Sunday.
The Opening of the Pentecost Room
On the eve of Pentecost, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, inaugurated the newly completed Pentecost Hall at the Holy See Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, at the invitation of Mgr Adolfo Tito Yllana, Apostolic Nuncio to the Holy Land, and Fr. David Steffy L.C., Chargé of Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center. Located on the second floor, the hall features a breathtaking 360° mural by Chilean artist Daniel Cariola, covering 217 m² across all four walls and extending onto the ceiling, depicting the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Painted over five years, the immersive artwork includes over 190 figures: from the Virgin Mary and the Apostles to biblical characters transformed by their encounters with Christ, culminating in a powerful invitation to the visitor to step into the scene as the “190+1st” witness.
Cardinal Pizzaballa blessing the Pentecost Room
In his address, Cardinal Pizzaballa praised the hall as a sacred space that invites prayer, reflection, and openness to the Spirit. He underscored the Church’s mission in Jerusalem to live by the fruits of the Spirit and be a light in times of darkness. “We are still living in the time of Pentecost,” he said, reminding the faithful that the Spirit calls the Church into unity beyond cultural divisions. “We have received the gift of the Spirit to understand one another as one”. He also reflected on what it means to live by the Spirit, saying: “Without the Holy Spirit, there is no credible hope. The Spirit is life”. Wherever someone acts in goodness, he said, there the Spirit is alive, there, the Kingdom of God is made manifest.
Vigil Prayer at Chapel of Our Lady of Peace
H.B. Cardinal Pizzaballa, presided over a Prayer Vigil at the Chapel of Our Lady of Peace in the Notre Dame Center, animated by the Union of Religious Sisters in the Holy Land. Attended by several religious orders, seminarians from Beit Jala, and members of the faithful, the vigil featured readings from the Holy scriptures, hymns, and moments of silent reflection, in preparation for the feast. Candles were lit as prayers rose in intercession for peace and healing, both in the Holy Land and throughout the world.
In his homily, the Patriarch described as a decisive moment in our faith after Easter, death and resurrection of Jesus but we cannot understand Easter without the Holy Spirit, through Him we can understand that the Work of Jesus Christ on the Cross was a turning point in history.
Anointing the hand of a seminarian during the vigil prayer
As the Patriarch anointed the hands of the faithful with fragrant oil, he reflected on the relationship with Jesus, which brings out peace and joy, sensed by those around us. The Church, he said, is called to be both the bride and the dwelling place of Christ, a space where people can encounter Him personally. Though the old world has passed, we are invited to perceive the new heaven and earth through the Spirit, even here in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit brings renewal not through our perfection, but through our openness to becoming instruments of God. He noted: “as the Church of Jerusalem, we share a common calling to break barriers of fear, bear witness to love, to live and speak differently, not because we are better, but because we have received this call from Jesus Christ.
Sunday of Pentecost
Pentecost celebrations concluded at the Notre Dame Center with a solemn Mass presided over by Msgr. William Shomali, General Vicar, and attended by priests of the Legionaries of Christ, who oversee the Center.
In his homily, Msgr. Shomali reflected on the enduring need for the Holy Spirit, affirming that "we still need the Holy Spirit today, as much as the First Church." He emphasized how the Spirit inspires us to live out the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Drawing a parallel with those gathered in the Upper Room, he encouraged the faithful to prepare themselves through prayer and stillness, remaining attentive to the voice of God. Msgr. Shomali also highlighted the vital role of the Holy Spirit in enlivening the sacraments of the Church, explaining that just as the Spirit transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, He also transforms believers into the image of Christ through the fruits of the Spirit.
Msgr. William Shomali giving the final blessing, surrounded by the concelebrating priests
Meanwhile, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, celebrated Pentecost Mass at the Benedictine Dormition Abbey near the Cenacle, and concelebrated by Msgr. Boulos Marcuzzo, Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel, and Fr. Bernard Poggi. In his homily, the Cardinal offered a powerful reflection on the Holy Spirit as the life-breath of the Church, rooted in the Paschal mystery: “the Spirit emanates from the cross, from the open side of the life-giving Lord”. Comparing it to the breath of God in Genesis, he emphasized that the Spirit is not an addition to faith, but it's very source of life. Pentecost, he said, is a moment of rebirth, healing, and restored communion.
Speaking to the realities of the Holy Land, he acknowledged in his homily the suffering, division, and despair, particularly in Gaza, which has become a symbol of the region’s pain, highlighting that this reality is far away from the spirit of Pentecost which unites, yet he emphasized our call to live in the spirit not in the flesh, which resembles our fragility and the first Adam. “Unity, diversity, community, relationship, sharing, self-giving, love, peace... these are the words that resonate at Pentecost when we speak of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. They seem very far removed from what we are experiencing at this time... The slogans we hear are under the banner of hatred, mistrust, contempt and division, but also of incomprehension, feelings of abandonment and loneliness...So today we are called to decide. Whether to be guided by the Holy Spirit that we have received and that is in us, whether to become those who give expression to the life of God in us, to the Spirit that Jesus has breathed in us, or whether to let the flesh determine our choices, that is, whether to live only as those who are made of the dust of the ground, like the first Adam”.
The Mass concluded with rose petals falling from the ceiling, symbolizing the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
