Catholic Holy Week Liturgies Move Forward In Jerusalem As Traditions Shift For Safety

Catholic Church authorities and Israeli police said Monday they had “resolved” a dispute after senior church leaders were initially prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday over safety concerns. 

The announcement comes after officials representing the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land said police blocked them from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the historic site. Israeli authorities pointed to safety concerns, noting that shrapnel from Iranian missile attacks had fallen near the church in recent days. 

On Monday morning, both sides said they had reached an agreement on how to handle church customs amid wartime conditions.

Israeli police said “a mutual framework has been established for upcoming Easter ceremonies,” adding that events would be scaled back.

“Due to the complex security reality of Operation ‘Roaring Lion,’ ceremonies including the ‘Holy Fire’ will be held in a symbolic, limited format,” police said. “This coordination ensures that freedom of worship is maintained alongside our shared, primary duty: the protection of human life.”

Officials added that Iranian missile debris had recently impacted areas within Jerusalem’s Old City, prompting restrictions. 

An Iranian missile exploded over Jerusalem’s Old City. Its fragments fell on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Patriarchate, the Jewish Quarter and on the Temple Mount near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Iranian regime is firing missiles toward Jerusalem’s holy sites,… pic.twitter.com/8vKyURiGVW

— Israel ישראל (@Israel) March 16, 2026

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land also released a statement saying “that the matters concerning the Holy Week and Easter celebrations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have been addressed and resolved in coordination with the relevant authorities.”

They added that, given the ongoing war, limits on public gatherings will remain in place, with services “broadcast live to the faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world.”

“It is our hope that appropriate arrangements will continue to be found, enabling prayer to take place in places of worship, particularly in the Holy Places of all religions, in a manner that respects both legitimate safety needs and the religious observances and prayers that are of profound importance to hundreds of millions of believers,” the statement said.

Photos from earlier this month show shrapnel from Iranian missiles landing near several religious sites in Jerusalem’s Old City, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Patriarchate, the Jewish Quarter, and on the Temple Mount. 

Here is a photo of the giant shrapnel fragment that fell beside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre earlier today. pic.twitter.com/Hh3Mq2OyDK

— Marc Zell – מארק צל (@GOPIsrael) March 16, 2026