Israeli police prevented Catholic leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate a private Palm Sunday Mass — the first such blockage in centuries — drawing criticism from the United States, European governments and church officials.
Jerusalem’s major holy sites, including the church, have been closed amid the ongoing war with Iran, as the city has faced frequent fire from Iranian missiles. Police said they had approved a “limited prayer framework” for the church in consultation with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, but barred entry on Sunday to two senior clerics, including the Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land.
The Latin Patriarchate called the police move “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure,” saying it prevented the clergy from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place Christians believe Jesus was crucified. Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and begins Holy Week, which culminates in Easter.
Police cited safety concerns: narrow Old City alleys that block access for emergency vehicles, and insufficient nearby shelter space. In a statement Monday, they said the new framework aims to “enable freedom of worship” while safeguarding worshippers at sites that lack standard protected spaces, like the cavernous church set deep within a maze of tiny streets. Earlier this month, shrapnel from the interception of an Iranian missile fell on a rooftop just steps from the church.
The patriarchate said the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had already been hosting Masses closed to the public since the Iran war began on Feb. 28, and argued it was unclear why Sunday’s private Mass and access by the two priests were treated differently. “It’s a very, very sacred day for Christians and in our opinion there was no justification for such a decision or such an action,” said Farid Jubran, the patriarchate’s spokesperson. He said the church had requested permission for a few religious leaders to enter for a private celebration, not a public service, and called the decision an impediment to freedom of worship and the long-standing status quo in Jerusalem.
Traditionally, tens of thousands of Christians from around the world take part in the Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives down into the Old City, waving palm fronds and singing. The patriarchate canceled the large procession last week over safety concerns and has limited Masses to fewer than 50 worshippers in line with Israeli military guidelines for civilians.
Pizzaballa instead celebrated Mass at nearby St. Saviour’s Monastery, a marble church adjacent to an underground music school designated by the Israeli military as a safe shelter. Later on Sunday he led a prayer for peace at the Dominus Flevit Shrine on the Mount of Olives; his homily focused on Jesus and did not reference the morning’s incident.
At the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV prayed for Christians in the Middle East, saying many “cannot live fully the rites of these holy days.” The Vatican spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Jerusalem incident.
The closure prompted diplomatic criticism. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the decision “an unfortunate overreach,” noting the planned prayer with Pizzaballa and others would have been well below the 50-person limit. “For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify,” he wrote.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the action on X, saying it added to a “concerning increase in violations of the status of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem” and urging that the free exercise of worship be guaranteed for all religions. Italy formally protested to Israeli authorities and summoned Israel’s ambassador to Rome. Italian leaders across the political spectrum criticized the restriction on Pizzaballa, an Italian cardinal viewed as a leading papal contender. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the police action “constitutes an offense not only against believers but against every community that recognizes religious freedom,” while reiterating Italy’s balanced stance supporting Israel’s right to defend itself but criticizing civilian tolls.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no “malicious intent,” attributing the restriction to safety concerns, and said Israel would seek to partially open the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the coming days. “Given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days,” he wrote on X.
Pizzaballa told Italian broadcaster TG2000 that differences with Israeli authorities over access remained polite and that he hoped the situation would clarify plans for the coming days, balancing security with the right to prayer.
Other major sites are similarly restricted. The Western Wall is largely closed for safety reasons but officials are allowing up to 50 people at a time to pray in an enclosed area adjacent to the plaza. Smaller churches, synagogues and mosques in the Old City can open if they lie within a certain distance of a bomb shelter approved by the military and if gatherings stay under 50 people. Those same limits apply across much of Israel, where schools have been closed since the start of the Iran war and workplaces may operate only where shelter can be reached quickly after an alert.
