Israel bars church leaders from Palm Sunday mass ‘for the first time in centuries,’ church says
By
Tim Lister
Updated 18 min ago
Christian worshippers mark Palm Sunday, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Jerusalem's Old City.
Christian worshippers mark Palm Sunday, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Jerusalem's Old City.
Ammar Awad/Reuters
For the first time in centuries, Catholic leaders have been barred from Jerusalem’s Church of Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, according to church authorities in the holy city.
The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said Israeli police prevented the church’s senior leaders from entering to celebrate mass.
“For the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the Patriarchate said in a statement on Sunday. “This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.”
Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week, the most sacred period in the Christian calendar, with Sunday’s liturgy commemorating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The church is believed to be the site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection.
The move comes as Israeli authorities restrict access to religious sites in East Jerusalem amid the war with Iran, including Al Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall, citing security concerns. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war, and has fought multiple wars since, but sweeping restrictions on access to holy sites – particularly during major religious periods – have been rare.
The Italian government has also criticized the police decision to bar access to the church and plans to summon the Israeli ambassador in Rome. The Patriarchate had already cancelled the traditional Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem due to the conflict, which has seen Iran fire thousands of projectiles toward Israel.
The two senior Church officials, including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, “were stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were compelled to turn back,” the Patriarchate said.
Preventing their entry “constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure,” it added.
The Patriarchate also accused the Israeli authorities of a “hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations.”
Israeli Police said that all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem had been “closed to worshippers, particularly locations that do not have standard protected spaces, in order to safeguard public safety and security.”
“The Old City and the holy sites constitute a complex area that does not allow access for large emergency and rescue vehicles,” the police said in a statement.
The number of Jews allowed to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem has been limited to 50 a day, while Muslims have been completely barred from accessing Al Aqsa Mosque since the war started in late February, including the entire holy month of Ramadan.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/29/middleeast/israel-jerusalem-church-barred-intl