On Friday, November 19, a delegation from the Custody of the Holy Land was received at the National Library of France, in Paris. Accompanying Br. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, were Br. Stéphane Milovitch, Director of Cultural Heritage of the Custody, and Br. Roger Marchal, Commissioner for France and Belgium. After a private visit, Br. Patton met with the president of the Library and the delegation for international relations. The parties signed an agreement that will soon allow the Custody's collections to be featured on the free "Libraries of the East" portal. LAURENCE ENGEL President of the Bibliothèque nationale de France "It is very important not only to preserve and maintain these cultural assets, but also to make them known, so that researchers and lovers have access to them [...]. This is why we have created a common and shared digital library with the Bibliothèque de France, in a collection called "shared heritage", dedicated to the libraries of the East. Being able to work with the Custody on this project was extremely important to us." The Custos continued his visit to Paris with a moment of ecumenical prayer, on the occasion of the feast of the translation and veneration of the relics of St. Helen in the church of Saint Leu-Saint Gilles, the church of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in France. He then celebrated the Eucharist together with H.E. Msgr. Emmanuel Tois, the new vicar general of Paris, and prayed, together with the knights and dames of the French lieutenancy, for the Christians of the Holy Land. The central event of the visit was the 100th anniversary conference of Terre Sainte Magazine. The large auditorium of the Collège des Bernardins welcomed a dozen speakers, from different countries, and about 150 guests. Fr JEAN-PHILIPPE FABRE Director of the "Cours publics" - Collège des Bernardins "I was really touched by the friendliness of this event, a friendly atmosphere. Not only because of such a special occasion, but because we feel that the magazine's project, its editorial choices, its history, have created a real community." Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Holy Land Custos "We can say that the bond between the Franciscan presence in France, the Custody of the Holy Land and the Church of France has been strengthened. I was very touched today, as I was yesterday, by the warm welcome given to the Custody and to its initiatives [...] I was struck by the concluding words of Marie-Armelle, our editor-in-chief, who reminded us that the magazine seeks to put into words chapter 16 of the Earlier Rule of St. Francis. A chapter that, for us friars of the Custody, is a point of reference for our mission. Hearing that this same lifestyle proposed by St. Francis is also expressed in the magazine makes me happy. It is our identity." Read More