One hundred years ago the magazine Terra Santa was born, a sign of hope and the beginning of a journey towards the future. Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Holy Land Custos "One hundred years is always a great milestone. When it's for people, it's an outstanding achievement; if it's for institutions, it's a major milestone; for newspapers or magazines, it's a significant milestone." To celebrate this important anniversary, a group of the magazine's editors and contributors was received by Pope Francis at the Vatican this Monday, January 17. A total of 44 people, the delegation led by Brother Francesco Patton, expressed a variety of national and linguistic backgrounds. The audience with the Holy Father was in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. "One hundred years ago," said the Custos of the Holy Land, addressing the Pope, "the birth of our magazine was a sign of hope. We want the magazine to continue today to be a sign of hope, recounting the seeds of good sown in the dark furrows of history, in that small portion of the world in which human history has become the history of salvation. "Making the Holy Land known means transmitting the "Fifth Gospel" - said the Pope in his speech, that is, the historical and geographical environment in which the Word of God was revealed and then made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, for us and for our salvation. Through the means of social communication you can enrich the faith of many, even those who do not have the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to the holy places. You can make known the people who live there today, to try to build, in a complex and difficult context like that of the Middle East, a fraternal society. I thank you because, in order to tell the story of the Holy Land, you strive to meet the people where and how they are. In fact, to carry out your reports, your investigations and your publications you do not limit yourselves to the quieter territories, but you also visit the most difficult and suffering realities, such as Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Gaza. At the end of the hearing, the Pope personally greeted all those present, giving each one a rosary beads. "For all the media of the Custody and for all the communicators of the Custody," stressed Br. Francesco Patton, "the Holy Father's message is one of encouragement." Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land "It gives a great boost because in his own message the Pope reminded us how important it is that communication be at the service of fraternity and dialogue. That this capacity to wear out one's shoes in order to find beautiful, positive stories to tell exists, even in the midst of very difficult situations such as those experienced in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East". Beginning with Pope Paul VI's historic pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1964, the magazine has also documented subsequent visits by popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. In the course of its history, the magazine has always relied on the valuable contribution of archaeologists and biblical scholars from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem. They have used accessible language to bring readers closer to the world of the Bible and archaeological discoveries. Br CLAUDIO BOTTINI, ofm Emeritus Dean - Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "The Studium Biblicum was born three years later (the birth of the magazine) always on the initiative of Father Diotallevi, the courageous Custos of that time, and the magazine always had an eye on the Biblical Study. The first news of the opening of the Studium was published at the beginning of 1924 in the Holy Land magazine. The Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF) has always had biblical scholars for Old and New Testaments, scholars of patrology, the ancient interpretation of scripture, as well as lecturers on Bible excursions, geography and biblical history." A collaboration that continues to this day with new professors. Br ROSARIO PIERRI, ofm Dean - Studium Biblicum Franciscanum "I think that the birth of the magazine Terra Santa and the birth of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF) are connected. It is very interesting to read the first issue of the magazine Terra Santa, published in 1921, in which Father Diotallevi wrote the program, on the first page: our program is therefore simple and well determined; it is to maintain and to propagate the Holy Land in its true character of the Land of God, father of Jesus. It is also the land of human redemption, of which we preserve the venerable places that are our sanctuaries. For the coexistence and defense (of these places) the generations of all centuries have struggled and fought, always keeping their eyes fixed on this land of Jesus, Son of God." The interest of the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land in archaeology has made it possible to write extraordinary pages in the field of biblical sciences. For Brother Eugenio Alliata "there is a perfect symbiosis between the beginning in the archaeological mission of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and the diffusion in the Holy Land Magazine. Br EUGENIO ALLIATA, ofm Director Terra Sancta Museum "The Studium Biblicum Franciscanum was born more or less at the same time as the magazines, following the movement to take greater care of the archaeological discoveries and to deepen the study under the historical and archaeological aspect. Therefore, it can be said that the biblical study benefited greatly from the presence of these magazines, published in Jerusalem, to spread all the news about the discoveries." Particularly vivid in Brother Alliata's memory are the excavations of Mount Nebo, in Jordan, and the site where the first generations of professors and students were formed, directed by Father Sylvester Saller and later by Brother Bellarmino Bagatti, Brother Virgilio Corbo and Brother Michele Piccirillo. Stanislao Loffreda was among the prominent names. It was they who led the excavations in the principal holy places and sanctuaries of the Holy Land. Br EUGENIO ALLIATA, ofm Director Terra Sancta Museum "Behind all these works there were the professors of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum: not only as observers, but many times as consultants or even directors of certain parts of the works." For 100 years, the Terra Santa magazine has been telling the story of the world of archaeology and its discoveries in the main places of the Holy Land; it tells of the life of peoples, their cultures and their challenges. And above all, it bears witness to the beauty of the Church, in dialogue with the other Churches and religions that inhabit this land. Read More