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Pope Francis incenses the altar during Mass in the Upper Room on May 26, 2014. Credit: EWTN. Jerusalem, Israel, May 26, 2014 / 09:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- At the conclusion of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope Francis focused his homily at Mass on the significance of the Upper Room, held to be the site of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' apostles. “It is a great gift that the Lord has given us by bringing us together here in the Upper Room for the celebration of the Eucharist,” said Pope Francis on May 26 in Jerusalem....

A long-awaited agreement between the Vatican and Israel appears to be near finality. The two main points revolve around the Church's requests to build two centers in Israel: a church in a section of the Caesaria National Park where a site dedicated to Paul once stood, and the use of a plot on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. The structure on Mt. Zion, the highest point of Jerusalem, is known as the Cenacle, where the Last Supper is believed to have taken place, and according to the deal which will be signed in the coming months, it will become open to...

The Israeli government seems to be embracing the Christmas spirit. This week it is organizing carols and tree giveaways in Jerusalem, bus service to Bethlehem and even a fireworks show in Nazareth with an apparent eye on burnishing the nation's reputation for religious diversity. But Israel won't be giving the Christmas gift near the top of the Vatican's wish list this year: possession of a Mount Zion holy site where Jesus Christ is said to have gathered his disciples for the Last Supper. The Roman Catholic Church has been fighting for more than 450 years to win back control over...

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the "little flock" of Christians in the Holy Land to persevere as a vital presence in society and a witness to unity in the troubled region. The pope met with the bishops of the Holy Land May 12 in the chapel of the Cenacle, which tradition says is the "upper room" of Jesus' Last Supper and the place where the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles at Pentecost. He sought to bring energy and hope to a flock that has decreased drastically. Over the last 40 years, the Christian population in the Holy...

The President of the Pontifical Council for the Unity of Christians will ask Israel, it hands over to Catholics, overseeing of the ‘Upper Room’, the place in which Christ celebrated the Last Supper, and instituted the Eucharist and the Priestly Order. The EFE agency informed yesterday, it had access to a document, saying that Cardinal Walter Kasper arrived in Jerusalem “with a pre-agreement” stipulating that the Holy See would preserve the historical character of the place, and that it would remain open to pilgrims and tourists and that Israel would provide security.  According to the agency, the Vatican representative “asked for...