Israeli Police Prevent Latin Patriarch from Entering Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday

Israeli police on Sunday blocked Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Monsignor Francesco Ielpo, Custos of the Holy Land, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, in what the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem described as the first such barring of church leaders in centuries. The two were stopped while walking to the church privately, without any procession or ceremony, and were forced to turn back, the Patriarchate said in a statement. Israeli police cited security concerns tied to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, pointing specifically to the absence of bomb shelters in the Old City and the difficulty of deploying emergency vehicles in the area. The incident drew immediate condemnation from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who summoned the Israeli ambassador.

Police cite bomb shelter gaps in Old City Israeli police said all holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City — including those sacred to Christians, Muslims, and Jews — had been closed to worshippers since the start of the war on Iran on February 28, 2026. In a statement, police said they had rejected a request from the Patriarchate for a Palm Sunday exemption. „The Old City and the holy sites constitute a complex area that does not allow access for large emergency and rescue vehicles, which significantly challenges response capabilities and poses a real risk to human life in the event of a mass casualty incident” — Israeli police via Reuters The Latin Patriarchate rejected that reasoning as disproportionate, noting that the two church leaders had approached the site privately and without any public gathering. The Patriarchate stated that since the war began, church leaders had complied with all restrictions, cancelling public gatherings and arranging to broadcast celebrations to hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide. Public gatherings across Jerusalem have been capped at approximately 50 (people) — maximum gathering size under wartime restrictions since the conflict began, a measure that had already forced the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives. Residents of the Old City told Reuters that enforcement of the restrictions had not been consistent, noting that Muslim Waqf preachers were able to conduct some activities during the same period.

Meloni calls it an offense, Tajani summons ambassador Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the Italian government stood in solidarity with Cardinal Pizzaballa and Monsignor Ielpo. „The Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a sacred place of Christianity, and as such must be preserved and protected for the celebration of sacred rites. Preventing the entrance to the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custodian of the Holy Land, moreover in a solemnity central to the faith such as Palm Sunday, constitutes an offense not only to believers, but to every community that recognizes religious freedom” — Giorgia Meloni via ANSA Antonio Tajani, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, announced on social media that he had instructed the Israeli ambassador to be summoned to the foreign ministry the following day to obtain clarifications. Tajani also directed Italy's ambassador in Israel to convey Rome's indignation directly to Israeli authorities and reaffirm Italy's position in defense of religious freedom. „It is unacceptable that they were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem” — Antonio Tajani via ANSA French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the police action, expressing his full support for Cardinal Pizzaballa. „I condemn this decision by the Israeli police, which adds to the worrying increase in violations of the status of the Holy Places in Jerusalem” — Emmanuel Macron via ANSA Spokespeople for Israel's Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately comment, according to Reuters.

Holy Week disrupted across all three faiths in Jerusalem The barring of Cardinal Pizzaballa marked a broader disruption to religious observance across all three Abrahamic faiths in Jerusalem during what would normally be one of the holiest periods of the year. Christians, Muslims, and Jews have all been unable to observe Easter, Ramadan, and Passover as usual under the wartime restrictions, Reuters reported. Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque was largely empty during Ramadan, and few worshippers visited Judaism's Western Wall as Passover approached. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has stood in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City since the fourth century and is considered the holiest site in Christianity. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees Catholic affairs in the Holy Land, has existed in its current form since the Crusader period, though it was re-established in the modern era. Palm Sunday, which marks Jesus's entry into Jerusalem, begins Holy Week — the most important week in the Christian liturgical calendar, culminating in Easter. Cardinal Pizzaballa, barred from the church, held a prayer for peace on the Mount of Olives in the afternoon without any faithful present, in what the Patriarchate described as a COVID-style format. „In front of Jerusalem in the very complicated situation we are experiencing, right at this moment, we want to gather with Jesus, we want to enter into Jerusalem and learn once again how to inhabit this city and remain always a community that wants to build solidarity, friendship, brotherhood and communion among all of us and be instruments of peace and reconciliation” — Pierbattista Pizzaballa via ANSA Pope Leo XIV, in remarks on Sunday, said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have "hands full of blood," in what Reuters described as unusually forceful language as the Iran war entered its second month.