Terra Sancta Museum

02/06/2026

Today, the Terra Sancta Museum highlights a humeral veil bearing the coat of arms of Philip II, King of Spain.

Probably received in the Holy Land before 1599, this veil belongs to the long history of Spanish royal offerings to Jerusalem and the Franciscan Custody.

Its red lining is decorated with gold thread, pointed arches, flowering vases, zigzags, and mace-like motifs. These designs draw on eastern Islamic decorative traditions, while also flourishing in Spain, especially in Granada, a major silk-production center in the sixteenth century. There, Mudéjar artisans helped preserve and transform decorative traditions rooted in the artistic heritage of al-Andalus.

The embroidered coat of arms belongs to Philip II of Spain and dates to after 1580, when Portugal became part of the Spanish Crown. Now preserved within this humeral veil, it recalls an earlier royal textile connected to Spain’s offerings to the Holy Land.

Through this object, we see a layered history of royal patronage, Islamic-inspired design, Spanish craftsmanship, and the enduring connection between Spain and the Holy Land.

Now proudly on view in Texas as part of The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem, presented at the Kimbell Art Museum.

Photos: Alfonso Bussolin, Joseph Coscia Jr.

30/05/2026

As we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation tomorrow, we remember Ein Karem, in the hills of Jerusalem, where Christian tradition places the meeting of the Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth.

The Gospel of Luke presents this encounter as a moment filled with recognition, blessing, and joy. Elizabeth welcomes Mary with words of faith, and Mary responds with the Magnificat, her hymn of praise: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.”

The Church of the Visitation, entrusted to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, preserves this memory as a place of prayer and pilgrimage, closely tied to the sacred landscape of Jerusalem.

In this place, the Visitation invites us to contemplate humility, encounter, and the joy carried in faith.

From the Terra Sancta Museum team, we wish you a blessed Feast of the Visitation.

Photos by: Elias Halabi

28/05/2026

During the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a moment of prayer from Saint Saviour Church in Jerusalem.

In the heart of the Old City, voices rise in devotion, carrying a tradition of faith, remembrance, and hope that continues to shape the spiritual life of the Holy Land.

From the Terra Sancta Museum, we invite you to join this prayer for peace.

28/05/2026

Restoring through love, Denis and Mariangela Kleiser share their journey between France, Italy, and the Holy Land, where restoration becomes an act of care, patience, and devotion.

From Jerusalem to Ein Karem, their work with the Franciscan Custody reveals the human and spiritual dimension behind preserving sacred art.

Read the full article on our website.

Mariangela and Denis Kleiser recount their human and artistic journey that led them to the Holy Land, between the Holy Sepulchre and Ein Karem. Restoration emerges as an act of care, listening, and memory, intertwining ...

23/05/2026

As we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost tomorrow, Sunday, the Terra Sancta Museum highlights this extraordinary silver altar frontal, made in Naples in 1731 by the goldsmith Gennaro De Blasio.

At its center, the work depicts the moment of Pentecost: the Virgin Mary and the Apostles gathered as the Holy Spirit descends upon them. The small gilded flames above their heads, together with the radiant rays of the Holy Spirit, bring light, movement, and sacred presence to the silver surface.

Framed by architectural elements, rich drapery, and sculptural figures, the scene reflects the refined craftsmanship of eighteenth-century Neapolitan silverwork. Through cast, chased, and repoussé silver with gilded details, the antependium becomes a vivid expression of faith and devotion.

Commissioned under Father Giovanni Antonio Yepes, Commissary General of the Holy Land in Naples, the antependium was delivered from Naples to Jerusalem on June 8, 1731, becoming part of the treasures preserved by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

Now proudly on view in Texas as part of The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem at the Kimbell Art Museum.

Item Photography: Guillaume Benoit
Museum View: Robert LaPrelle, Kimbell Art Museum

21/05/2026

Today we remember Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, who is honored in Christian tradition for the discovery of the True Cross in Jerusalem.

To mark her feast, the Terra Sancta Museum highlights this 18th-century devotional panel from the Convent of San Salvatore in Jerusalem. Made of wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, it depicts Saint Helena crowned and haloed, holding the Cross in one hand and the nails of the Crucifixion in the other.

This iconography recalls a tradition also present in a mosaic of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, preserved through the drawing of Father Elzeario Horn. The fine engraved lines, floral details, and restrained inlaid decoration reflect the refined devotional craftsmanship of the Holy Land.

Object Photography: Guillaume Benoit
Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem

20/05/2026

In preparation for Pentecost, the Terra Sancta Museum presents a cope from the Red Pontifical Vestments of King Louis XIII of France.

Created in Paris in 1619 by Alexandre Paynet, the cope belongs to a remarkable royal vestment set offered by King Louis XIII and brought to Jerusalem in 1621. Richly embroidered with gold, silver, and silk threads, it reflects the refinement of French liturgical textile art in the early seventeenth century.

At the center of the cope hood, the dove of the Holy Spirit recalls the descent of the Holy Spirit celebrated at Pentecost. The cope is also decorated with fleurs-de-lys, royal ciphers, and the coats of arms of France and Navarre, linking royal devotion with the sacred places of Jerusalem.

The cope belongs to a larger pontifical set that included three copes, two dalmatics, and an antependium, and was used on solemn occasions in Jerusalem over several centuries.

Now proudly on view in Texas at the Kimbell Art Museum, as part of The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem.

Photos: Joseph Coscia Jr.
Museum views: Robert LaPrelle, Kimbell Art Museum

19/05/2026

On Thursday, May 21, the Eastern Churches celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. On this occasion, the Terra Sancta Museum highlights a remarkable liturgical vestment from its collection: the “Arma Christi” Chasuble.

Probably made in Milan or Genoa around 1600, this chasuble was sent by the Commissariat of the Holy Land in Lombardy. Its textile design is filled with the Instruments of the Passion, known as the Arma Christi: the chalice, nails, rooster, whip, pillar, crown of thorns, tunic, dice, hammer, tongs, sponge, spear, and ladder.

Together, these symbols recall the Passion of Christ and the liturgical memory of Good Friday in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. As the Eastern Churches celebrate the Ascension, the vestment invites us to contemplate Christ’s passage from the Cross to the glory of the Resurrection and Ascension.

The “Arma Christi” Chasuble is now proudly on view at the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas, as part of The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem.

Photos: Nadim Asfour, Joseph Coscia Jr.
Museum views: Robert LaPrelle, Kimbell Art Museum

17/05/2026

Following the Feast of the Ascension, the Terra Sancta Museum turns to one of the most remarkable works associated with the treasury of the Holy Sepulcher: the Sanctuary Lamp of the Empress Maria Theresa.

Made in Vienna in 1758–1759 and attributed to Joseph Moser, this exceptional hanging lamp is crafted in gold, with gilded silver chains formed of twelve cross-shaped links. Offered for the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, it renews the memory of an earlier imperial gift donated by Emperor Charles VI in 1730, later restored and transformed through the patronage of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I.

Worked in repoussé on three sides, the lamp bears medallions representing the Nativity, the Resurrection, and the Ascension of Christ. Together, these scenes form a visual meditation on the mystery of the Incarnation, Christ’s victory over death, and His return to the glory of the Father.

At each corner, an angel supports the chains and represents one of the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity. The angel of Charity, holding a flaming heart, is believed to bear the features of Emperor Francis I. Above the lamp rises a crowned eagle, linking the object to imperial patronage and devotion to the Holy Sepulcher.

Through its precious materials, refined workmanship, and rich iconographic language, the Sanctuary Lamp of the Empress Maria Theresa stands as both a liturgical object and a historical witness to centuries of devotion in Jerusalem.

Today, this extraordinary work from the Terra Sancta Museum collection is on view at the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas, as part of The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem.

Photos: Guillaume Benoit
Museum views: Robert LaPrelle, Kimbell Art Museum

13/05/2026

On the occasion of the Feast of the Ascension, the Church commemorates Christ’s return to the Father, forty days after the Resurrection.

This twelfth-century Crusader-period mosaic, set in the vault of the Latin Chapel of Calvary in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, presents the Risen Christ enthroned in glory. Seated upon a round throne that evokes the world, Christ holds the Scriptures in His left hand and blesses with His right.

Located above Golgotha, the place traditionally associated with the Crucifixion, the mosaic invites contemplation of Christ as risen, exalted, and reigning over creation.
During restoration and decoration works in the Calvary Chapel in the 1930s, this medieval image was preserved and incorporated into the renewed chapel setting, bearing witness to the continuity of sacred art and devotion in the Holy Sepulchre.
The Terra Sancta Museum wishes you a blessed Feast of the Ascension of the Lord.

Photo: Giuliano Mami