Forty days after Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord was celebrated in Jerusalem between the afternoon of Wednesday, May 13, and the morning of Thursday, May 14, in the sanctuary of the Imbomon, on the Mount of Olives, the place that Christian tradition preserves as the memory of Jesus' ascent into heaven.

Also this year, in a Holy Land still marked by war and the almost total absence of pilgrims, the celebrations took place in an atmosphere of recollection and serenity, favored by the truce that has now been going on for over a month.

The Imbomon, a term that probably derives from the Greek "en bomō", "on the mountain", has preserved the memory of the Ascension for centuries. Since the early centuries, Christians gathered on this height of the Mount of Olives to commemorate the mystery narrated in the Acts of the Apostles. The small octagonal edicule, visible today, dates back to the Crusader era and is one of the most evocative places in Christian Jerusalem.

As is traditional, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land went in the afternoon to the edicule of the Ascension, the small Crusader sanctuary that preserves the memory of the Risen Lord's last earthly meeting with his disciples. The Vicar of the Holy Land, Fr. Ulise Zarza, made his solemn entry into the holy place, beginning the celebrations with the first vespers.

At the end of the prayer, the procession around the Crusader chapel accompanied the singing of litanies and psalms, while the sun set over the holy city. According to an ancient Jerusalem tradition, on the night of the Ascension, the place remains open for prayer to the various Christian communities.

When the date of the Latin Easter does not coincide with that of the Orthodox Churches, the entire space of the Imbomon is at the disposal of the Catholic Church. For the occasion, tents are set up to serve as a sacristy, a small refectory, and a space for the rest of the collaborators and Custos who during the night assist the groups in prayer and watch over the sanctuary.

Some parish groups also reached Jerusalem from the north of the country, pilgrims in a Holy Land that continues to live through difficult times but does not renounce prayer in the places of the Gospel. In the heart of the night, the nocturnal office of the friars filled the silence of the Mount of Olives with Gregorian chants and psalms in Latin.

In a Jerusalem still wounded by the tensions and suffering of recent months, the liturgy brought back to the center the promise left by Christ to his own: "I am with you always, until the end of the world".

On the morning of the solemnity, the Eucharistic celebration presided over by the Vicar of the Custody concluded the liturgies of the Ascension. Alongside the friars and religious, faithful from various local communities were also present.

Fr. Ulisse, in his homily, recalled how the Fathers of the Church considered this solemnity important and profound because Christ, by assuming our humanity, brought us into communion with the Father and with the Most Holy Trinity in such a profound way that, even if still pilgrims in this world, we have the hope and certainty of being one day with God where he is.