The solemn procession, the blessing of the water, the proclamation of the Gospel, the prayer of dedication, the litany of the saints, the anointing of the altar, the incensation, the lighting of the candles and lights, the vesting and finally the celebration of the first Eucharist. For the Catholic community of Jerusalem and for the Custody of the Holy Land, it was a day of prayer and joy, full of faith and meaning. After a year of restoration, the community of the Poor Clares of the monastery of Saint Clare lived the rite of the consecration of the altar and the dedication of the church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The celebration was presided over by His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins. Along with him, the apostolic nuncio Monsignor Giorgio Lingua, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, the friars of the Custody, religious and numerous faithful. All eager to participate together with the Poor Clares in an event that for the Church represents one of the most solemn rites of the ecclesiastical tradition. Because the dedication of the church is not only the "birth" of a new place of worship, but the sign of a living community that is enriched by a visible sign of its strength. The Patriarch also recalled this during his homily: "We do not simply bless a renovated building. Today the Church takes a house built by human hands and delivers it forever to God".

The celebration began with the entrance rite with which the Patriarch and the mother superior opened the door to the faithful. After the procession, the solemn rites of which the dedication of a new church is composed began.

The first rite was that of the blessing of the water, with which the participants in the mass and the internal walls of the building were blessed. A reminder of Baptism after which the Word was proclaimed. Subsequently, after the homily, other gestures of profound symbolism followed. After the invocation of the saints with the Litanies, the Patriarch started the solemn prayer of dedication. A moment in which the Lord was asked to transform this temple into a place of prayer, of community and of communion. After, one of the highlights of this complex and fascinating celebration: the anointing of the altar with the holy Chrism. Pizzaballa anointed and sprinkled the altar and the walls of the church, an act with which the moment in which that place becomes reserved for the rite is crystallized. And as the cardinal himself recalled in his homily: "The altar is Christ. It is his pierced Heart, inexhaustible source of love and mercy. It is the table of sacrifice and communion".

From the holy oil, they passed to the incense. As the prayer that metaphorically rises towards the sky and spreads to reach God, so that perfume spreads throughout the building, sanctifying the temple and the altar. That same altar which, after the incensation, was covered with cloths and adorned with flowers. Finally, the deacons brought the Crucifix and the candles. And only at that moment, the candles and thus the lights of the whole church were lit. Another rite dense with symbology. Because as the lights and candles illuminate the building, so Christ is the light of the nations that illuminates the world and the faithful present. Only after this moment, it was possible to celebrate the eucharistic rite. A rite that is ultimately the ultimate sense of dedication: making possible within those walls the sacrifice that is the heart of the Church and of the Christian faith.

Thus, since Saturday 18 July, Jerusalem is enriched with a new church. For the Poor Clares, faithful to the charism of Saint Clare, a day that confirms a daily, silent and constant mission in the Holy Land. For the Custody, for Catholics and for the entire Christian community, a further symbol of renewal and strength. In the place where Christ accomplished his earthly experience, the community is alive and testifies to the will to continue in what is its essence: being Church and image of hope in a wounded place, dense with trials and where Faith, now, has a new home. And as Pizzaballa explained: "In this wounded Jerusalem, let this church dedicated to the pierced Heart of Christ be a visible sign that love is stronger than any wall and that peace is still possible".