Faith and research. Study and testimony. Archaeological finds and "living stones" of the Christian community. The great project of restoration and archaeological research of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre does not stop. On Tuesday, September 8, inside the San Salvatore complex in Jerusalem, the leaders of the three guardian Communities — the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, His Beatitude Theophilos III, the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, and the representatives of the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Nourhan Manougian — gathered to take stock of the work and scientific activities. Monsignor Nicola Di Ponzio, Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature, also took part in the event.

In his speech, Ielpo recalled that the Holy Sepulchre is "one of the most important and delicate places in Christianity" and stressed how collaboration between the Communities has been fundamental to work "in a spirit of mutual trust and cooperation". A common commitment that, he highlighted, unites "preservation, research, and testimony". Particular importance was given to the synergy with La Sapienza University of Rome, at the center of this great project. The experience, as the Custos explained, demonstrates how "scientific research and the preservation of a sacred place can move forward together when based on trust, dialogue, and shared responsibility".

A complex, delicate, demanding work that sees constant synergy between academia and ecclesiastical community. And confirming this link between the Roman university and the Custody was the presence at the press conference of the Rector, Prof. Antonella Polimeni, who together with the constant and valuable work of Prof. Francesca Romana Stasolla and her team of archaeologists and scholars showed the importance of the project for the university. With them, Fr. Ielpo also wanted to thank all the benefactors and donors, Fr. Peter Vasko, who dedicated himself to fundraising for this project, Fr. John Puodziunas, who continues this service, and Dr. Carla Benelli. The Custos's gratitude also went to the Italian Development Cooperation and, in particular, to the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Jerusalem, as well as to the Bursar of the Custody, Fr. Dobromir Jasztal, and engineers and architects Najib Nasser, Theodosio Mitropoulos, and Tony Yadi.

Research continues with the study of the finds and data collected. Scholars are reconstructing the history of the site, starting from the ancient stone quarry to pass through the Second Temple and Roman eras, up to the foundation of the Christian basilica. Meanwhile, restoration work also continues. The infrastructure, coordinated by Manens s.p.a., is now completed in much of the Basilica, while the La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Center Foundation coordinated the laying of the restored pavement, already completed for about a third of the church. The restoration of the wooden entrance door, directed by Roberto Saccuman, was also presented.

The first research results are collected in the volume "Hagia Polis Project. Excavations at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Volume I. Project and Methodology". A project in which collaboration between Communities and researchers becomes a valuable instrument of knowledge but also a symbol of a concrete form of guardianship of the Holy Place for the benefit of the faithful. Because the uniqueness of that Basilica is precisely that it is not a simple archaeological site, but a living place that attracts pilgrims from all over the world and continuously celebrates rites commemorating the Passion, death, and Resurrection of Our Lord. And in the month of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Fr. Ielpo recalled that the Cross of Christ, placed on that Calvary enclosed in the Basilica, "continues today to speak to us and to the world in the language of forgiveness, reconciliation, and that peace of which our Land and the world have so much need".