Cardinal Pizzaballa intervenes after Israeli authorities stop Marian festival in West Bank

 A Catholic Marian festival in the West Bank was able to proceed after Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa intervened with Israeli authorities amid mounting pressure on Christian communities.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads the Christmas Mass on the occasion of Christmas on December 24, 2025, in Bethlehem, West BankPhoto by Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Getty Images

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Gaetano Masciullo

June 1, 2026

TAYBEH, Palestine (LifeSiteNews) — A Marian festival in the Christian West Bank town of Taybeh proceeded after Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa intervened after an attempt by Israeli military personnel to halt preparations.

On May 29, Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, intervened with Israeli authorities after military personnel ordered organizers to stop preparations for a Catholic Marian festival in Taybeh, a Palestinian town in the West Bank that is widely regarded as the last entirely Christian locale in the territory. According to witnesses and representatives of the Vulnerable People Project (VPP), the intervention by the cardinal resulted in permission being granted for the celebration to continue as planned.

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