Despite reassurance from Catholic leaders in the Holy Land, planned pilgrimages from Canada to the land of Christ's birth will likely remain unavailable for the foreseeable future in spite of the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

In a post to the official X account of the Custody of the Holy Land in late January, shortly after the first phase of the ceasefire came into effect, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Franciscan Father Francesco Patton stressed the importance of renewing the spirit of pilgrimage while attempting to unnerve travellers who may be wary of entering the Holy Land.

“There is no danger, now even more with the ceasefire, so it is about time to take courage and come to (the Holy Land), we are waiting for you,” Pizzaballa said in the video.

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“We are waiting for you because when you come as pilgrims to the Holy Land, our small Christian community feels that we are part of a great family of the Christians of the Catholic Church and of the Christians living all around the world, “ echoed Patton.

“Please do not fear, do not be afraid. Come, the pilgrimage is safe and we are waiting for you” was the final message of the video.

While Pizzaballa and Patton are correct that Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire which began on Jan. 19, the risk of travel to the Holy Land remains ever-present, particularly due to the uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire and now with Israel's incursion into the West Bank. 

The West Bank, Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights that border Syria and the border of Lebanon have all been listed under an "avoid all travel" advisory by the Government of Canada.

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Additionally, Canadians are being cautioned to avoid non-essential travel to Israel and Jerusalem in their entirety due to the ongoing regional tensions and the unpredictable security situation. The site confirms that the security situation in each location can deteriorate without warning.

It is advice that Mississauga, Ont.’s QS Travel and Tours Inc, a travel agency that  has organized group tours for Catholics since 1989, has been following since shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks launched by Hamas on Israel.

“ Pilgrimages to the Holy Land were one of our main offerings and while we have our Marian pilgrimages to Europe, prior to everything that resulted from the (Oct. 7) attacks, we had around seven or eight pilgrimages to the Holy Land each year, equating to several hundred pilgrims each year,” said Steven Skoczek, a travel consultant with QS Travel and Tours.

The overwhelming majority of QS Tours' clientele has shown minimal interest in travelling to the Holy Land following the reignited conflict anyway, said Skoczek. But he notes there are plenty of other options. Catholics interested in pilgrimage during this Jubilee year have been directed to the agency’s other offerings which include 17 different  Jubilee pilgrimages estimated to accommodate 500-600 travellers.

“We also offer trips to places like Mexico to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe,  a pilgrimage to Peru that we recently started offering and Central and Eastern European pilgrimages as well with Rome being one of the feature sites,” Skoczek said.

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Pilgrimages to the Holy Land are still currently not being offered due to the current travel restrictions and advisories in effect, but QS Travel and Tours is monitoring the situation closely as news continues to unfold. It to resume operations in the Holy Land in 2026, though everything is contingent on the security situation.

“If there is an elevated travel advisory such as level 3 or 4 and God forbid something happens to our pilgrims, they wouldn’t be covered by their insurance providers. It’s something we constantly keep an eye on and returning to the Holy Land is  something we would like to start up again as soon as possible.”