Sir Richard and Lady Terri Taylor, along with Lady Valencia Yvonne Camp, lieutenant of the order’s Middle Atlantic Lieutenancy are pictured here with Bishop Peter Jugis in 2021 after the order’s annual “Scroll Mass” at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.CHARLOTTE — As Holy Week and Easter draw near in the war-torn region of the Holy Land, Charlotte-area members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem are encouraging the faithful to pray for and help support Christians living in the Middle East.
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre was founded nearly a thousand years ago by the pope during the Crusades when Jerusalem was under attack. Today, about 30,000 of the Order’s men and women worldwide support the Holy Land’s Christian community through charitable work, raising more than $10 million annually for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and other Catholic organizations.
Rick Taylor, leader of the Order’s Charlotte chapter, said support is especially needed because the population of Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land is dwindling. Recent statistics indicate they are now only 2% of the population. Taylor and the approximately 45 other Charlotte-area members have watched the recent war in the region with increasing fear and sadness.
They will come together to pray for the Holy Land at a Good Friday Passion Liturgy at St. Matthew Church at 3 p.m. on March 29, Good Friday.
“I would tell Catholics that if you truly believe the Holy Land is where Christ walked, you need to do what you can to help these Christians and to help the Franciscans keep the holy sites available to people,” Taylor said. “I hate to think of what would happen if Christianity left the Holy Land completely. We need to do everything we possibly can as Catholics to make sure the resources are there to support it.”
One of the most direct ways to help is by giving to the annual Pontifical Good Friday Collection, taken up at Good Friday services across the country. The funds collected to go support the Order’s mission of aiding schools, hospitals, and social and medical services in the region.
War erupted in late 2023 after Hamas forces attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people. The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has since resulted in the deaths of more than 30,000 Palestinians and caused widespread disruption in the entire area. Because it is almost impossible to get direct aid into the Gaza Strip, the Order’s charitable resources are focused on supporting Christians and other residents in the West Bank, which includes Bethlehem and other important holy sites that have been maintained by Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land for more than 800 years.
In a recent interview with Religion News Service, Italian Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Order’s Grand Master, said its members “are tasked with promoting justice and love through their work.”
He said about 10% of the money the order collects go to cover administrative costs, while around 90% “if not more” goes directly to the Latin Patriarchate.
“We are not architects of peace in the Holy Land, we are small workers, we stay in our place, and we try to do well what we can, or no one will,” he said.
Valencia Camp has been in the Order for 32 years and currently serves as lieutenant of the Order’s Mid-Atlantic Lieutenancy, which includes Charlotte. She said prayer and financial support are the most effective things people can offer to support the Holy Land. She encourages people to be as generous as possible at the Good Friday collection, and to also consider donating to Catholic organizations working in the region such as Caritas Jerusalem and Catholic Relief Services.
“The Holy Land matters so much because that is where Christ was born, lived, died and rose from the dead – that is the beginning of our faith,” Camp said. “That is why it is so important that Christians continue to thrive there, and that the holy places remain safe and are preserved. That is our home.”
For more information about the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, visit www.midatlanticeohs.com.
— Christina Lee Knauss