Stewards of the Holy Land
The Franciscans, or the Order of Friars Minor, were headed by Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone, who is more popularly known as St. Francis of Assisi. In 1217, just eight years after the founding, the Franciscans arrived in the region where Jesus was born, ministered, and died, establishing the “Province of the Holy Land.” St. Francis himself visited the Holy Land between 1229 and 1230.The Franciscans, after a brief stint in exile after the last Crusade outpost fell to Muslim hands, were able to return to the Holy Land and negotiate with Muslim leaders the acquisition of certain sites and the ability to officiate mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Pope Clement VI recognized the Franciscans’ role as caretakers of the holy shrines, and this was formalized in a papal bull, an official document from the church, in 1342.
Today, they have stewardship of more than 30 monasteries and 55 sanctuaries in the Israel–Palestine–Jerusalem–Jordan area. Among these sites are The Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, The Wedding Church in Cana, and The Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Setting Up in America
More than 500 years after the issuance of the papal bull, the Rev. Charles A. Vissani founded the Commissariat of the Holy Land in the United States. Initially set up in New York, he wanted to call attention to the need for the preservation of these holy sites. He and another colleague, Rev. Godfrey Schilling, began plans to build a “Holy Land in America.”The plan to build it on top of a hill on Staten Island, overlooking the New York harbor, never took root, but they were able to find a wooded hilltop in a quiet neighborhood in the nation’s capital to build the monastery. They purchased the land in 1897, and work began soon after.
Exploring the Grounds
The grand monastery church, in the Neo-Byzantine style, serves as the main building on the 42-acre plot of land. A small replica of the Portiuncula, the little chapel in Assisi where St. Francis lived and worked for most of his life and where he also eventually died, can be found off to the side. The upper garden is surrounded by the rosary portico, where bright mosaics feature the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious moments of Jesus’s time on earth. On the path leading to the lower gardens, visitors may reflect on Jesus’s final moments leading up to his crucifixion.
At each outdoor stop, listen to commentaries by scanning the bar codes on the signage for a more meaningful garden visit. The gardens are open to the public Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Exploring the Interiors
As you enter the entrance to the right side of the church, you will be warmly greeted by a brown-robed Franciscan friar. You start the tour with a short introductory talk from the guide, who will then lead you through the cavernous interiors of the church, which has the floor plan of a Jerusalem Cross—a big cross in the middle with four smaller crosses on the quadrants. Each quadrant serves as a chapel for important figures such as Joseph and Mary. The Calvary Shrine, with a bas relief depicting the crucifixion of Christ, is located on one of the main points of the “cross” floor plan.Across from the crucifixion scene, on another point of the “cross,” the scene of Jesus’s transfiguration is rendered. Here, Moses and the prophet Elijah appear with Jesus, who appears “as bright as the sun.” Below it is a facsimile of Jesus’s tomb, and in front of it is the stone of anointing, a marble slab where the body would have been laid after being taken down from the cross. The distance between both ends of the “cross,” from the crucifixion scene to the tomb, is the exact distance as measured from the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The lower church can only be visited by joining a guided tour. As you carefully make your way down below to the Purgatory Chapel (not wheelchair-accessible), you will see artwork with themes of the afterlife. View the intricately done mosaics portraying the raising of Lazarus and of Jesus being covered in a white shroud after he is taken down from the cross. And before you go back up to the main church, stop by the Bethlehem shrine in honor of Jesus’s birth.
If You Go
Getting There: Situated in a quiet Brookland neighborhood in Washington, D.C., within miles of the Maryland border, the nearest Metro station is the Brookland-CUA stop on the Red Line. However, from here, you may either have to take a bus or a short hike to reach the monastery. Driving directly is the most convenient way to reach it, and there is a free parking lot across from the monastery.Whatever your purpose is for visiting the monastery, it can be a memorable one for the whole family or a solemn and reflective one for those who want a deeper appreciation of the passion of Christ. This is one of our nation’s hidden gems.
