A newly-renovated classroom in the Holy Land. Less than 10% of classrooms administered by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem have received these kinds of upgrades, according to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
CNA Staff, Mar 24, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
An ancient Catholic lay order with members worldwide is leading a campaign to renovate and modernize dozens of schools in the Holy Land, an effort the group says is an important and concrete step toward peace in the region.
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (EOHSJ), a Catholic order of chivalry originally founded to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land, is aiming to raise $12 million to support 44 K-12 schools throughout Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Cyprus that collectively serve nearly 19,000 students.
The group's Ensuring the Future Campaign will dedicate $8 million to the renovation and modernization of classrooms and school facilities while dedicating a further $4 million to help pay teachers' salaries.
Tom Pogge, EOHSJ vice governor for North America, told CNA in an interview that the schools ensure a Christian presence in the Holy Land and promote interfaith dialogue. In addition to educating many Christians, the schools are popular among Muslim families — even though those families have to pay full tuition — because of the quality of education they offer.
Pogge said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, "really sees that the Christian presence is going to be the source of peace in the Holy Land and that the schools in particular are going to be a pathway to peace." Going to school together and growing up together provides a foundation for a peaceful coexistence for the children of different faiths who attend the schools, Pizzaballa has said.
Moreover, "we want to give those children the opportunity — like our children in the United States — to have a really good education and something for the future," Pogge said.
"[T]he mission of the order is to help maintain the Christian presence, and the Church, in the Holy Land … And so what we're trying to do right now with this campaign really fits into that whole effort to help maintain the Christian presence in the Holy Land."
Amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas — with hostilities recently resuming after a two-month ceasefire — the physical state of the schools requires attention, Pogge said, with some in "deplorable" condition. The campaign aims to fund the renovations necessary to create a "modern learning environment," he said.
But there's also the human element: Teachers, many of whom are Christian, are struggling financially, as are many parents of students. While the schools are getting some humanitarian aid, nothing is earmarked specifically for education, the EOHSJ said.
"During this war, in most of our schools, we've been able to keep the schools going, which is a good thing," Pogge noted.
"I think the Order of the Holy Sepulchre is probably needed more now than ever in the past, just because of the challenging situation that is there today. Hopefully, in the next couple of years, we'll have [done] all the renovations and updates, and we'll have our schools renovated and modern. And hopefully we will get more students who will want to come to our schools."
The Latin Patriarchate school system is the second-largest employer of Christians in the Holy Land, the EOHSJ said. So when the schools suffer, so do the Christians in the region, who are already reeling from a drop in pilgrimage groups — tourism being perhaps the most vital source of Christians' livelihoods.
Decimated first by the pandemic, visits to the Holy Land by foreign pilgrims dropped sharply again following the October 2023 start of the present war, and Christians continue to suffer the effects of a greatly diminished number of visitors.
Pogge said employing local talent for the renovations will create jobs and put money back into the local economy, reducing the need for humanitarian aid in the long run through empowerment.
Since formally initiating the campaign last September, the EOHSJ has already raised roughly $6.2 million with hopes to complete the campaign in 2025. Those interested in donating can do so here.
"I would love to exceed our goal, because the needs are always going to be there," Pogge said.
"It would be nice if we could exceed our campaign and actually create some type of a maintenance fund for the future."
The EOHSJ is a lay institution under the protection of the Holy See whose first mention in historical records dates to 1336. Today, the charitable group has approximately 30,000 members in almost 40 countries.
