St. Francis, whose Feast Day we celebrated on October 4, is beloved by many people for his love of all Creation and for his embodiment of authentic faith amid a nominally-Christian people.
In 1219, Francis launched a one-person peace mission to end the carnage of the Crusades.
Francis walked barefooted to the coast, and then across parts of Egypt and Syria to meet the Sultan of Egypt, Malik al-Kamel, the nephew of Saladin the Great.
Francis efforts were not successful, but the Sultan was impressed by this very different manifestation of Christian faith and gave (eventually) permission for the Franciscans to live in the Holy Land.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi
Because military control of the Holy Lands was never sustained, Pope Clement VI (in 1342) made the Franciscan Order “Custodia Terrae Sanctae”— Custodian of the Holy Land — on behalf of the Catholic Church.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custody_of_the_Holy_Land
This long prologue explains the events more than 500 years later when an effort was begun by Franciscans and Catholic clergy in New York City to build a “Holy Land in America”.
After a disappointing launch in Staten Island, NY, the group decided to pursue a site (an abandoned estate) on a hill in northeast DC.
The fascinating story of this enterprise, including the collection of artifacts and relics from the Holy Land and many parts of Europe, reflects an enormous international mission.
Ground was broken in February of 1898, and chapels, gardens, and replicas of sites in the Holy Land were erected.
The great church was not consecrated until 1924.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciscan_Monastery_of_the_Holy_Land_in_America
This postcard photograph shows the altar of the “Franciscan Monastery, Washington DC”.
On the reverse, a blurb describes the splendor of the magnificent altarpiece.
The postcard was mailed from Washington DC by Mathilde in April of 1929.
Addressed to Mrs. B. Small of Riverside, NJ, the postcard probably arrived the next day.
(Riverside is a township of Burlington County in west-central New Jersey.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverside_Township,_New_Jersey
One hopes that Mrs. Small was impressed by this monument to the Holy Land in Washington DC.
