Summary report on the number of Catholic pilgrims in the Holy Land - 2015 Introduction Attached is a table that can help one to understand the trends of pilgrimages to the Holy Land during 2015. From the month of October 2014 the Franciscan Pilgrim Office of Jerusalem is operating a system of digital bookings, which permits the various agencies to book online the liturgical services in the shrines administered by the Custody of the Holy Land. This system permits one to have a more precise picture on the number of pilgrims, on their places of origin and on their distribution, besides providing a better understanding of eventual needs. One needs to clarify that we cannot take as an absolute reference the statistics provided by the Ministry of Tourism regarding the entry of tourists, since these can only partially help us to understand the dynamics of the pilgrimage to the Holy Places. The Ministry, in fact, for obvious reasons, cannot distinguish the diverse objectives of the visitors to the Country, if not only in a summary way. Besides, the Ministry cannot easily calculate internal tourism (Israeli tourists, students, and others). If, on the one hand, it is easier to distinguish between religious non-christian tourists and Christian tourists, on the other it is not always possible to distinguish between Catholic and non-catholic pilgrims. One presumes that two-thirds of the non-catholic pilgrims (Orthodox, Protestants, and those coming from Evangelical Churches) do visit the principal shrines of the Custody (Nazareth, Capernahum, Gethsemane, Bethlehem) and some of them hold celebrations in these shrines. All the numbers presented in the table regard, obviously, only and exclusively the pilgrims who, through an agency of their choice, have booked a specific service in one of the shrines of the Custody. In these statistics, therefore, we do not include visitors and groups of pilgrims who, although they did not have a booking, succeeded nevertheless to celebrate in the shrines of the Custody. The numbers presented therefore constitute an interesting indication, but they do not designate the real number of visitors and pilgrims, which should be therefore abundantly increased. The total number of pilgrims The total number of pilgrims who in 2015 have booked a service in the shrines amounts to 275,118. The groups were 8,254. The only shrine which, at this present moment, is in a condition of calculating, besides pilgrims who celebrate, also the visitors who frequented, it is Capernahum, which in 2015 received a total of 481,781 visitors. In 2014 (which was not a positive year, because of the crisis in Gaza during the summer) there 1
were 674,327 visitors. We are also thinking of installing a system of automatic calculation of visitors in the other principal shrines. In any case, we think that the numbers registered in Capernahum are sufficiently indicative of the number of Christian religious pilgrims. If we keep as reference the shrine of Capernahum, we can affirm that 2015 has been rather poor for the number of pilgrims in the Holy Land. After the increase of the numbers during the preceding years, from the crisis of Gaza in 2014 the numbers have visibly and progressively dwindled. If one keeps in mind Capernahum as a point of reference, in 2015 we have seen a decrease of 28,5% when compared to the preceding year. The calmest month is traditionally January, which has only registered 11,117 pax. The summer months, which are traditionally very crowded, have been particularly low in numbers. After various appeals, we registered a good increase (October was the best month with 40,639 pax), and then we registered a decrease in November and again a total collapse of numbers in December. The motivations are linked with the political situation, which has been the cause of fear in the case of the majority of pilgrims. Experts say that October was a good month because pilgrims had already paid for their pilgrimage, even though the problems in the Holy Land had already started. These pilgrims could not cancel their bookings. The places of origin of pilgrims The pilgrims coming from the western world (North America and Europe), which in the past constituted the near totality of numbers, nowadays constitute not more than one half of the number of pilgrims. Asia and Latin America are ever more present, while very few pilgrims hail from Africa and Oceania. It is interesting to note the number of pilgrims coming from Indonesia, Brazil, India, Mexico, Korea. Every year pilgrims from China are increasing on a 100% basis. The Countries from which pilgrims have only recently come to visit the Holy Land are also those which are least included in the traditional circuit of pilgrimages, for various reasons: 1. The majority of the groups are unfortunately lacking the presence of a priest, and therefore they do not feel the need to book the Eucharist or other celebrations. 2. These groups often make use of agencies, which are not specialised in pilgrimages and therefore do not know/cannot book services in the shrines. It is not the first time that these groups celebrate in hotels, where they are welcomed, or else they do not celebrate liturgies at all. It is hoped that, by time, the parishes, dioceses or, better still, the Episcopal Conferences of these Countries will organise themselves in order to guarantee to their pilgrims adequate religious services in the Holy Land. 2
Denominations of pilgrims The great majority of pilgrims who book a service is obviously Catholic, and the near totality are Roman Catholics. Oriental Catholics are not very numerous. They often celebrate in oriental Catholic churches in the Holy Land. Instead, we are registering an increase in celebrations of Protestant and Reformed churches, and of different Evangelical congregations (58,479). In generally, non-catholic pilgrims celebrate in those shrines, which provide specific infrastructure (openair altars, inter-religious places of prayer, etc.). These places are often Tabgha, Gethsemane and the Shepherds Field (other places register less numbers). The shrines which are most visited The shrines which are most visited are obviously the Holy Sepulchre (128,453 pax have celebrated), Gethsemane (125,697 pax, of whom 14,981 for the Holy Hour) and Bethlehem (151,626 in total between the Basilica, Milk Grotto and Shepherds Field). Nazareth has been inserted in the system only on 1 November. The number of celebrations in Nazareth is always rather limited, because of the lack of infrastructures. The altars on which groups can celebrate are only three (Basilica, Chapel and St. Joseph). The automatic calculation of visitors remains very difficult, since Nazareth is also a parish and a point of reference for various local pastoral activities. Many pilgrims, besides, re-enter the shrine more than once for prayer and for the proper celebrations of the same shrine. Other shrines which pilgrims visit are Mount Tabor (61,779), Cana (73,790) and the Cenacolino (38,549). Other considerations We are registering a constant increase in groups desiring to make different experiences from that of the traditional pilgrimage. There is an exponential increase in the so-called Green Pilgrimage, that is, in those who would like to visit or to make a pilgrimage by journeying on foot through the Country. These are often persons or groups who have already done the experience of the Walk to Santiago or that of the Via Francigena. There is also an increase in the numbers of pilgrims who are returning and desiring to visit other Places or to make more prolonged experiences both in the shrines as well as in other parts of the Country. We are furthermore registering an increase in the requests for infrastructures, which permit a simple and sober welcome for groups. Another request is that of providing areas of prayer and silence in the shrines, which are not easily found. The desired opening of the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem is a step in this direction. These simple data indicate that during the coming years we shall see a greater change in the modality of pilgrimages, which will require a specific preparation, especially on the part of the Custody: 1. The cultural and geographical origins of the pilgrims are changing, and this entails different needs, not only on the linguistic level. 3
2. The requests of groups are ever more diversified. Many are not satisfied with just celebrating Mass. There are many other types of services, which are requested and awaited, in particular that of finding areas of silence, and areas for the celebrations of non-catholics. 3. Groups of young people, during summer, as well as other groups of pilgrims are requesting a sober and simple welcoming (also for economic reasons), which normally the religious gest houses and hotels cannot always provide. The environment of pilgrims needs infrastructures, which are close to the Holy Places, or at least in places from which these Holy Places are easily accessible. They should be simple and offered at a convenient price. 4. Green pilgrims or pilgrims who go on foot (or on bicycle, etc.), families or small not-organized groups are not a marginal phenomenon any longer. Franciscan Pilgrim Office 4
Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 Groups by month January 369 February 773 March 736 April 905 May 759 June 501 July 496 August 458 September 648 October 1,175 November 979 December 455 Total groups 8,254 PAX by month January 11,117 February 25,964 March 24,171 April 32,554 May 25,730 June 15,077 July 14,667 August 13,879 September 20,899 October 40,639 November 32,291 December 18,130 Total PAX 275,118 1
Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 Bookings by month January 1,210 February 2,217 March 2,126 April 2,450 May 2,392 June 1,416 July 1,526 August 1,456 September 1,873 October 3,379 November 3,057 December 1,062 Total bookings 24,164 2
Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 Groups/PAX by Continent Groups PAX Europe 3,701 121,033 Asia 1,712 59,790 North America 1,563 53,359 Latin America 1,014 32,275 Africa 185 6,423 Oceania 79 2,238 Groups/PAX by Country Groups PAX United States 1,460 50,135 Poland 739 29,882 Italy 943 27,508 Indonesia 613 19,786 Brazil 541 18,106 Spain 429 13,803 India 295 13,638 France 417 13,445 Germany 359 8,991 United Kingdom 240 7,181 Mexico 220 6,180 Philippines 174 5,903 Korea, Republic of 157 4,127 China 90 3,396 Canada 103 3,224 Portugal 87 2,850 Sri Lanka 57 2,640 Singapore 67 2,361 Australia 77 2,182 South Africa 66 2,082 Israel 86 2,075 Austria 77 2,021 Argentina 68 1,910 Sweden 46 1,777 Ukraine 35 1,620 Ireland 41 1,483 Malaysia 37 1,428 Palestine 40 1,281 Colombia 3 38 1,144
Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 Norway 31 1,110 Hungary 25 1,107 Slovakia 23 1,100 Switzerland 43 1,074 Chile 31 886 Belarus 13 863 Croatia 23 853 Netherlands 27 850 Hong Kong 22 751 Viet Nam 23 722 Kenya 16 652 Cote d'ivoire 17 647 Slovenia 14 642 Peru 19 611 Ecuador 18 593 Belgium 19 517 Jordan 12 504 Lithuania 16 484 Albania 3 475 Senegal 3 473 Taiwan, Province of China 13 466 Romania 13 434 Costa Rica 14 388 Dominican Republic 6 379 Nigeria 14 376 Panama 8 368 Puerto Rico 11 362 El Salvador 11 347 Japan 11 343 Uganda 10 321 Czech Republic 8 284 Honduras 7 283 Congo 8 269 Angola 8 255 Malta 9 239 Guatemala 6 222 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 9 214 Gabon 206 5 4
Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 Ethiopia 3 194 Russian Federation 10 174 Egypt 5 160 Zimbabwe 8 157 Bolivia 4 127 Benin 5 127 Nicaragua 2 119 Denmark 3 113 Uruguay 5 111 Mauritius 4 109 Rwanda 2 105 Paraguay 3 97 Burkina Faso 2 91 Latvia 3 79 Tanzania, United Republic of 2 71 Myanmar 3 65 Cameroon 4 59 New Zealand 2 56 Finland 3 40 Trinidad and Tobago 1 37 Kazakhstan 1 36 Eritrea 1 33 Thailand 1 30 Gambia 1 27 Serbia 1 27 Qatar 1 24 Madagascar 1 9 Holy See (Vatican City State) 1 7 Venezuela 1 5 5
Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 Groups/PAX by Language Groups PAX English 3,239 110,134 Spanish 1,006 32,539 Polish 748 30,123 Italian 948 27,486 Portuguese 634 21,201 French 517 16,835 German 442 11,138 Korean 164 4,312 Chinese 109 3,911 Arabic 67 2,724 Russian 41 1,879 Swedish 47 1,838 Bahasa 50 1,628 Slovene 33 1,538 Malayalam 36 1,435 Hungarian 26 1,178 Ukranian 23 989 Dutch 27 906 Croatian 24 880 Norwegian 14 603 Czech 9 440 Lithuanian 9 268 Romanian 9 255 Maltese 9 239 Tamil 5 205 Latin 10 191 Amharic 3 108 Ewe 2 69 Hebrew 1 11 6
Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 Groups/PAX by Religious Denomination Groups PAX Catholic: Latin rite 6,575 215,346 Protestant 770 25,831 Evangelical 545 21,360 Anglican 134 3,626 Other denomination 100 3,391 Mormon 37 1,813 Catholic: Greek (Byzantine) 19 817 Lutheran 26 786 Baptist 14 664 Reformed Churches 11 502 Methodist 6 203 Catholic: Syrian 3 128 Assemblies of God 2 118 Catholic: Extraordinary rite 2 108 Catholic: Maronite 2 88 Orthodox:Ethiopian 1 82 Catholic: Coptic (Alexandrian) 2 77 Orthodox: Syriac 1 47 Catholic: Armenian 1 42 Catholic: Ethiopian (Alexandrian) 1 33 Orthodox: Coptic 1 33 Orthodox: Greek 1 23 Catholic Non Catholic 6,605 216,639 1,649 58,479 7
Franciscan Pilgrim Office - Jerusalem Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 8 Shrines Total by Month - Pax 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total Ain Karem - Desert 11 125 108 129 14 24 8 101 151 17 688 Ain Karem - St. John 747 1,372 1,118 2,128 1,643 711 610 815 743 1,972 1,523 325 13,707 Ain Karem - Visitation 1,235 1,849 1,805 2,660 2,139 1,217 1,138 1,534 2,379 3,557 2,724 1,104 23,341 Bethany 1,558 4,673 3,430 4,826 4,317 2,715 2,280 1,928 3,627 5,834 4,870 1,047 41,105 Bethfage 97 353 183 173 337 64 150 210 245 290 253 81 2,436 Bethlehem Basilica 4,896 8,824 7,684 10,757 8,516 4,036 5,318 5,392 7,099 11,344 9,031 3,270 86,167 Bethlehem Milk Grotto 320 402 797 857 622 458 405 264 818 1,804 1,396 706 8,849 Bethlehem Shepherd's 1,847 6,310 5,522 5,512 4,657 2,744 2,609 2,288 3,821 8,942 6,054 6,304 56,610 Cana 2,179 7,676 6,186 7,955 8,201 3,945 3,145 2,503 5,281 11,943 10,669 4,107 73,790 Capernaum s Convent 1,816 3,324 2,070 3,183 2,395 1,491 1,264 1,231 1,600 3,603 2,984 1,245 26,206 Dominus Flevit 986 2,287 2,258 2,622 2,329 913 1,542 1,711 1,536 3,940 2,540 773 23,437 Emmaus-Qubeibeh 87 376 300 28 111 124 146 117 90 208 47 1,634 Flagellation 476 2,394 1,641 1,946 1,167 492 365 481 1,143 2,573 1,692 409 14,779 Gethsemane 4,004 12,736 12,794 12,804 13,636 8,265 5,964 6,518 10,295 18,590 15,763 4,328 125,697 Holy Sepulcher 7,913 12,347 11,062 12,032 13,164 7,536 9,698 9,728 10,158 16,631 14,063 4,121 128,453 Jaffa - St. Anthony s 41 34 33 41 56 41 31 677 122 31 1,107 Jaffa - St. Peter s 244 824 528 934 832 547 625 492 1,000 1,693 1,041 506 9,266 Jericho 1,804 2,950 3,080 3,679 3,308 1,295 2,471 1,645 2,533 4,907 3,645 1,105 32,422 Mount Tabor 2,748 5,568 4,541 7,429 5,927 3,739 4,151 4,599 4,661 8,945 6,909 2,562 61,779 Nazareth Last Two Months 8,694 3,172 11,866 Ramle 17 11 28 St. Saviour s 23 130 69 133 63 107 525 Tabga - Primacy 1,537 2,638 2,305 3,353 2,660 1,285 1,877 1,702 1,692 4,228 3,581 1,267 28,125 The Cenacle ad Coenaculum 2,245 3,945 3,699 3,978 3,386 1,624 3,378 3,152 2,659 5,439 4,191 853 38,549
Franciscan Pilgrim Office - Jerusalem Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 9 Shrine Total by Countries (first 18) - Pax Ain Karem - Desert Ain Karem - St. John Ain Karem - Visitation Austral ia Austri a Brazil Canada China France Germ. India Indones. Israel Italy Korea Mexic o Philip. Poland Spain UK USA 36 22 14 103 17 103 37 13 78 105 75 122 769 147 115 302 435 1,926 51 1,384 142 280 306 2,904 555 90 1,497 423 334 604 989 649 1,107 183 2,513 1,429 611 367 4,407 99 254 786 153 499 3,420 Bethany 1,337 494 671 286 420 2,253 555 2,451 240 1,641 572 10,761 198 383 3,714 473 886 7,226 Bethfage 13 71 36 16 20 13 23 341 41 35 84 791 140 79 394 Bethlehem Basilica Bethlehem Grotto Bethlehem Shepherd 6,962 1,153 1,135 3,840 2,642 4,450 1,289 11,502 2,159 3,019 1,239 14,932 1,577 132 4,347 421 1,409 11,127 1,010 236 372 83 339 106 710 32 458 337 1,792 140 44 118 322 742 978 944 644 5,321 2,853 1,774 6,509 4,185 18 706 1,940 9,717 388 400 3,619 189 2,359 4,896 Cana 3,745 1,048 1,287 458 528 7,333 16,801 1,446 519 1,922 4,289 8,693 476 983 1,225 1,987 1,511 9,314 Capernaum 1,524 581 392 1,602 441 559 295 4,923 1,875 683 912 2,238 145 140 888 55 370 5,507 Dominus Flevit 1,126 413 360 1,858 3,519 835 211 1,786 105 484 438 2,771 631 55 1,469 1,126 2,474 Emmaus- 130 2 92 78 53 213 577 236 Flagellation 690 205 441 473 109 1,038 1,060 522 53 369 747 4,618 119 146 351 153 34 1,203 Gethsem. 11,015 1,958 1,444 3,974 1,694 3,893 1,818 11,054 2,280 3,944 1,979 14,108 1,201 1,083 6,911 2,230 3,537 33,755 H. Sepulchre 6,871 1,374 1,034 8,989 3,696 2,797 1,973 21,180 3,457 3,602 1,724 17,912 2,088 483 10,398 1,428 2,263 18,235 Jaffa - St. Anthony s Jaffa - St. Peter s 66 56 31 32 151 72 126 96 278 470 181 797 133 430 30 409 81 401 14 587 139 144 993 113 86 1,740 Jericho 345 108 2,511 858 834 2,017 529 913 990 5,900 1,676 515 1,513 3,329 1,698 445 3,149 M. Tabor 3,436 535 788 3,154 2,725 1,520 2,217 7,374 1,730 1,118 1,265 10,636 815 272 3,159 165 1,130 8,722 Nazareth* 568 332 190 660 265 86 93 1,561 258 346 324 1,065 78 29 802 31 497 2,682
* Nazareth entered into the system only from November. The numbers of Nazareth, therefore, refer only to the last two months (nov-dec). Franciscan Pilgrim Office - Jerusalem Statistics for the year 2015 (January 1 Shrine Total by Countries (first 18) - Pax Austral ia Ramle 28 Austri a Brazil Canada China France Germ. India Indones. Israel Italy Korea Mexic o Philip. Poland Spain UK USA St. Saviour 52 32 155 130 133 23 Tabga - Primacy The Cenacle 837 229 505 2,257 719 447 589 1,935 993 678 186 4,244 269 488 2,828 1,653 4,387 2,045 482 332 2,445 597 257 204 8,539 1,043 1,303 221 6,291 550 204 5,376 327 440 3,460 10