The friars, students and researchers of the École Biblique et Archéologique Française celebrated the feasts of the Nativity in an atmosphere of recollection, joy, fraternity and (this year especially) hope.
As the readings of the season of Advent recalled the eager waiting for the birth, the genealogy of Christ came to proclaim joyfully the mystery of the Incarnation of Christ. On 24 December 2025, the incensing of the figure of the Child Jesus placed in the crib by Fr Bernard Ntamak-Songé reaffirmed the link between the elements of our daily lives and the salvation of the world.
The night of 24 December opened with a solemn liturgy, with sung Vespers followed by the Mass of Christmas Night, animated by the choir. At the beginning of the celebration, presided over by Fr Bernard Ntamak-Songé, the crib was inaugurated by the symbolic gesture of placing the Child Jesus within it, recalling the central mystery of the Incarnation. At the conclusion of the Mass, a time of fellowship allowed the faithful to gather and converse over hot chocolate, extending the liturgical joy in a fraternal atmosphere.
Around midnight, a group travelled to Bethlehem to take part in another celebration in the Basilica of the Nativity. Access to the Grotto of the Nativity offered each person the opportunity to experience a moment of prayer that was particularly powerful, simple and deeply moving, in close proximity to the traditional site of Christ’s birth.
On Christmas Day, the celebration continued with the Mass in the middle of the day, followed by a shared meal in a spirit of joy. These moments of table fellowship and encounter, essential to community life, made it possible to experience concretely the fraternal dimension of the feast. In the evening, Christmas carols accompanied the recreation, in a spirit of simplicity, without forgetting the keen awareness that peace remains fragile and unevenly experienced throughout the world, and especially in this region.
On 26 December, on the feast of Saint Stephen, the annual consular Mass took place at the École Biblique et Archéologique Française, a significant moment in Jerusalem’s liturgical and ecclesial calendar. This celebration brought together many members of the faithful, including residents of the city and visitors passing through, as well as the Consul General of France in Jerusalem, Mr Nicolas Kassianides, the official representative of the French Republic in the region.
Presided over by Fr Stanisław Gurgul, the new prior of the community, and concelebrated by numerous priests, the Mass of the proto-martyr Stephen, carried by the choir’s singing, offered a time of solemn prayer and unity. At the conclusion of the celebration, a moment of fellowship brought together the faithful and participants in front of the church, before the festivities continued in the refectory. Mr Kassianides then joined the community for the festive meal and addressed a few words in a joyful atmosphere.
These Christmas celebrations in Jerusalem were an opportunity to give thanks for the gift of faith, for the beauty of the liturgy celebrated at the Holy Places, and for the fraternal communion that unites the ÉBAF community, the faithful of the Holy City and visitors passing through. In a context marked by uncertainty, they recalled the source of Christian hope: the birth of the Prince of Peace.
