For the first time in centuries, Israeli authorities barred Catholic leaders from holding a private Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, drawing criticism from the United States and other nations.

Jerusalem’s iconic religious sites, including this historic church, have been closed due to the ongoing conflict with Iran, which has subjected the city to frequent missile attacks.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the police’s decision as “manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate.”

This restriction affected two senior church figures, among them the Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land, who were unable to mark Palm Sunday at the site believed to be where Jesus was crucified.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week for Christians, celebrating Jesus’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem and leading up to Easter.

The Israeli police stated that they informed church officials on Saturday of the decision to cancel the Mass due to safety issues, including the difficulty of emergency vehicle access in the Old City’s narrow streets and insufficient sheltering options.

However, the Latin Patriarchate said the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had been hosting Masses that aren’t open to the public since the Iran war began on Feb. 28, and it was unclear why Sunday’s Mass and access by the two priests was any different.

‘It’s a very, very sacred day for Christians and in our opinion there was no justification for such a decision or such an action,’ said Farid Jubran, the spokesperson for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Issa Kassissieh (pictured), a Palestinian Christian who is popular for being the Santa Claus of the city, stands holding a cross and a palm frond at the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after finding them locked, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives

Jubran said that the church had requested permission from police for a few religious leaders to enter the church for a private celebration on Sunday, not one that was open to the public. 

The Patriarchate said that the decision impeded freedom of worship and the status quo in Jerusalem.

The traditional Palm Sunday procession normally sees tens of thousands of Christians from around the world walk from the Mount of Olives down the narrow, hilly streets toward the Old City, waving palm fronds and singing.

The Patriarchate cancelled the traditional processional last week because of safety concerns and has held Masses limited to fewer than 50 worshippers in compliance with the Israeli military’s guidelines for civilians.

Pizzaballa instead celebrated Mass in the nearby St. Savior’s Monastery, a soaring marble church which is located next to an underground music school that the Israeli military has deemed a safe shelter space. 

Later on Sunday, Pizzaballa held a prayer for peace at the Dominus Flevit Shrine on the Mount of Olives, but kept his homily concentrated on Jesus and didn’t mention the morning’s incident.

Pope Leo XIV, at the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, prayed for all Christians in the Middle East who he said were living through an ‘atrocious’ conflict.

He said that ‘in many cases, they cannot live fully the rites of these holy days,’ though he didn’t elaborate.

The Vatican spokesman didn’t immediately respond when asked to comment on the Jerusalem incident.

Pictured: A closed door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands next to shuttered shops in Jerusalem’s Old City

The closure sparked a wave of criticism that Israeli authorities had gone too far in restricting worship, including from Israel’s top ally, the United States.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a devout evangelical Christian, said that the incident was ‘an unfortunate overreach.’

He said in a statement that the proposed prayer with Pizzaballa and the others was well below the 50-person limit for gatherings. ‘For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify,’ he wrote.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the incident, which he said had added to the ‘concerning increase in violations of the status of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem.’ In a post on X, Macron wrote: ‘The free exercise of worship in Jerusalem must be guaranteed for all religions.’

Italian authorities across the political spectrum condemned the move to restrict Pizzaballa, an Italian cardinal considered a leading papal contender in the 2025 conclave, from accessing the church.

The Italian government formally protested the incident to Israeli authorities and summoned Israel’s ambassador to Rome for clarification.

Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the police action ‘constitutes an offense not only against believers but against every community that recognises religious freedom.’

Meloni’s conservative government tried to keep a balanced position with Israel during the war in Gaza, supporting Israel’s right to defense but condemning the toll on Palestinians. 

The closure triggered a backlash, with many accusing Israeli authorities of overstepping by restricting religious worship

The Italian leader has also said that Italy won’t participate in the Iran war, while affirming that the Islamic Republic can’t be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no ‘malicious intent’ and that the cardinal was prevented from accessing the church because of safety concerns, but that Israel would try to partially open the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the coming days.

Netanyahu said on X: ‘Given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days,’

In an interview with Italian Catholic broadcaster TG2000, Pizzaballa said there was difference of opinions with Israeli authorities over accessing the church, but that the dispute remained polite.

‘We want to use this situation to try to clarify better what will be done in the coming days, respecting the security of all naturally but also in respect of the right to prayer,’ he said.

The Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, is also mostly closed because of safety issues, but authorities are letting up to 50 people at a time pray in an enclosed area adjacent to the plaza.

Smaller churches, synagogues, and mosques are open in Jerusalem’s Old City if they are located within a certain distance of a bomb shelter deemed acceptable by Israel’s military and, if gatherings are kept under 50 people.