Amidst war, natural disaster, and economic collapse, Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem stands as a beacon of Christian hope and service for families living in the Holy Land. Stewarded by the Order of Malta at the request of Pope Saint John Paul II, this Catholic maternity teaching hospital continues to offer quality medical services with state-of-the-art facilities: a neonatal intensive care unit, operating rooms, a mobile clinic that serves isolated and remote desert communities, and much more. New life brings hope as infants are born, and their mothers are cared for, at the Hospital.
Holy Family Hospital turns no one away. Every mother, every newborn, every family continues to receive excellent care regardless of religion, ethnicity, or ability to pay.
Since 2023, when we supported Holy Family Hospital through a special Advent Second Collection, new challenges in health care delivery have emerged. Pilgrimages and tourism, the backbone of Bethlehem’s economy, have vanished. Consequently, more than 90% of families have been left unsalaried. Adding to the hardship, drought in the Bethlehem region destroyed this year’s olive harvest. As a result, families living in the area have suffered from lack of income and their normal staples of olives and oil.
This escalation in hunger and poverty has brought new nutritional and health challenges for expectant mothers and children. Holy Family Hospital is committed to helping ensure their well-being. At great risk and sacrifice, medical staff continue to commute through checkpoints to and from the Hospital and venture out into the desert to care for these vulnerable families.
Pope Leo XIV recently spoke of his gratitude to God for Christian families in the Holy Land. He conveyed appreciation for those who “persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them,” in the face of almost overwhelming hardship. He declared that these families “must be given the opportunity, and not just in words, to remain in their native lands with all the rights needed for a secure existence.” Holy Family Hospital Foundation has been answering this call:
- Through generous support for a new poverty alleviation program announced by Ambassador Michèle Burke Bowe, President of the Holy Family Hospital Foundation, over 250 families are now receiving vouchers for food, medicine, and electricity. Provided in partnership with a nearby Catholic parish, these lifelines help enable Christian families to remain in place.
- Against all odds, a 14,000 sq. ft. expansion and renovation project has been progressing. With new operating rooms, an on-site pharmacy, and other new facilities, the project will help medical staff meet the increasing health care needs of the Bethlehem region.
- The Hospital has continued paying salaries without interruption to physicians, nurses, medical aids and administrators. In many cases, these salaries support not only the employees, but also, through their deep sacrifice, their extended families and neighbors, thereby improving the welfare of the local community.
- Foreign medical experts at the cutting edge in their fields have sustained their efforts to teach, train, and guide Hospital staff. Through instructing remotely or travelling at risk to teach in person, these experts cover latest medical advancements and practices.
As the Season of Advent approaches, Holy Family Hospital humbly requests your prayers and generosity. Through such support, you offer hope to this courageous and resilient community.
If you would like to support Holy Family Hospital financially, please visit their website: birthplaceofhope.org/donate-parish
For more information or questions, please visit birthplaceofhope.org or email Marlene O’Brien, a St. John’s parishioner and member of the Order of Malta, at marleneobrien99@gmail.com.