Education

Traditionally, the economy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has been dependent on tourism as a means for survival. The communities within the patriarchate recognize that to thrive their focus must shift to additional means of survival.
By supporting schools from pre-k through the university level, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre has enhanced the futures of children by providing up-to-date equipment, supplementing teacher salaries and student tuition funds, and providing revitalized classrooms.

Childhood Learning

There are 450 people sheltering at Holy Family Catholic Parish in Jerusalem who are resolute and committed to staying in their homeland. With supply trucks in Gaza not being able to make it through the check points, food supplies are scarce. The parish must rely on generators for a few hours a day to run the well pumps and charge up cell phones.

Despite these challenges, parish parents insist that someway, somehow, the parish needs to restart schooling for the children. Under the guidance of 5 teachers, a few sisters and the help of parents, 120 children between the ages of 3-16 are currently having classes for a few hours each day in whatever space they can find.

Since the parish fully expects the current school building will continue to be used as family housing for the next several years, a solution for classroom space needs to be found.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (LPJ) is working with the Rosary Sisters to fix a nearby school that the sisters can no longer use. This plan will give the teachers functional rooms with desks, a few computers, and even some basic science lab equipment.

Technical Schools

With a weakening economy and tremendous war expenses, Israel has cut its school subsidy program. The LPJ schools in Israel had their first ever budget deficit for the 2023-24 school year and further subsidy cuts are anticipated.

The LPJ schools in Israel are experiencing problems collecting tuition. Some parents are simply no longer able to pay. As war continues to rage, the trend is expected to not only continue, but to get worse.

To help finance the mounting government budget deficit, Israel is considering eliminating the exemption on churches and schools from municipal taxes. If this happens, all the LPJ schools within Israel will incur tens of thousands of dollars in unbudgeted taxation expenses. This would mean that programs would have to be cut.

In one such program in Galilee, students use computer aided design to learn how to create simple circuit boards. As in the United States, technology and technology job training is a very important initiative in the LPJ schools. Advancing these skills is a critical path for meeting current employment needs and lessening young people’s dependence on the tourism industry.