about us
Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center offers hospitality to pilgrims who come from all over the world to visit the Holy Land. In a special way, it welcomes clergy, consecrated people and other members of the Church. The guesthouse offers comfortable rooms and suites with magnificent views of the Old City; restaurants to serve every taste but most important of all, the services needed to live a profound spiritual experience in the Holy Land.
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For a Christian, a visit to the Holy Land is an encounter with the living Christ, a chance to walk in His footsteps. It means accepting the adventure of discovering the living presence of Christ, who awaits each pilgrim in the different places where He lived, preached, and suffered for our salvation. Our goal is to offer each of our guests, the opportunity to get to know the main holy places and the rich complexity of this land’s past, in order to understand better its present challenges. The Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center family is committed to making every pilgrim’s experience truly unique and memorable.
location
Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center is uniquely located in the heart of the City and just a few steps away from the Old City’s New Gate and within minutes from the Holy Sepulcher.
In addition to being close to the significant Christian Holy places, it is also near the sites that are important for the Jewish and Islamic religions: the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque. These two sites, together with the Holy Sepulcher, make Jerusalem the “Holy City” so loved by the faithful of these three monotheistic religions.
history
In 1882, large groups of pilgrims began coming to the Holy Land under the direction of the French Assumptionists. The experience gained from these pilgrimages prompted the religious to build a center to host French pilgrims. The location of the new center would be right next to the walls of the Holy City of Jerusalem. The building would be known as Notre Dame de France. Thanks to the help of generous benefactors, the Assumptionists were able to acquire a 4,000 square meter property right next to the French Hospital of St. Louis des Français. The cornerstone of the building was officially laid on June 10th, 1885.
