On Nov 07, 2023, Angelus News published the following article featuring our Holy Land Councilor, Denise Scalzo and Lieutenant, Margie Romano of Western USA Lieutenancy.
Catholics from Southern California are known for stepping up with that kind of support when it’s been most needed.
Denise Scalzo is councilor for the Western Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem — whose grand prior is Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles — and a founder of the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land.
A professional fundraiser who lives in the San Diego area, Scalzo has been to the Holy Land 103 times since 1991. She was scheduled for a medical mission when the war erupted.
“I don’t take sides,” she said of the current situation. Rather, Scalzo’s foundation works to keep a Christian presence in a region known for complex tensions and competing claims.
“Israel and Palestine have a very strong Catholic presence that I don’t think people are aware of,” said Margaret Romano, lieutenant of the Western USA lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and a parishioner at St. Philip in Pasadena.
“The sisters there and the Franciscan priests work so very hard to bring the faith to the people; and keep them strong in their faith and give them hope. To see these events now is just heartbreaking.”
