Unity of Hearts – Unity of Christians – Unity of the Feast of Easter!
In furtherance of greater unity among Christians in the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with the agreement of the Apostolic See of Peter at Rome, has decided to modify its Liturgical Calendar, more specifically its method of calculating the Paschal New Moon and thus the date of Easter. From now it will follow the practice of the Orthodox, as well as Eastern Catholic, Churches in the same land.
Easter therefore was not yet happened in the Holy Land in 2013. Rather than March 31 as in the rest of the Latin Church, Easter 2013 will be celebrated on May 5th.
But to meet the needs of pilgrims coming to Jerusalem and Bethlehem this year, Latin churches in these cities will not follow the new arrangements.