Information about the olive trees in Gethsemane, Jerusalem itself will be provided after this announcement (Betty, E.J, and James Anthony Arendt).

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Since the Franciscans retook possession of the small olive grove adjacent to the Church of All Nations in 1681, the Franciscan fathers have tended to eight of what are believed to be the oldest olive trees in the Holy Land. Tradition, backed by modern genetic testing, holds that the gnarled trees were grafted at some point during the Crusader era from a single tree that was a witness to Jesus' agony more than 2,000 years ago.

Today, the trees are part of the Garden of Gethsemane, fenced off and protected from the crowds of faithful who come on pilgrimage to the site. To accommodate pilgrims, the Franciscans keep a box of small branches pruned from the trees from which people can freely take a memento.

As the olive harvest begins in the Holy Land, Fr. Benito Choque, an Argentine who is superior of the Franciscan community at the church, ponders the significance of the olive in the Bible as he greets pilgrims outside the fence and walks among the trees inside the garden. A few pilgrims ask for an olive from the trees, but the friar gently denies their request. If he gives an olive to one, then all the other pilgrims will want one, too, he explained.

"These oldest of trees are a testament to Jesus' suffering," Choque said. The ancient trees continue to speak to those who will hear, he said.

Though now there is confrontation not far from the trees, the priest sees the harvest as a time that unites people as families gather to pick olives and neighbors and friends meet at the olive press to make the fruit into oil used in cooking throughout the year.

Franciscan Fr. Diego Dalla Gassa, who guides volunteers at the garden, said he urges them to consider the vocation of the olive and the olive tree, likening them to the life of Jesus. They are cared for with the rain that God provides and in the end, they are meant to be pressed for the oil so precious and important in the region, he noted.

"It is very beautiful for us to pick the olives here from the trees we have cared for. When we collect the olives, we understand we are doing what God does with us. When we see an olive on a faraway branch, we must reach out to it to take it and so it happens with us that God is reaching out for us, searching for us," Dalla Gassa said.

"This place interprets all of the life of Jesus," he added. "Jesus was pressed here (as the olive is pressed) and we received the beautiful oil, in this case, the blood (of Jesus)."

The Franciscans utilize every part of the olive, the oil is blessed and used for the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, including the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, ordination of priests, and anointing the sick.

The olive pits are sent to a few Christian Palestinian families who traditionally make them into rosaries, which are then gifted to the Franciscan priests.

In addition to the eight old trees, the garden includes a younger tree planted by Pope Paul VI during his visit in 1964 and the newest sapling planted by Francis during his pilgrimage in 2004.

Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera zahishaked.gmail.com +972-54-6905522 tel סיור עם מורה הדרך ומדריך הטיולים צחי שקד 0546905522
My name is Zahi Shaked
In 2000 I became a registered licensed tourist guide.
My dedication in life is to pass on the ancient history of the Holy Land.

Following upon many years of travel around the world, which was highlighted by a very exciting emotional and soul-searching meeting with the Dalai Lama, I realized that I had a mission. To pass on the history of the Holy Land, its religions, and in particular, the birth and development of Christianity.

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