--- description: In his first visit to the region since becoming the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis made stops in Jordan and the West Bank title: Photos: The Pope's Historic Holy Land Visit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdffdab125673306c/698690d0f983e7ac4204df80/2014-05-25t104905z_879032087_gm1ea5p1g.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Pope Francis](/tag/pope-francis/) ## Pope Francis Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Photos: The Pope's Historic Holy Land Visit by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 25, 2014 4:10 PM CUT  Pope Francis touches a girl as she is lifted up by the crowd at Manger Square in the West Bank town of Bethlehem May 25, 2014. Pope Francis touches a girl as she is lifted up by the crowd at Manger Square in the West Bank town of Bethlehem May 25, 2014.Mohamad Torokman—Reuters by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 25, 2014 4:10 PM CUT  A gust of wind blows off Pope Francis' cap as he speaks during a mass at Amman International Stadium May 24, 2014. Muhammad Hamed—Reuters  Jordan's King Abdullah, center, and Queen Rania, right, walk with Pope Francis during a welcoming ceremony in Amman, May 24, 2014. Ali Jarekji—Reuters  Pope Francis celebrates a mass in Amman's International Stadium May 24, 2014. Andrew Medichini—Pool/Reuters  Syrian and Iraqi refugees cheer Pope Francis as he leads a mass at the Church at Jordan river on 24 May 2014. Jamal Nasrallah—EPA  Catholic priests take a picture of Pope Francis (unseen) following a mass at the Amman stadium on May 24, 2014 in the Jordanian capital. Patrick Baz—AFP/Getty Images  Pope Francis and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas review troops as they arrive at the presidential palace for a welcoming ceremony on May 25, 2014 in the West Bank Biblical town of Bethlehem. Ahmad Gharabli—AFP/Getty Images  Pope Francis touches the wall that divides Israel from the West Bank, on his way to celebrate a mass in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, May 25, 2014. Mheisen Amareen—Reuters  Pope Francis leads an open-air mass in the Manger Square on May 25, 2014, outside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank Biblical town of Bethlehem. Fadi Arouri—AFP/Getty Images  Pope Francis touches a girl as she is lifted up by the crowd at Manger Square in the West Bank town of Bethlehem May 25, 2014. Mohamad Torokman—Reuters  Israeli President Shimon Peres, left, greets Pope Francis during a welcome ceremony upon the latter's arrival at Ben Gurion airport on May 25, 2014, near the Mediterranean Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv. David Buimovitch—AFP/Getty Images  Pope Francis walks alongside Israeli President Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcome ceremony upon his arrival at Ben Gurion airport on May 25, 2014, near the Mediterranean Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv. David Buimovitch—AFP/Getty Images  Pope Francis prays as he holds an envelope before placing it in one of the cracks between the stones of the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem on May 26, 2014 Andrew Medichini—AP  Pope Francis listens to a speech during his meeting with Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau, at the Heichal Shlomo center in Jerusalem on May 26, 2014 Andrew Medichini—AP  Pope Francis prays after laying a wreath as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Shimon Peres look on during a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrances in the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, May 26, 2014. Abir Sultan—EPA ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/114122/photos-the-popes-holy-land-visit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/114122/photos-the-popes-holy-land-visit/"},"headline":"Photos: The Pope's Historic Holy Land Visit","datePublished":"2014-05-25T16:10:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:21.171Z","description":"In his first visit to the region since becoming the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis made stops in Amman, Jordan, and Bethlehem in the West Bank","url":"https://time.com/114122/photos-the-popes-holy-land-visit/","keywords":["Pope Francis","Israel","Syria","Pope Francis topic","Refugees","Middle East","Gaza and the West Bank","Jordan","Mahmoud Abbas","West Bank"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdffdab125673306c/698690d0f983e7ac4204df80/2014-05-25t104905z_879032087_gm1ea5p1g.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdffdab125673306c/698690d0f983e7ac4204df80/2014-05-25t104905z_879032087_gm1ea5p1g.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pope Francis touches a girl as she is lifted up by the crowd at Manger Square in the West Bank town of Bethlehem","caption":"Pope Francis touches a girl as she is lifted up by the crowd at Manger Square in the West Bank town of Bethlehem","creditText":"Mohamad Torokman—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/pope-francis/","name":"Pope Francis"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/114122/photos-the-popes-holy-land-visit/","name":"Photos: The Pope's Historic Holy Land Visit"}}]}] ```