Church of All Nations

The Basilica of Gethsemane, also known as the Church of All Nations, is a Roman Catholic church located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, next to the garden of Gethsemane. Inside you will find a portion of the rock where, according to tradition, Jesus prayed the night of his arrest, after celebrating the Last Supper.

The basilica rests on the foundations of two previous churches, a Byzantine basilica of the fourth century, destroyed by an earthquake in 746, and a twelfth-century Crusader chapel, abandoned in 1345. The construction of the current building, designed by architect Antonio Barluzzi, was carried out between 1919 and 1924 using funds from different countries (hence the nickname of all nations), whose symbols appear in the ceiling tiles in memory of their contribution. The church’s facade is a neo-Byzantine style, with a series of pillars and mosaic showing Jesus as a symbolic link between God and humanity. The bubble-shaped roof, wide pillars and Byzantine mosaic reinforce the architectural appearance of the church.

The basilica is governed by the Custody of the Holy Land of the Franciscan Order, in a gesture of ecumenism, also allows the Anglican community use an altar in the garden of Gethsemane to celebrate Holy Thursday services.