Celebrating the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Sept. 14, I could not help but reflect on the courageous efforts of one of the first documented pilgrims to the Holy Land, Saint Helena.

In the third century, the Empress Helena visited the Holy Places, such as Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Sinai, and determined where their churches would be built. She directed the excavations on Golgotha in the search for the True Cross and the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Her contemporary, Eusebius of Caesaria, documented Helena's pilgrimages and building programs. He touchingly describes how she wished, quoting Psalm 132.7, to "worship at the place whereon his feet have stood."

He describes how "especially abundant were the gifts she bestowed on the naked and unprotected poor. To some she gave money, to others an ample supply of clothing; she liberated some from imprisonment, or from the bitter servitude of the mines; others she delivered from unjust oppression, and others, again, she restored from exile."

Eusebius continues: "While, however, her character derived luster from such deeds as I have described, she was far from neglecting personal piety toward God. She might be seen continually frequenting his church, while at the same time she adorned the houses of prayer with splendid offerings, not overlooking the churches of the smallest cities. In short, this admirable woman was to be seen, in simple and modest attire, mingling with the crowd of worshipers, and testifying her devotion to God by a uniform course of pious conduct."

Helena's experience should be ours as well.

In October 2003, the Council of European Bishop's Conferences urged European Catholics to make pilgrimages to the Holy Land in order to sow peace in the Middle East and show solidarity with the Christian minority there. Juozas Ruzgys, spokesman for the Lithuanian Bishops who hosted the conference, said of the proposal: "The bishops seek to revive the ages old tradition of pilgrim journeys to the Holy Land, which has been forgotten amid all the conflicts. Every Christian who goes can help to stop the chain of victims and hatred in the Middle East by spreading a culture of dialogue and tolerance. Political and diplomatic means are not enough."

Last May, Pope John Paul II urged the worldwide Christian Community to lend their support to the Christian Community in Israel by visiting the Holy Land themselves. In an address last May to the general assembly of the Italian Bishops Conference in Vatican City, the Holy Father praised the Roman Society for Pilgrimages and the Italian dioceses in general for their faithful efforts to increase travel to Israel.

"Many of you have visited personally those places, taking numerous pilgrims with you," the pope said. "It is also a strong sign of closeness and solidarity for the Christian communities that live there and that are in great need of your help."

According to information received in Rome, over the last year, some 2,000 Arab Christians have left the Holy Land, including 1,000 from Bethlehem. Twenty years ago, Arab Christians in the Occupied Territories numbered close to 100,000. Today, they number some 60,000, despite the growth of the overall Arab population.

Addressing Catholic unease over the number of Christians who are emigrating, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, at a meeting on the Holy City of Jerusalem last week, correctly pointed out that what must be avoided is "that this Holy City be turned into a museum of stones and shrines for pilgrims. For us the shrines are and must be in living communities, with schools, craftsmanship, and work, and all that is related with social life. If Christian communities disappeared, Jerusalem would become like Rome's Colosseum, and this is a misfortune that must be avoided."

Pilgrimages are a key source of income for many Christians in the Holy Land, which has unfortunately been in turmoil since the outbreak of the second intifada. I learned from the Catholic Near East Welfare Association that last month, of the 2,200 hotel rooms in Bethlehem for example, only 22 were occupied! The overwhelming majority of Catholics within the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem are Palestinians.

So desperate is the economic situation caused by the lack of pilgrims there that many of their families and friends in the United States are attempting to assist them by selling here the hand-carved olive wood statues, rosaries, and other religious items made there. Is it any wonder that the administrator of the Roman Society for Pilgrimages has called for a "Marshall Plan" of pilgrimages to rescue the economy of the Holy Land?

Dr. Jack Hayford, president of the Foursquare Gospel Churches, believes that a trip to Israel and the Holy Places in an important part of our Christian walk and that "all Christians should experience the birthplace of their faith described in the Scriptures as it offers a spiritual renewal." Saint Helena would agree.

Father Alexei Smith is Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.