Photo slideshow: U.S. Catholic bishops visit the Holy Land on peace pilgrimage

Eighteen Catholic bishops from across the U.S. led a peace pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where they examined the devastation left by recent conflict in Gaza. They also wanted to deliver a message: Prayer is powerful; peace is possible.

Members of the USCCB's 2014 peace pilgrimage to the Holy Land celebrate mass at the Church of the Flagellation on Via Dolorosa to pray for all victims of violence. Following the mass, the pilgrimage participants walked through the old city of Jerusalem. Photo by Jen Hardy/Catholic Relief Services

David Gibson

September 17, 2014 at 12:53 p.m. ET

Eighteen Catholic bishops from across the U.S., together with officials from Catholic Relief Services, the bishops’ international relief agency, are leading a peace pilgrimage to the Holy Land from Sept. 11-18, 2014.

The bishops and the church relief officials wanted to examine the devastation left by the recent conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants. But they also wanted to deliver a message: Prayer is powerful; peace is possible. The bishops followed in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who visited the Holy Land in June, and along the path traveled by Jesus 2,000 years earlier. Here are some photos of what they saw.

All photos courtesy of Catholic Relief Services.

Please click on any photo below to view a slideshow.

The delegation visited the Gaza Strip on Sunday (Sept. 14). The bishops celebrated Mass with the local Christian community, talked to residents and surveyed the destruction from the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. They also met with CRS staff. Photo by Matt McGarry/Catholic Relief Services

CRS Gaza field manager Bassam Nassar points out some of the damage incurred in Gaza during the 2014 conflict. Photo by Matt McGarry/Catholic Relief Services

Bishop Edward Weisenburger, left, of Salina, Kan., and Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, N.M., survey the damage. Photo by Matt McGarry/Catholic Relief Services

Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2014 peace pilgrimage to the Holy Land celebrated Mass at the Church of the Flagellation on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem to pray for all victims of violence. Photo by Jen Hardy/Catholic Relief Services

Members of the USCCB’s 2014 peace pilgrimage visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and said a Mass for peace on the first afternoon of the visit. Photo by Jen Hardy/ Catholic Relief Services

A bishop kisses the stone slab in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where tradition says the body of Jesus lay when it was taken from the Cross. Photo by Jen Hardy/ Catholic Relief Services

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, greets the USCCB’s Steve Colecchi, director of the Office of International Justice and Peace of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Photo by Jen Hardy/ Catholic Relief Services

Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, Long Island, leads Mass at the Patriarchate. Photo by Jen Hardy/Catholic Relief Services

USCCB bishops meet the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos ΙΙΙ. Photo by Jen Hardy/ Catholic Relief Services

Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, stands near a site holy to Jews but located in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian side of the city. Future peace discussions will need to include negotiations over access to holy sites for all faiths, the bishops say. Photo by Jen Hardy/ Catholic Relief Services

Left to right, Bishop Richard Pates, Bishop Stephen Blaire and Bishop Malone, a member of the CRS board, in front of an Israeli settlement in Palestinian East Jerusalem. The bishops say any future peace talks will have to address Israeli settlements in traditional or majority Palestinian areas. Photo by Jen Hardy/ Catholic Relief Services

Bishop Richard E. Pates greets a group of nuns after celebrating Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the first afternoon of the visit. Photo by Jen Hardy/ Catholic Relief Services

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