Commissariat of the Holy Land

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Franciscan trust collecting the Good Friday appeal in Britain for the Custody of the Holy Land, routed through the US Commissariat

Commissariat of the Holy Land

Logo St Saviour Franciscan Monastery Jerusalem 2014.jpg
Inside the church of the Franciscan monastery of St Saviour, Jerusalem (2014). The trust's grants go to the Commissariat of the Holy Land for the USA for onward use by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land
Type Trust
Founded 1972-02-23 (registered)
Registration ID Registered charity 263616
Headquarters Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, 557 High Road, Woodford Green, IG8 0RB
Area served Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories
Key people Revd Michael O'kane Ofm (chair)


Commissariat of the Holy Land was established by trust deed of 12 October 1971 and registered on 23 February 1972; register areas are Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.[1][2] Its trustees are Brother Michael O'Kane ofm (UK Commissary) and Brother Michael Copps ofm, at The Franciscan Friary, 557 High Road, Woodford Green IG8 0RB. It supports the Custody of the Holy Land of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor; its objects include the preservation of Christian shrines and the relief of poverty among Christians in the Holy Land. It has no staff. In 2025 grants were £750,030 (2024: £900,030), all to the Commissariat of the Holy Land for the USA, and reserves were £205,755.[2]

Objects and activities

The charity's registered objects read: "A) THE SUPPORT AND FURTHERANCE OF WORK OF THE CUSTODY OF THE HOLY LAND UNDER THE CARE OF THE FRANCISCAN ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR. B) ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION AND RELIGION AND RELIEF OF POVERTY AND SUFFERING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF THE FRANCISCAN ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR. (FOR FURTHER DETAILS SEE CLAUSE 3 OF TRUST DEED)."[1]

The register describes its activities as: "Support and furtherance of the work of the Custody of the Holy Land.Support of Franciscan and other clergy and religious working for the Custody.Advancement of the Roman Catholic religion.Relief of poverty in Missions maintained by the Custody of the Holy Land."[1]

Register classifications: Education/training, The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty, Overseas Aid/famine Relief, Religious Activities.[1]

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories.[1]

Trustees

Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[1]

Trustees of Commissariat of the Holy Land (register, October 2026)
Trustee Appointed Chair Other trusteeships
Revd Michael O'kane Ofm not recorded Yes —
Rev Michael Christopher Copps 2020-02-06 Order of Friars Minor CIO (1209374)

Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)

Trustees shown in archived register pages
Capture date Trustees listed Source
2021-07-03 Brother Raymond Hynes Ofm; Revd Michael O'kane Ofm (chair) [3]

Finances

Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
Financial year end Income Expenditure
2021-12-31 £444,214 £410,645
2022-12-31 £474,396 £411,647
2023-12-31 £925,114 £813,373
2024-12-31 £769,005 £912,721
2025-12-31 £802,317 £763,144

Source: register annual-return history.[1]

Archived accounts

Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the UK Government Web Archive:

  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2014[4]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2015[5]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2016[6]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2017[7]
  • Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2018[8]

Funding in Israel

  • 2025: £750,030 in grants, all to the Commissariat of the Holy Land for the USA (Washington), for onward use by the Custody of the Holy Land.[2]
  • The trustees' report describes Custody projects including Custody parishes and the Boys Home in Bethlehem (18th anniversary, more than 185 students), and quotes the Custos on war "not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon".[2]

Israeli partners

The Custody of the Holy Land (Franciscan), through the Commissariat of the Holy Land for the USA.[2]

Activity beyond the Green Line and support for the IDF

Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the Israeli recipient organisation, not proven use of UK funds.

Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
Finding Confidence
The report describes the Custody's Boys Home in Bethlehem, a city in the West Bank,[2][9] serving Palestinian Christian children. This is Palestinian community work in the occupied territories, not settlement activity; because funds pass through the US Commissariat, the use of UK money for this project is not traced. Verified place in the occupied West Bank (Palestinian, not a settlement)

Support for the IDF: No IDF or military funding is stated.[2]

Controversies and regulatory action

  • No Charity Commission inquiry, Official Warning or Gazette insolvency notice naming this charity was found, and its register entry shows no regulatory alert;[10] it is not among the charities named in the Commission's cheque-cashing class-inquiry announcements (May, September and December 2025) or in the September 2026 statement of results.[11][12][13][14] The charities in the Commission's settlements class inquiry (opened August 2026) have not been named, so it is not known whether this charity is among them.[15]
  • Funds routed through the United States. On 17 December 2025 the charity sent £750,000 to the Commissariat in Washington under the protocol of the English-Speaking Conference of Commissariats; the accounts say funds pass this way because of "considerable political unrest".[2]
  • Inconsistent collection figure. The trustees' report gives the 2025 Good Friday Collection as £802,307 (2024: £756,597), while note 1 gives church collections of £796,019.[2]

Other registers and records

Scotland and Northern Ireland

No entry was found on the Scottish Charity Register for this charity (full register download of 14 October 2026 searched by name).[16] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[17]

The Gazette

Searches of The Gazette for "Commissariat of the Holy Land" returned a 1934 Belfast Gazette notice concerning a bequest, which pre-dates the 1971 trust and is not connected with this charity; no insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice was found.[18]

Grants recorded by 360Giving

No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[19]

Sanctions screening

The charity's name, its current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees and officers named in the accounts read for this profile and (for charitable companies) its Companies House officers were screened against the UK Sanctions List and the OFSI Consolidated List. No match was found. Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor (UK sanctions ID RUS1127) does not appear among this charity's trustees or officers.[20]

Land and property

The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[1] No title registers were purchased; the HM Land Registry interactive search blocked automated access.[21]

US counterparts (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer)

Organisation EIN Latest filing year Revenue (US$) Expenses (US$)
Commissariat Of The Holy Land For U S A[22] 530231514 no filings data — —

These US organisations share the name or beneficiary of the UK charity; no financial flows between them and the UK charity were established.

Parliament

Hansard searches for 'Commissariat of the Holy Land', 'Custody of the Holy Land' returned 0 contributions in total.[23]

Web archive

The UK Government Web Archive holds 2 archived Charity Commission register pages used in this profile (cited in the sections above). The 2021 archived full print showed the status "Charity reporting is up to date (on time)" and "Other regulators: No information available".[3]

See also

External links

  • No current official website.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (tables charity, charity_trustee, charity_annual_return_history, charity_area_of_operation, charity_classification), extract dated 14 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Charity Commission, Commissariat of the Holy Land (263616): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 14 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Register entry 263616, full print (capture of 20210703) UK Government Web Archive.
  4. ↑ Commissariat of the Holy Land accounts, year ended 2014-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  5. ↑ Commissariat of the Holy Land accounts, year ended 2015-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  6. ↑ Commissariat of the Holy Land accounts, year ended 2016-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  7. ↑ Commissariat of the Holy Land accounts, year ended 2017-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  8. ↑ Commissariat of the Holy Land accounts, year ended 2018-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200107).
  9. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Palestine travel advice: regional risks GOV.UK, viewed 14 October 2026 (under the heading "West Bank": "The cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jericho see large numbers of tourists").
  10. ↑ Charity Commission, Register of Charities, charity overview page (register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/ followed by the organisation number) for every charity in batches 1–7 (175 pages, all retrieved successfully on 15 October 2026) and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" section. Alerts appeared only for Mifal Hachesed Vehatzedokoh (1139320), Ezer Viznitz Foundation (1161881), BC Trust (1155555), Vyoel Moshe Charitable Trust (327054) – all named in the cheque-cashing class inquiry – and The Gevurath Ari Torah Academy Trust (1003102).
  11. ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
  12. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025 (re-fetched 14 October 2026).
  13. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
  14. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator concludes investigation into 4 charities as class inquiry continues GOV.UK, 9 September 2026, with Statement of the results of a class inquiry (same date), both retrieved 15 October 2026.
  15. ↑ Charity Commission, Charity regulator opens inquiry into charities working in illegal Israeli settlements GOV.UK, 5 August 2026, retrieved 15 October 2026 (a fact-finding statutory class inquiry initially involving 8 charities which "are not being publicly named at this time").
  16. ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, CharityExport-14-Oct-2026.csv, downloaded 14 October 2026; keyword search of charity names for the batch-5 charities found no matching Scottish registration.
  17. ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 14 October 2026 (keyword searches for each batch-5 charity name returned zero results).
  18. ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Commissariat of the Holy Land' The Gazette, searched 14 October 2026.
  19. ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-263616 360Giving, queried 14 October 2026.
  20. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-5 screening covered 345 name strings: the 25 charity names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages and archived full-print register pages (UK Government Web Archive), Companies House officers of the charitable companies, and trustees, officers and related persons named in the accounts read for this batch (including archived accounts) and on the Companies House pages for Brightness Ltd; matching on surname plus forename tokens, reviewed manually (all candidate hits were surname-only coincidences or generic word overlaps); lists downloaded October 2026.
  21. ↑ HM Land Registry, Search for land and property information GOV.UK – the service returned HTTP 403 (bot protection) to automated access on 14 October 2026; no titles were looked up or purchased. Candidate title numbers below come from the free CCOD / OCOD datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.
  22. ↑ Commissariat Of The Holy Land For U S A – Nonprofit Explorer ProPublica, viewed 14 October 2026.
  23. ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching 'Commissariat of the Holy Land' Hansard, queried 14 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints).
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