Did you know that Notre Dame operates an institute that brings Christians of all denominations together in the Holy Land?

During the Second Vatican Council, the Church turned with a new interest to working towards unity and renewed relations with Christians of other denominations. Pope Paul VI began to speak about a way to memorialize the Church’s movement towards reconciliation with a foundation in Jerusalem.

The idea of an ecumenical institute in the Holy Land had been coming into focus since October of 1963, when the Pope met in a special audience with Protestant observers at the Second Vatican Council. Then he had historic meeting with Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople in the Holy Land; later the two lifted mutual edicts of excommunication that had been in place for nearly a thousand years.

The time seemed to be ripe to take concrete steps to bring Christians together to study, pray, and live together in the land where Jesus lived, died, and rose again. Pope Paul VI appealed to Father Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, and the University of Notre Dame to found an international ecumenical institute of higher studies in Jerusalem.

Father Hesburgh coordinated donations from benefactors for the construction of a facility with 50 guest rooms, ten apartments, an auditorium, numerous classrooms, a large library, a dining room, prayer space, and recreational facilities, while also building an administrative and scholarly infrastructure. The institute sits upon 40 acres in Jerusalem owned by the Vatican. From the property, visitors can see both Jerusalem and Bethlehem (pictured here; note the Israeli security wall that surrounds the town, which sits in the Palestinian Territory). In 1967, the Holy See leased the Tantur Ecumenical Institute to the University of Notre Dame for 50 years for the token sum of one dollar per year.

Pope Paul VI envisioned the Tantur Ecumenical Institute to be a place where scholars could contribute to ecumenical dialogue through their research and their experience of sharing community life and prayer with other Christians.

At the same time, Tantur has taken diligence to read the signs of the times; the Institute responded to the reality of being embedded in a region of violence and political tensions. As soon as 1968, construction of the campus was complicated by the Arab-Israeli War, which suddenly established the Institute within the borders of Israel instead of Jordan. The most recent outbreak of violence between Palestine and Israel forced the virtual closure of Tantur; the University sustained the facilities with a skeleton staff. Accordingly, the scope of activities at Tantur broadened to include dialogue between Muslims and Jews in response to the need to fashion and sustain a just peace among the peoples of the Holy Land.

Tantur also responded to the presence of Holy Land pilgrims seeking continuing education and on-going formation. The Institute has proven to be a fruitful place for sabbatical experiences for clergy, religious, and lay professionals; students and scholars have grounded their exploration of the Holy Land in the ecumenical setting of Tantur.

The University of Notre Dame aspires for the Tantur Ecumenical Institute to be a center of international dialogue and learning among Christians, while also providing opportunities for learning and collaboration with Jews and Muslims. In all its endeavors, the Institute brings diverse scholars, students, and faith leaders together in community. In addition to the research and scholarship that occur at Tantur, the lasting and deeply formative work of the Institute is accomplished in the sharing of meals and moments of prayer between people of different faiths and home countries.

Pope Paul VI’s vision for the Tantur Ecumenical Institute is alive today in a vibrant way. Welcoming diverse scholars and pilgrims, Tantur truly is a living laboratory of unity.