Dominus Flevit, translates to “The Lord Wept” from Latin and is a Catholic Franciscan church you will visit during your holy land tour in Israel. It’s located on the foot of Mount of Olives, where according to the 19th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus wept on his way walking toward the city of Jerusalem, overcome by the sight of the Second Temple and predicting it’s destruction (Luke 19:37-42). The church was constructed as a shape of a teardrop to symbolize the tear of Jesus.
Later a humble small chapel was built there that fell in ruin after the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. In the 16th century the site housed a mosque, built by the conquering Ottoman Empire.
In 1891 the Franciscans with acquisition of a small area built a small chapel. From this time to 1953 additional land was purchased from local citizens to guild the church that exists today. The new church was designed and constructed between 1953 and 1955, and is currently administered and maintained by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land of Israel.
Today you’ll find on your Israel tour that the church is open to the public, and many Israel Christian pilgrim groups, and Spanish tierra Santa Israel tours and visitors come here to visit and pray. There is a beautiful panorama from the balcony towards the old city of Jerusalem and the foothills of Mt of Olives, and although the access to the church is in by a road from the foot of Mt of Olives or by descending on the same road from the top - the view and the visit is a favorite of Christians traveling to Israel.