In a moment that united centuries of history, faith, and music, the ancient echoes of a Crusader-era pipe organ once again reverberated through Jerusalem’s Old City this week. After lying silent for nearly 800 years, what researchers believe is the oldest surviving organ in Christendom was unveiled on Tuesday at the Terra Sancta Museum, inside the Saint Saviour’s Monastery.
The event marked a milestone not only in musicology but also in the preservation and revival of Christian heritage in the Holy Land. Musician and musicologist Dr. David Catalunya played the medieval chant “Benedicamus Domino Flos Filius”, composed in the 11th century—the very period when the organ was crafted. As the notes filled the air, mingling with distant tolling bells, it was as if the centuries collapsed into a single, sacred moment.
“This organ was buried with the hope that one day it would play again,” Catalunya told the press ahead of the unveiling. “And the day has arrived, nearly eight centuries later.”
The story of the organ is as dramatic as its music. Originally believed to have been installed in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity—the site traditionally recognized as the birthplace of Jesus—the instrument was likely brought to the Holy Land by Crusaders during the 11th century, following their conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. The pipe organ served in Christian liturgies for nearly a century, until turbulent political upheaval forced its custodians to make a difficult choice: hide it.
Fearing its destruction during waves of Muslim reconquest in the 13th century, the Crusaders buried the organ’s components—including 222 bronze pipes, a carillon of 13 bells, and other sacred items—in what was then a cemetery. For nearly 700 years, the relic lay forgotten beneath the soil.
It wasn’t until 1906 that the organ resurfaced. During construction of a Franciscan hospice for pilgrims in Bethlehem, workers uncovered the buried treasure in an ancient cemetery. The artifacts were moved to the nearby Franciscan Archaeological Museum, the predecessor of today’s Terra Sancta Museum, but were largely neglected by scholars for over a century.
The modern revival began thanks to the curiosity and vision of Dr. David Catalunya, now affiliated with the Instituto Complutense De Ciencias Musicales (ICCMU) in Madrid. While researching medieval music at Oxford, Catalunya came across references to the forgotten organ. In 2019, alongside a team of researchers and instrument maker Winold van der Putten, he began a bold project: to reconstruct the ancient instrument, with the dream of bringing its voice back to life.
Through a painstaking analysis of materials, structure, and acoustics, the team discovered something astonishing—eight of the original bronze pipes were still perfectly functional, despite spending centuries underground. Some bore guiding lines and inscriptions made by Ottoman craftsmen, revealing insights into medieval manufacturing processes. Others even had scrawled notations indicating their original musical pitches.
“These pipes are a thousand years old, yet their preservation is extraordinary; many look as though they were made yesterday,” said Catalunya in a statement. “Eight pipes have fully retained their sound. That can only be described as a true miracle.”
Rather than create a purely speculative replica, the team integrated original Crusader-era pipes with newly fabricated ones, crafted using ancient techniques. This hybrid organ was then mounted onto a keyboard structure that could authentically replicate the musical experience of the 11th century.
“The hope of the Crusaders who buried them—that the moment would come when they would sound again—was not in vain,” said organ expert Koos van de Linde, who also worked on the restoration.
The unveiling performance, held in the serene Monastery of Saint Saviour, was more than just a concert—it was a historical event. The chant “Benedicamus Domino Flos Filius” was not randomly chosen; it dates from the same period as the organ and was likely played in churches like the one in Bethlehem where the organ once stood.
“The Organ of Bethlehem is not only a treasure of the past that we can now contemplate and hear,” said Álvaro Torrente, director of ICCMU, “it is also a unique source of knowledge about European music, engineering, and organology, capable of radically transforming our vision of medieval culture.”
The revived organ will now serve as a centerpiece in the upcoming Musical Cloister of the Terra Sancta Museum, which is undergoing restoration and expected to reopen in 2026. The museum will feature 20 exhibition rooms dedicated to art, music, and Christian history in the Holy Land.
“We believe that this is going to be one of the most important works exhibited,” said Fr. Stéphane Milovitch, chairman of the Terra Sancta Museum’s Board of Directors. “We are glad that now we can also listen to it, as the organ becomes not only an archaeological artifact but also something alive.”
Plans are also underway to create faithful replicas of the instrument for use in churches and cathedrals across Europe and the world, allowing more people to experience the once-lost voice of medieval Christianity.
Organs have existed since at least the 3rd century BCE in ancient Greece, but their use in Christian liturgy became widespread in the Byzantine era. However, few early Christian organs have survived. According to experts, the next oldest surviving examples in Europe date only to the 15th century, making this Bethlehem organ an unparalleled link to the musical, spiritual, and technological life of the High Middle Ages.
In the end, this ancient instrument tells more than a story of notes and melodies—it speaks to the enduring faith and craftsmanship of those who built it, hid it, and, centuries later, gave it voice once more.
“It is like finding a living dinosaur: something that once seemed impossible, and that suddenly becomes real before our eyes and ears, ” Álvaro Torrente said.
The organ is on permanent display at the Terra Sancta Museum, Saint Saviour’s Monastery, Jerusalem Old City. Public performances are scheduled to begin in early 2026.
