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The "Piccirillo Handicraft Center," in the city of Bethlehem, is a project implemented by the John Paul II Foundation together with the Custody of the Holy Land in 2014 to meet the economic and social needs of the city's population, with a special focus on people with disabilities.

The center was established with the aim of protecting Christian minorities in the Holy Land while safeguarding Palestinian identity in the areas of handicrafts, gastronomy and the environment. It also aims to stem the strong tendency of the Christian community to emigrate due to economic and social factors.

Many of these artisans are in fact young people, unemployed, women and people with disabilities, who thanks to this project have learned to work with mother-of-pearl, olive wood and ceramics, creating objects of great value, now sold on the national and international market. An ice cream and pastry workshop was also set up within the center, thanks to which Palestinian hands learned how to make two all-Italian delicacies: panettone and artisanal ice cream.

As a result of the intervention, opportunities for vocational training, social business creation, and managerial capacity building in the areas of arts and crafts, hospitality, and general social works run by the Christian community have increased, following a protection and gender approach.