Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM (born 21 April 1965) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since 6 November 2020.[1] He had been Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate since 2016. A Franciscan friar, he served as Custos of the Holy Land from 2004 to 2016.

His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
Pizzaballa on the day of his consecration in 2016
Church	Catholic Church
Archdiocese	Jerusalem
See	Jerusalem
Appointed	24 October 2020
Installed	6 November 2020
Predecessor	Fouad Twal (2016) Himself (as apostolic administrator)
Other posts	Grand Prior of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Orders
Ordination	15 September 1990 by Giacomo Biffi
Consecration	10 September 2016 by Leonardo Sandri
Rank	Patriarch-Archbishop
Personal details
Born	21 April 1965 Cologno al Serio, Italy
Previous post	Custos of the Holy Land (2004–2016) Titular Archbishop of Verbe (2016–2020) Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (2016-2020)
Motto	Sufficit tibi gratia mea ('My grace is sufficient for you')
Coat of arms

Pizzaballa has a reputation for personal integrity and simplicity; much of his pastoral work has been with Hebrew speakers and he has close ties to Jewish leaders while he has also been a vocal supporter of the Palestinians.[2]

Early life and education

Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio, Bergamo, on 21 April 1965, son of Pietro and Maria Maddalena Tadini.[3] He entered the Franciscan minor seminary in Bologna in September 1976 and on 5 September 1984 entered their novitiate in La Verna. He made his first vows there on 7 September 1985 and his perpetual vows in Bologna on 4 October 1989. He earned his bachelor’s degree in theology at the Pontifical University Antonianum and was ordained a priest on 15 September 1990, in the Cathedral of Bologna by Cardinal Giacomo Biffi.[4]

He obtained his diploma in classical studies at the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Ferrara.[5] He studied in Biblical Theology at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem in 1993 and then taught biblical Hebrew at the Franciscan Faculty of Biblical Science and Archeology in Jerusalem.[4]

Besides his native Italian, Pizzaballa speaks Hebrew, English, and Arabic.[5][2]

Presbyterate

After completing his postgraduate studies, he taught Biblical Hebrew at the Franciscan Faculty of Biblical and archaeological sciences in Jerusalem, was responsible for the publication of the Roman Missal in Hebrew in 1995, and translated liturgical texts in Hebrew.[5]

He joined the Franciscans working at the Custody of the Holy Land in July 1999 and was responsible for the pastoral care of Hebrew-speaking Catholics. On 9 May 2001, he was appointed Superior of the Convent of Saints Simeon and Anna in Jerusalem.[4] From 2005 to 2008 he served as Patriarchal Vicar.[4]

He was Custos of the Holy Land, that is, head of the Franciscan priory known as the Custody of the Holy Land, from May 2004 to April 2016, having been elected to a six-year term in May 2004, re-elected to a three-year term in March 2010, and reconfirmed for another three-year term in 2013.[4]

In 2008 he was appointed a Consultor in the Commission for relations with Judaism of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.[6]

In June 2014 Pope Francis entrusted Pizzaballa with organizing the peace prayer in the Vatican gardens, which brought together Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.[2]

Episcopate

On 24 June 2016, Pope Francis nominated him Apostolic Administrator sede vacante of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and made him titular archbishop of Verbe.[4] On 10 September 2016, he was consecrated bishop by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Archbishop Fouad Twal, and Bishop Francesco Beschi in the Bergamo Cathedral.[7] The appointment of an Italian broke with tradition in that such posts are normally assigned to members of the ethnic group they predominantly serve, and his immediate predecessors had been a Palestinian and a Jordanian.[2]

In 2016 Pizzaballa joined the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and became its Pro Grand Prior, and then Grand Prior upon appointment as Latin Patriarch.[8][9] On 31 May 2017 he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.[10]

On 24 October 2020, Pizzaballa was appointed Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem by Pope Francis.[11] On 28 October 2020, Pope Francis bestowed Patriarch Pizzaballa with the pallium, a symbol of his authority as metropolitan archbishop and his unity with the pope.[12] He took canonical possession of that see on 6 November 2020 in a private ceremony in the presence of Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem, the Auxiliary Bishops of Jerusalem, and the Patriarchate's College of Consultors.[1]

He heads the Board of Directors of Caritas Jerusalem.[13]

Distinctions

•   Holy See: Grand Prior and Knight of the Collar of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
•  Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Conventual Chaplain Grand Cross ad honorem[14]
•  Italy: Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy[15]
• Supreme Taxiarch of the Greek Orthodox Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre[16]

References

1. "Patriarch Pizzaballa takes possession of See of Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem". Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
2. "Pope's potential masterstroke takes charge in the Holy Land". Crux. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
3. "Patriarch Twal hands over powers to Apostolic Administrator Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa". en.abouna.org. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
4. "Rinunce e nomine, 24.06.2016" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
5. "The Very Rev. Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM". www.custodia.org. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
6. "Rinunce e nomine, 26.04.2008" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 26 April 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
7. Bernadelli, Giorgio (11 September 2016). "Pizzaballa: "May Jerusalem's peace be everyone's"". La Stampa. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
8. "The Grand Magisterium of the Order - Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
9. "The Grand Magisterium's autumn meeting" (PDF). Newsletter of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. N° 44, Fall 2016: 12.
10. "Resignations and Appointments, 31.05.2017" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
11. "Pope appoints Archbishop Pizzaballa Patriarch of Jerusalem". Vatican News. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
12. "Pope bestows pallium on new Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem". 29 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
13. "The Catholic Church Of The Holy Land » Caritas Jerusalem". The Catholic Church of the Holy Land. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
14. "The Order of Malta receives the Reverend Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land". Order of Malta. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
15. "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". Segretariato generale della Presidenza della Repubblica. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
16. "HIS BEATITUDE THE PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM DECORATES THE FRANCISCAN CUSTOS OF THE HOLY LAND". Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Retrieved 24 October 2020.