His Beatitude Mons. Pierbattista Pizzaballa His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed His Beatitude Mons. Pierbattista Pizzaballa as Patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Grand Prior of our beloved Order in October 2020, having held the position of Apostolic Administrator sede vacante of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem since 2016 following the resignation of His Beatitude Fouad Twal upon his reaching the canonical age of retirement. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is now the diocesan bishop of Latin Catholics in the Holy Land, including Jordan and Cyprus. The residence of the Patriarch is in the Old City of Jerusalem, while the seminary, which is responsible for the liturgical education, was moved to Beit Jala, a town 10 km south of Jerusalem, in 1936. Today there are about 150,000 Catholic faithful within the patriarchate, which includes Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Cyprus. The Patriarch of Jerusalem is also, by virtue of his office, the Grand Prior of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, the president of the assembly of Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land, and the president of the Latin-rite bishops’ conference of the Arabic region. |