Pizzaballa Pierbattista

His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio (Province of Bergamo) on April 21, 1965. He attended middle school in Rimini and earned his classical high school diploma in Ferrara. He entered the Order of Friars Minor on September 5, 1984, in Ferrara and spent his novitiate year in La Verna. He made his Temporary Profession in La Verna on September 7, 1985. His Solemn Profession took place in Bologna on October 10, 1989, where he was ordained a priest on September 15, 1990.

After a period in Rome, he moved to the Holy Land, to Jerusalem, in October 1990. He obtained a Licentiate in Biblical Theology from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem. He speaks Italian, modern Hebrew, and English. In 1995, he oversaw the publication of the Roman Missal in Hebrew and translated various liturgical texts into Hebrew for the Catholic communities in Israel.

On July 2, 1999, he formally entered the service of the Custody of the Holy Land. He served as Vicar General of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem for the pastoral care of Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel. Since 2008, he has been a Consultor to the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

He made his solemn entry at St. Saviour on June 2, 2004, at the Holy Sepulchre on June 3, 2004, in Bethlehem on June 4, 2004, and in Nazareth on June 9 of the same year. He was first appointed Custos of the Holy Land in May 2004 for a six-year term, reappointed in May 2010 for another three-year term, and again in June 2013 for a further three years.

On June 24, 2016, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, sede vacante. On July 15, 2016, he received the transfer of powers from the emeritus Patriarch Fouad Twal. His episcopal ordination took place in September 2016 in Bergamo, Italy. On October 24, 2020, Pope Francis appointed him the new Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

He was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the Consistory of September 30, 2023, with the Title of Sant’Onofrio. He is a Member of the Dicasteries for the Eastern Churches and for Promoting Christian Unity.