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Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Italian Catholic cardinal (born 1965) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM (Italian: [ˌpjɛrbatˈtista pittsaˈballa]; Latin: Petrus Baptista Pizzaballa;[1] born 21 April 1965) is an Italian member of the Franciscan Order and a Roman Catholic cardinal who has been serving as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since 6 November 2020.[2]
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After being received into the Franciscan Order in 1984, he spent his novitiate at the Franciscan Shrine of La Verna in Arezzo, Italy. In 1990, after having obtained a diploma in classical studies from the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Ferrara as well as a bachelor's degree in theology from the Pontifical University Antonianum and having been ordained a priest, he was called to service in the Holy Land. In Jerusalem, he went on to study Biblical Theology first at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and then from 1995 to 1999 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[3] He obtained a PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem[4] and became an assistant professor of Biblical Hebrew and Judaism at the Franciscan Faculty of Biblical and Archaeological Sciences in Jerusalem as well as the Studium Theologicum Jerosolymitanum.[5]
At the same time, in 1999, Pizzaballa joined the Franciscans working at the Custody of the Holy Land founded in 1217 by Saint Francis of Assisi. In 1342, the Franciscans were officially declared by two papal bulls as the Catholic Church's custodians of the Christian Holy Places. In 2004, he was elected to the position of Custos of the Holy Land, the head of the Custody and all Franciscans in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Libanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and parts of Egypt. The title of Custos (guardian) likewise goes back to St. Francis. Pizzaballa was reelected twice as Custos and served in this position for twelve years until 2016.
In 2016, he was ordained a bishop in Italy and appointed as the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem. In 2020, he became the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, the head of Christianity's mother church including the areas of Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Cyprus. Three years later, in 2023, he was made a cardinal by Pope Francis. Following Francis' death, he was considered papabile (a possible candidate to be elected pope by the College of Cardinals) at the 2025 papal conclave despite his relatively young age.[6][7][8]
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Early life and education
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio, Bergamo, Italy, son of Pietro Pizzaballa and Maria Maddalena Tadini.[9] He has two brothers and is the nephew of Pierluigi Pizzaballa, a former professional Italian football player (goalkeeper).[10]
Growing up in the small hamlet of Castel Liteggio, Pizzaballa witnessed a "simple and authentic" lifestyle which he describes with the following words: "It was a simple and genuine world, and a sober and happy life."[11] Motivated by a desire to be like a much-loved local priest, Don Pèrsec, Pizzaballa felt a vocation to be a priest already as a child at the age of nine. In September 1976, he entered the Franciscan Le Grazie minor seminary in Rimini at the age of 11 and eight years later, in September 1984, the Franciscan novitiate in La Verna.[12] He made his first vows there on September 7, 1985, and his perpetual vows in Bologna on October 4, 1989. He was ordained a priest on September 15, 1990, in the Cathedral of Bologna by Cardinal Giacomo Biffi.[13]
Pizzaballa obtained his diploma in classical studies at the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Ferrara[14] and went on to earn his bachelor's degree in theology at the Pontifical University Antonianum. As a 25-year-old priest he was sent to the Holy Land where he studied Biblical Theology at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem and learned biblical as well as modern Hebrew.[13] Besides his native Italian, Pizzaballa today speaks Hebrew, Latin, English, and Arabic.[14][15][16]
He was then sent to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1995 to 1999 to deepen his understanding of Jewish religious thought where he was the only Christian studying Scripture at that time but said it was “very interesting” because it was the first time that he found himself in a “non-Christian context.”[17] In 1998, he became assistant professor of Biblical Hebrew and Judaism at the Franciscan Faculty of Biblical and Archaeological Sciences in Jerusalem and the Studium Theologicum Jerosolymitanum.[18] He was responsible for the translation of the Roman Missal into Hebrew and its publication in 1995. He also translated liturgical texts into Hebrew.[14]
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Custody of the Holy Land
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In July 1999, Pizzaballa joined the Franciscans working at the Custody of the Holy Land which was founded by Saint Francis of Assissi. He was first entrusted with the pastoral care of Hebrew-speaking Catholics and on May 9, 2001, appointed Superior of the Convent of Saints Simeon and Anna in Jerusalem.
In May 2004, he was elected to the position of Custos of the Holy Land, the head of the Franciscan priory known as the Custody of the Holy Land and of all Franciscans in the Middle East (Israel, Palestinian territories, Libanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and parts of Egypt). 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, he served in this position for twelve years until 2016.[13]
From 2005 to 2008, while Custos, he also served as Patriarchal Vicar[13] and in 2008 was appointed a Consultor in the Commission for Relations with Judaism of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.[19]
In June 2014, Pizzaballa organized the peace prayer in the Vatican gardens, which brought together Pope Francis, then Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.[15] Pizzaballa criticized Israel's construction of a barrier between the West Bank and Jerusalem and participated in protests against it in 2015. He also, before becoming a bishop, criticized Palestinian leaders for blaming all problems on the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.[15]
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Bishop and Patriarch
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Titular Archbishop of Verbe
On 24 June 2016, Pope Francis nominated Pizzaballa as Apostolic Administrator sede vacante of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and appointed him titular archbishop of Verbe.[13] On 10 September 2016 he was consecrated by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri in the Bergamo Cathedral, with Bishop Francesco Beschi, Archbishop Fouad Twal, the then new Custos of the Holy Land Francesco Patton and Bishop Nektarios from the Greek Orthodox Church also present.[20] His unsually long interim tenure reflected the internal tensions between the traditional Arab-centered Patriarchate and supporters of the expansion of its pastoral care towards Israeli society.[21] The appointment of an Italian broke with tradition, as such posts are normally assigned to members of the ethnic group they predominantly serve, such as his immediate predecessors (a Palestinian and Jordanian respectively).[15]
In 2016, Pizzaballa joined the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and became its Pro Grand Prior, and then Grand Prior upon his appointment as Latin Patriarch.[22][23][24] On 31 May 2017 he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.[25]
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
On 24 October 2020, Pizzaballa was appointed Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem by Pope Francis.[26] He leads the board of directors of Caritas Jerusalem.[27]
Cardinal and Patriarch
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Designation as Cardinal
On 9 July 2023, Pope Francis announced he planned to create him a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 30 September 2023.[28] At that consistory, he was made Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Onofrio, the official church of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.[29]
He has advocated for an end to the Gaza war and the Israeli occupation of Palestine.[30] Pizzaballa was a signatory to the "Statement on the Escalating Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza" which condemned attacks on civilians, called for de-escalation and called for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. His statement was criticized by Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen.[31][32] In response, Pizzaballa condemned Hamas' actions as barbaric and offered himself as a hostage in exchange for captive Israeli children held in Gaza during the Gaza war.[33][34]
On his visit to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve 2023, Pizzaballa donned a Palestinian keffiyeh and expressed a desire for peace in the region.[35] He cosigned the Christmas message released by the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem advocating Christians to refrain from public celebration of the holiday in solidarity with those affected by the war.[36]
Conclave 2025
After the death of Pope Francis, he was considered papabile, or a likely candidate to be made Pope[37] at the 2025 papal conclave.[38][39] Analysts believe his international expertise and tendency to stay away from divisive doctrinal issues may have aided his chances, but his relatively young age could have made him being chosen as Pope unlikely.[38][40] Cardinal Robert Prevost was eventually chosen as Pope, taking the name Leo XIV.[8]
Roman Curia
In June and July 2025, Pope Leo XIV appointed Cardinal Pizzaballa, in addition to his role as Latin Patriarch, as a member of the Roman Curia, the Vatican's governing body. Pizzaballa was selected as a cardinal member of two dicasteries (ministries): the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life which is responsible for all Catholic religious and lay orders, societies, congregations as well as institutes and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.[41][42]
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Positions
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In the leadup to the 2025 papal conclave, it was described that Pizzaballa had not stated clear positions on many contentious issues within the Catholic Church. According to Crux, a newspaper focusing on the Catholic Church, Pizzaballa's stances on things like "the blessing of people in same-sex unions or the ordination of women deacons [are] something of a mystery."[43]
Arab–Israel conflict
Pizzaballa upholds the Catholic view of the Arab–Israel conflict, advocating for an end to the Gaza war and the occupation of Palestine by the people and government of Israel, and donned a Palestinian keffiyeh in the City of Bethlehem on 2023's Christmas Eve.[30] He believes that it has been "a watershed in interreligious dialogue, which can never be the same as before, at least between Christians, Muslims, and Jews."[44]
Pizzaballa is supportive of interfaith dialogue, noting that efforts such as Francis' 2020 encyclical Fratelli tutti have an "enormous impact" on Arab public consciousness even if they are not widely read.[45] Pizzaballa has also made a concerted effort to show solidarity with the Orthodox community in Israel, especially in the context of the ongoing Gaza war.[citation needed]
After three people were killed when an Israeli strike hit parts of the roof of the Holy Family Church in Gaza which shelters hundreds of displaced civilians and includes a home for dozens of disabled children cared for by nuns from the order of Mother Teresa, Pizzaballa, along with the Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, went to stay in the church compound from July 18 to July 20, 2025, also visiting the nearby Christian-run Al-Ahli hospital where they met doctors, nurses and patients, a Caritas medicine distribution center as well as the wider neighborhood, and coordinated the delivery of 500 tons of aid into Gaza which were only authorized for entry after the church incident.[46][47][48] Speaking on the Gaza Strip famine amid the war, Cardinal Pizzaballa said he had witnessed extreme hunger in the Strip, and described the then prevailing Israeli blocks on food and medical shipments as a "sentence" for starving Palestinians. He called the policy "unacceptable and morally unjustifiable".[49] At the same time, Pizzaballa said that it was also important "to acknowledge the solidarity [with people in Gaza] of many parts of the Israeli society" and that it was "also thanks to them we could do what we are doing, the [eventual] delivery [of aid], everything".[50]
Traditional Latin Mass
Pizzaballa has expressed some support for the Traditional Latin Mass, the liturgy that was largely replaced by the Mass of Paul VI, but still remains popular among some in Catholicism.[51]
Other
During his tenure as head of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, the organization put out a statement denouncing the "mockery of the mystery of the mysteries in Christianity" during the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.[52]
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Honors and recognition
Holy See: Grand Prior and Knight of the Collar of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre[53]
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion[54]
Italy: Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy[55]- Supreme Taxiarch of the Greek Orthodox Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre[56]
See also
References
External links
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