Pierbattista Pizzaballa

'''Pierbattista Pizzaballa'''{{efn|{{IPA|it|ˌpjɛrbatˈtista pittsaˈballa|lang}}; {{langx|la|Petrus Baptista Pizzaballa}};{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/libretti/2009/MessaleTerraSanta.pdf|title=Terram Sanctam visit|date=9 May 2025|language=la,en,ar-Latn|publisher=[[Vatican City]]}}}} {{post-nominals|list=[[Order of Friars Minor|OFM]]}} (born 21 April 1965) is an Italian member of the [[Order of Friars Minor|Franciscan Order]] and a [[Catholic]] [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal]] who has been serving as the [[Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem|Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem]] since 6 November 2020.{{cite web |date=6 November 2020 |title=Patriarch Pizzaballa takes possession of See of Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem |url=https://www.lpj.org/posts/patriarch-pizzaballa-takes-possession-of-see-of-latin-patriarchate-of-jerusalem.html |access-date=10 November 2020 |website=Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem}}

'''Pierbattista Pizzaballa'''{{efn|{{IPA|it|ˌpjɛrbatˈtista pittsaˈballa|lang}}; {{langx|la|Petrus Baptista Pizzaballa}};{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/libretti/2009/MessaleTerraSanta.pdf|title=Terram Sanctam visit|date=9 May 2025|language=la,en,ar-Latn|publisher=[[Vatican City]]}}}} {{post-nominals|list=[[Order of Friars Minor|OFM]]}} (born 21 April 1965) is an Italian member of the [[Order of Friars Minor|Franciscan Order]] and a [[Catholic]] [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal]] who has been serving as the [[Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem|Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem]] since 6 November 2020.{{cite web |date=6 November 2020 |title=Patriarch Pizzaballa takes possession of See of Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem |url=https://www.lpj.org/posts/patriarch-pizzaballa-takes-possession-of-see-of-latin-patriarchate-of-jerusalem.html |access-date=10 November 2020 |website=Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem}}

After being received into the Franciscan Order in 1984, he spent his novitiate at the [[La Verna|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]].{{cite web|url=https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/pierbattista-pizzaballa/|title=Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M.|publisher=Cardinalium Collegii|language=English|author1=|date=|accessdate=}} He obtained a PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and became an assistant professor of Biblical Hebrew and Judaism at the [[Studium Biblicum Franciscanum|Franciscan Faculty of Biblical and Archaeological Sciences in Jerusalem]] as well as the Studium Theologicum Jerosolymitanum.

After being received into the Franciscan Order in 1984, he spent his novitiate at the [[La Verna|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]].{{cite web|url=https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/pierbattista-pizzaballa/|title=Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M.|publisher=Cardinalium Collegii|language=English|author1=|date=|accessdate=}} He obtained a PhD degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and became an assistant professor of Biblical Hebrew and Judaism at the [[Studium Biblicum Franciscanum|Franciscan Faculty of Biblical and Archaeological Sciences in Jerusalem]] as well as the Studium Theologicum Jerosolymitanum.

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, Lebanon, 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.

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, Lebanon, 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.