In a letter of Saturday 22nd May 2010,
the Very Reverend Father Francesco Bravi ofm
Visitor General communicates that
the Very Reverend Father José Rodríguez Carballo ofm,
Minister General of the Franciscan Order,
with decree ref. no. 100967
has appointed
Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa ofm
Custos of the Holy Land
for the next 3 years.
We ask the Spirit of the Lord to assist the Custos in pursuing his ministry of service to his brothers.
CURRICULUM vitæ of Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa ofm
Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa is the 162nd Custos of the Holy Land and has been Custos since 2nd June 2004 (he was appointed on 15th May).
The Custos of the Holy Land is appointed by the Minister-General of the Friars Minor, with the approval of the Holy See, according to the Pontifical Statutes that govern the Custody of the Holy Land, an entity of the order of Friars Minor.
Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio, in the diocese and province of Bergamo (Italy) on 21st April 1965.
He entered the Order of Friars Minor in La Verna (Arezzo); he made his first profession on 7th September 1985 and the solemn profession on 14th October, 1989. He has been a priest since 15th September 1990.
In the Italian Franciscan Province of Bolgona, Christ the King (Christus Rex), he was awarded a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology on 19th June 1990 at the Pontifical Antonianum University in Rome (under Prof. M. Adinolfi). In 1990, he was assigned to the Custody of the Holy Land to specialize at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, where he obtained a Masters degree in Biblical Theology on 21st June 1993 (under Prof. A. Nicacci).
He studied Modern Hebrew (1993-1994) and the Holy Scriptures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1995-1999 and from 1998 started to teach as Assistant Lecturer in Biblical Hebrew and Judaism at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and the Studium Theologicum Jerosolimitanum. He has been in the service of the Custody of the Holy Land since 2nd July 1999.
From 2001 to 2004, he was Superior of the Convent of Saints Simeon and Anna in Jerusalem, parish priest of the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community of Jerusalem and Assistant General to the Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mons. Jean-Baptiste Gourion (1934-2005). From 2005 to 2008, he was Vicar General for the same Hebrew-speaking communities in Israel.
On 28th March 2008, he was appointed by the Pope as Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism, of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the Unity of Christians. He is also a member of the Pontifical Commission for religious dialogue with Judaism.
the Very Reverend Father Francesco Bravi ofm
Visitor General communicates that
the Very Reverend Father José Rodríguez Carballo ofm,
Minister General of the Franciscan Order,
with decree ref. no. 100967
has appointed
Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa ofm
Custos of the Holy Land
for the next 3 years.
We ask the Spirit of the Lord to assist the Custos in pursuing his ministry of service to his brothers.
CURRICULUM vitæ of Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa ofm
Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa is the 162nd Custos of the Holy Land and has been Custos since 2nd June 2004 (he was appointed on 15th May).
The Custos of the Holy Land is appointed by the Minister-General of the Friars Minor, with the approval of the Holy See, according to the Pontifical Statutes that govern the Custody of the Holy Land, an entity of the order of Friars Minor.
Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio, in the diocese and province of Bergamo (Italy) on 21st April 1965.
He entered the Order of Friars Minor in La Verna (Arezzo); he made his first profession on 7th September 1985 and the solemn profession on 14th October, 1989. He has been a priest since 15th September 1990.
In the Italian Franciscan Province of Bolgona, Christ the King (Christus Rex), he was awarded a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology on 19th June 1990 at the Pontifical Antonianum University in Rome (under Prof. M. Adinolfi). In 1990, he was assigned to the Custody of the Holy Land to specialize at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, where he obtained a Masters degree in Biblical Theology on 21st June 1993 (under Prof. A. Nicacci).
He studied Modern Hebrew (1993-1994) and the Holy Scriptures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1995-1999 and from 1998 started to teach as Assistant Lecturer in Biblical Hebrew and Judaism at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and the Studium Theologicum Jerosolimitanum. He has been in the service of the Custody of the Holy Land since 2nd July 1999.
From 2001 to 2004, he was Superior of the Convent of Saints Simeon and Anna in Jerusalem, parish priest of the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community of Jerusalem and Assistant General to the Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mons. Jean-Baptiste Gourion (1934-2005). From 2005 to 2008, he was Vicar General for the same Hebrew-speaking communities in Israel.
On 28th March 2008, he was appointed by the Pope as Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism, of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the Unity of Christians. He is also a member of the Pontifical Commission for religious dialogue with Judaism.