The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

History

Crusaders founded the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem after they captured the Holy City on 15 July 1099. Finding the seat of Jerusalem vacant following the death of the Greek patriarch Simeon, in Cyprus where he had taken refuge, the Crusaders installed one of their own, Arnulf. There was a succession of Latin patriarchs in Jerusalem from 1099 to 1187, and then in Acre until the city fell in 1291. A resident Latin Patriarch was re-established in the patriarchal seat on 23 July 1847 by Blessed Pope Pius IX. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has jurisdiction over the Roman rite Catholics of Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Cyprus, the majority of whom are Eastern Christians. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was traditionally chosen among Italian Franciscans but in 1987, for the first time, a Palestinian priest was chosen: H.B. Michel Sabbah. His successor, H.B. Fouad Twal, was Jordanian.

His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed T.M.R. Pierbattista Pizzaballa as apostolic administrator of the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is vacant, until the appointment of a new patriarch.