Meet the Speaker: Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Born in Cologno al Serio (Bergamo) in 1965, H.B. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. He received the Franciscan religious habit in 1984 in Ferrara and made his Solemn Profession in the Church of St. Anthony in Bologna in 1989. Shortly after his ordination as a priest, Cardinal Pizzaballa moved to Jerusalem, where he earned a Licentiate Degree in Biblical Theology at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. Cardinal Pizzaballa has held numerous responsibilities, including overseeing the publication of the Roman Missal in Hebrew and serving as Vicar General for Hebrew-speaking Catholics. He was Custos of the Holy Land from 2004 until 2016. In 2016, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, a position he held until 2020 when he was confirmed as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 2023, he was elevated to the rank of Cardinal by Pope Francis. His Beatitude is fluent in Italian, Modern Hebrew, and English.