12 Facts About Hilarion Capucci

Hilarion Capucci, BA was a Syrian Catholic prelate who served as the titular Archbishop of Caesarea in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.

Hilarion Capucci was a member of the Basilian Aleppian Order.

Hilarion Capucci was born in Aleppo, Syria to Bashir Capucci and Chafika Rabbath and was educated at St Anne's Seminary in Jerusalem.

Hilarion Capucci was convicted by an Israeli military court of using his diplomatic status to smuggle arms to the Palestine Liberation Army and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Hilarion Capucci was among the prisoners whose release was demanded by Palestinian hijackers of the Kfar Yuval hostage crisis in 1975, and of German and Palestinian hijackers of Air France Flight 139, in 1976.

Hilarion Capucci was released two years later, in 1978, due to intervention by the Vatican, after having served four years of the 12-years sentence.

Hilarion Capucci played a key role during the Iran hostage crisis.

Hilarion Capucci made several visits to the hostages, and in early May 1980 he obtained the release of the bodies of the American soldiers who had died in the refueling accident during the rescue mission.

Hilarion Capucci negotiated an agreement for the release of the hostages, but the plan collapsed because the French press published the story before the agreement had been approved by Iran's Parliament.

In 2009, Hilarion Capucci was on a Lebanese ship bound for Gaza which was seized by Israeli forces when the ship attempted to violate the Israeli naval blockade.

In May 2010, Hilarion Capucci participated in the Free Gaza Movement's aid flotilla to the Gaza Strip.

On 1 January 2017, the Vatican announced that Hilarion Capucci had died in Rome, aged 94.