1. Pierbattista Pizzaballa studied in Biblical Theology at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem in 1993 and then taught biblical Hebrew at the Franciscan Faculty of Biblical Science and Archeology in Jerusalem.
24 Facts About Pierbattista Pizzaballa
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio, Bergamo, son of Pietro Pizzaballa and Maria Maddalena Tadini.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa is the nephew of Pierluigi Pizzaballa, a retired Italian football player.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa made his first vows there on 7 September 1985 and his perpetual vows in Bologna on 4 October 1989.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa earned his bachelor's degree in theology at the Pontifical University Antonianum and was ordained a priest on 15 September 1990, in the Cathedral of Bologna by Cardinal Giacomo Biffi.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa obtained his diploma in classical studies at the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Ferrara.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa studied in Biblical Theology at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem in 1993 and then taught biblical Hebrew at the Franciscan Faculty of Biblical Science and Archeology in Jerusalem.
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Besides his native Italian, Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks Hebrew, English, and Arabic.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa joined the Franciscans working at the Custody of the Holy Land in July 1999 and was responsible for the pastoral care of Hebrew-speaking Catholics.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa was Custos of the Holy Land from May 2004 to April 2016, having been elected to a six-year term in May 2004, re-elected to a three-year term in March 2010, and reconfirmed for another three-year term in 2013.
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In June 2014 Pope Francis entrusted Pierbattista Pizzaballa with organizing the peace prayer in the Vatican gardens, which brought together Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa criticized Israel's construction of a barrier between the West Bank and Jerusalem and participated in protests against it in 2015.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa, before becoming a bishop, criticized Palestinian leaders for blaming all problems on the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
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In 2016, Pierbattista Pizzaballa joined the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and became its Pro Grand Prior, and then Grand Prior upon his appointment as Latin Patriarch.
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On 24 October 2020, Pierbattista Pizzaballa was appointed Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem by Pope Francis.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads the board of directors of Caritas Jerusalem.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa has advocated for an end to the Gaza war and the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa was a signatory to the "Statement on the Escalating Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza" which condemned attacks on civilians, called for de-escalation and called for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa's statement was criticized by Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen.
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On his visit to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve 2023, Pierbattista Pizzaballa donned a Palestinian keffiyeh and expressed a desire for peace in the region.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa cosigned the Christmas message released by the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem advocating Christians to refrain from public celebration of the holiday in solidarity with those affected by the war.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa is supportive of interfaith dialogue, noting that efforts such as Francis' 2020 encyclical Fratelli tutti have an "enormous impact" on Arab public consciousness even if they are not widely read.
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Pierbattista Pizzaballa has expressed some support for the Traditional Latin Mass, the liturgy that was largely replaced by the Mass of Paul VI, but still remains popular among some in Catholicism.