The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the title given to the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem. The Archdiocese of Jerusalem has jurisdiction for all Latin Rite Catholics in Israel and Palestine. In addition, the Eastern Rite Melkite Greek Catholic Church and Maronite Catholic Church have established dioceses for their faithful in the territories.

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem is currently the only Eastern patriarchal title to be assigned to a Latin Rite bishop. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem does not head an sui iuris particular church but is rather a bishop whose see has as a permanent privilege the honorific title of patriarch, similarly to the Patriarchs of Venice, Lisbon, and the East Indies.

Crusader patriarchate

In 1099 Jerusalem was captured by Crusaders, inaugurating the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which endured almost 200 years. A Latin hierarchy was established in the Kingdom under a Latin Patriarch. When the last vestiges of the Kingdom were conquered by the Mamelukes in 1291, the Latin hierarchy was effectively eliminated in the Levant. However, the Church continued to appoint titular Patriarchs of Jerusalem, who were based at the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome after 1374.

During the existence of the Latin Kingdom, the Latin Patriarchate was divided into four archdioceses -their heads bearing the titles of Archbishop of Tyre, Archbishop of Caesarea, Archbishop of Nazareth, and Archbishop of Petra - and a number of suffragan dioceses. The Latin Patriarch controlled the Latin quarter of the city of Jerusalem (the Holy Sepulchre and the immediate surroundings), and had as his direct suffragans the bishops of Lydda-Ramla, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Gaza, and the abbots of the Temple, Mount Sion, and the Mount of Olives.

Modern patriarchate

The title Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was restored as a residential office in 1847 for Bishop Joseph Valerga. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is now the diocesan bishop of Latin Catholics in the Holy Land, including Jordan and Cyprus. The current Patriarch is His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, the first Palestinian to hold the post. The residence of the Patriarch is in the Old City of Jerusalem, while the seminary, which is responsible for the liturgical education, was moved to Beit Jala, a town 10 km south of Jerusalem, in 1936.

List of Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem

*Arnulf of Chocques (1099)
*Dagobert of Pisa (1099-1102)
*Ehremar (1102)
*Dagobert of Pisa (restored) (1102-1107)
*Ghibbelin of Arles (1107-1112)
*Arnulf of Chocques (restored) (1112-1118)
*Garmond of Picquigny (1119-1128)
*Stephen (1128-1130)
*William I of Malines (1130-1145)
*Fulk (1146-1157)
*Amalric (1157-1180)
*Heraclius (1180-1191)

(Jerusalem lost in 1187; seat of the Patriarch moved to Acre)

**vacant (1191-1194)
*Aymar the Monk (1194-1202)
*Soffred (1202-1204)
*Albert Avogadro (1204-1214)
*Raoul of Merencourt (1214-1225)
*Gerald of Lausanne (1225-1238)
**vacant (1238-1240); Jacques de Vitry appointed but never served
*Robert of Nantes (1240-1254)
*Jacques Pantaléon (1255-1261), future Pope Urban IV of Rome
*William II of Agen (1261-1270)
*Thomas Agni of Cosenza (1271-1277)
*John of Versailles (1278-1279)
*Elijah (1279-1287)
*Nicholas of Hanapes (1288-1294)

(Acre lost in 1291; moved to Cyprus then Rome after 1374; only honorary patriarchs until 1847)

*unknown
*Antony Bek (1306-1311), also Prince-Bishop of Durham in England from 1284 to 1310

(unknown; the Franciscan Custos of the Holy Lands (The Grand Masters of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre) held the title in technicality from 1342 to 1830 under the Papal bull Gratiam agimus by Pope Clement VI (unless someone was specifically appointed in the honorary office). )

*Elie de Nabinal (1342-1348)
*Philippe de Cabassole (died 1372)
*Philippe d'Alençon (died 1397)
*Bertrande de Chanac (?-1401?)
**unknown
*Rodrigo Carvajal (1523-1539)
**unknown
*Gian Antonio Facchinetti de Nuce (1572-1585), future Pope Innocent IX of Rome
*Scipione Gonzaga (1585?-?)
*Francesco Cennini de' Salamandri (1618-1645)
**vacant or unknown
*Camillo Massimo (1653-1677)
*Bandino Panciatici (1689-1698?)
*Francesco Martelli (1698-1717?)
**unknown
*Vincent Louis Gotti (1728-1729)
*Pompeo Aldrovandi (1729-1734)
*Thomas Cervini (1734-1751)
*Thomas de Moncada (1751-1762)
*Georgius Maria Lascaris (1762-1795)
**vacant (1795-1800)
*Michele di Pietro (1800-1821)
*Francesco Maria Fenzi (1816-1829)
*Augustus Foscolo (1830-1847), later Latin Patriarch of Alexandria, 1847-1860

(Restoration of resident Latin patriarchs of Jerusalem with jurisdiction in 1847)

*Joseph Valerga (1847-1872)
*Vincent Braco (1872-1889)

(Latin patriarchate hierarchy re-established in 1889)

*Luigi Piavi (1889-1905)
**vacant (1905-1907)
*Filippo Camassei (1907-1919)
*Luigi Balassina (1920-1947)
**vacant (1947-1949)
*Alberto Gori (1949-1970)
*Giacomo Giuseppi Beltritti (1970-1987)
*Michel Sabbah (1987-Present)

Note: Archbishop Fouad Twal of Tunis was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Jerusalem by Pope Benedict XVI on 8 September 2005. It is expected that he will therefore succeed the present Patriarch, Michel Sabbah, on the latter's 75th birthday: 19 March 2008.

See also

* Patriarchs
* List of Popes
* Patriarch of Antioch
* Latin Patriarch of Constantinople
* Latin Patriarch of Alexandria
* Latin Patriarch of Antioch

External links

* Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem website
*List of Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem by Giga-Catholic Information
* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dgeru.html , Catholic Hierarchy website

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Category:Honorary titles