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Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Christian worshipers visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark Orthodox Easter and to attend the first public Sunday services by other Christian denominations after the war on April 12, 2026. (Rossella Tercatin/Times of Israel)
April 12, 2026, 10:30 pm
‘Feels like a blessing’: On Orthodox Easter, Christians flock back to the Holy Sepulchre
During the ceasefire with Iran, the iconic church that enshrines what many consider Jesus’s tomb opens to the public and Christians from across denominations return with cautious joy
By Rossella Tercatin
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, holds a prayer service to mark Holy Thursday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, April 2, 2026. (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
April 2, 2026, 7:29 pm
Latin Patriarch holds limited prayers at Holy Sepulchre after Palm Sunday uproar
Jerusalem church akin to ‘womb of peace’ in a world ‘being torn apart,’ Cardinal Pizzaballa tells clergymen and staff permitted to attend Holy Thursday rites amid Iran war
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, sits in the Church of All Nations on the day of a prayer service to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (Ammar Awad/Pool Photo via AP)
March 30, 2026, 3:48 pm
Holy Sepulchre Easter services to go ahead as Church leaders reach deal with police
After meeting with authorities, church officials say arrangements made for Holy Week ceremonies to take place with live broadcast, amid Iran missile danger
By Lazar Berman
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, greeting Christians gathered at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for a mass honoring Pope Francis on April 23, 2025. (Rossella Tercatin/Times of Israel)
March 30, 2026, 6:11 am
Police, Catholic patriarchate reach agreement on prayer at Holy Sepulchre after cardinal blocked
Netanyahu orders ‘full and immediate access’ for Pierbattista Pizzaballa after he and another Catholic leader were barred entry to church amid wartime restrictions
By Lazar Berman
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, holds a prayer service to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, March 29, 2026. (Ammar Awad/Pool Photo via AP)
March 29, 2026, 5:06 pm
Police stop top Catholic figures from reaching Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday Mass
PM’s office promises solution after police bar Latin patriarch due to war, eliciting outrage; ‘There was no malicious intent, only concern for safety,’ says Netanyahu
By Lazar Berman
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee (left) meets with Israeli Christian Voice founder Ihab Shlayan at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, January 9, 2026 (The Israeli Christian Voice)
February 3, 2026, 8:16 pm
After Jerusalem church leaders rebuke Christian Zionism, schism blamed on Jordan, PA
Patriarch statement seemingly portrayed IDF veteran Ihab Shlayan’s pro-Israel activism as outside religious consensus, but letter lacked Catholic backing and may have been directed from above
By Lazar Berman
An aerial view shows scouts marching during Christmas eve celebrations on Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity (unseen) in Bethlehem, West Bank, on December 24, 2025. (HAZEM BADER / AFP)
December 25, 2025, 12:01 am
Bethlehem sees full Christmas revelry for first time since outbreak of Gaza war
Hundreds parade down Manger Square, thought to be Jesus’s birthplace, as bagpipes and drums return to West Bank city, which hosted subdued celebrations as conflict gripped region
By AFP
Children and nuns gather outside the Holy Family Catholic Church before attending a mass ahead of Christmas celebrations in Gaza City, December 21, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)
December 23, 2025, 3:16 pm
‘Holding on’: Gaza’s tiny Christian community tries to capture the holiday spirit
While the ceasefire has eased some suffering in the embattled enclave, Gazans lament the losses of two years of war, friends who cannot celebrate Christmas with them
By MARIAM FAM
Pope Leo XIV (R) talks with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin at the end of the meditation by Sr. Maria Gloria Riva of the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament, part of the Jubilee of the Holy See at the Aula Paolo VI (Paul VI Audience Hall), in The Vatican, on June 9, 2025. (Tiziana FABI / AFP)
October 6, 2025, 11:02 pm
Vatican’s top diplomat says Israel carrying out ‘ongoing massacre’ in Gaza
Cardinal Parolin also urges Hamas to free hostages, calls Oct. 7 ‘indefensible’; top Catholic leader in the Holy Land: Christians should be bridge between Israelis, Palestinians
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a joint press conference with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, not pictured, following their visit to the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, July 22, 2025. (Mahmoud Illean/AP)
July 22, 2025, 9:23 pm
Gaza war must end, says top Catholic official in Israel after visiting damaged church
At joint press conference with Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III, Cardinal Pizzaballa says situation ‘morally unacceptable and unjustifiable,’ calls for release of Israeli hostages
By Lazar Berman
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III in Gaza City's Holy Family Church, July 18, 2025, a day after the church was damaged by a shell fired from a nearby Israeli tank. (Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
July 18, 2025, 5:32 pm
Jerusalem’s highest-ranking Christian officials enter Gaza to visit church hit by IDF
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa brings aid to Strip with Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem; Netanyahu holds lengthy phone call with Pope Leo XIV
By Reuters and Lazar Berman
A view of the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, after an Israeli tank shell hit the church, in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on July 17, 2025. (Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)
July 17, 2025, 4:32 pm
Three killed in strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church; Israel conveys ‘deep sorrow’
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem says several hurt at Holy Family Church including parish priest; Pope Leo expresses sadness; Italy condemns ‘unacceptable’ attacks on civilians
By Lazar Berman, Emanuel Fabian, Nava Freiberg and Agencies
Pope Leo XIV appears at the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for his first Sunday blessing after his election, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
May 13, 2025, 10:38 pm
President Herzog to attend Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration in Rome
New pontiff reaches out to the American Jewish Committee and Jewish Community of Rome to reaffirm his commitment to interfaith dialogue
By Rossella Tercatin and Reuters
Italian cardinal and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives for the sixth congregation meeting at The Vatican, on April 29, 2025. (Andreas Solaro/AFP)
May 1, 2025, 3:23 pm
In Jerusalem, papal candidate Pizzaballa walks a fine line amid Gaza war tensions
Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, who has lived in city for decades, strives to maintain good relations with both Israelis and Palestinians but is realistic about challenges
By AFP
Christians gather at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for a mass honoring Pope Francis on April 23, 2025. (Rossella Tercatin/Times of Israel)
April 23, 2025, 8:45 pm
At Jerusalem’s holiest church, Catholics mourn Pope Francis with solemn mass
Hundreds gather at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayers for the late pontiff led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, seen as a possible successor
By Rossella Tercatin and Reuters
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