Know one knows yet who the next pope will be and he might well be someone no one has heard of. But it could be someone well-known too.
Here is someone who many believe is electable. We won’t know, though, until shortly after that white smoke bellows from the smoke pipe of the Sistine Chapel.
Please read the Times of Israel bio about the good Cardinal below the photos!
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa! 🍕 🕺
From the Times of Israel (a secular paper)
With the death of Pope Francis, announced by the Vatican on Monday, Roman Catholics around the globe have started speculating on who among the red-robed cardinals will succeed him.
Among the candidates to replace Pope Francis at the upcoming conclave, one name familiar to many Israeli officials stands out — Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
The Italian priest has lived in Israel for over three decades, and is a fluent Hebrew speaker.
Pizzaballa, 60, was ordained in 1990 and moved to Jerusalem the same year. He received a degree from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem, translated liturgical texts into Hebrew and provided pastoral care for the local Hebrew-speaking Catholic congregation.
In 2004, Pizzaballa became Custos of the Holy Land, the head of the Franciscans in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria, Cyprus, Rhodes and parts of Egypt.
“Jerusalem is the heart of the life of the world,” he said just prior to being made a cardinal. “So, from this heart, we should receive life from all over the world. But also this heart, Jerusalem, wants to bring the perspective and desire of life from Jerusalem to all over the world.”
After the devastating Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 of that year, Pizzaballa said that he would offer himself in exchange for Hamas’s Israeli hostages if it would help bring children home.
“If I’m available for an exchange,” he said in response to a question from a reporter. “Anything, if this could bring about the freedom of children, no problem. My absolute willingness.”
At the same time, Pizzaballa faced criticism from Israel for the initial response to the Hamas attack by Christian leaders in Jerusalem. The patriarch’s statement made no explicit mention of the Hamas attack, restating in general terms its condemnation of any act that targets civilians.
“In my opinion, it would be wonderful if he were elected, not just because he comes from here and he understands us, but because he’s such an exceptionally bright and good person,” Rabbi David Rosen, former American Jewish Committee international director of Interreligious Affairs, told The Times of Israel.
Farid Jubran, an adviser to the Patriarchate, declined to offer any speculation on Pizzaballa’s chances.
“Cardinal Pizzabala is under the age of 80 and will participate in the conclave,” he said. “But we really pray for a pope who is best for the church. And that’s the most important thing.”
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