Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa solemnly enters Holy Sepulcher on Friday December 4 and celebrates his first Pontifical Mass at Holy Sepulcher on Saturday December 5 2020

On Friday, December 4, 2020, His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa officially and solemnly entered the Cathedral of the Holy Sepulcher and took possession of his See as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. As has been with other major religious ceremonies throughout the year of 2020, the entrance of the patriarch into his cathedral was limited to a very little number of participants and officials due to what could become a third wave of COVID-19 to hit the country.

The ceremony started just like any other patriarchal entrances: at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. In procession, the patriarch was accompanied by the clergy and laypeople through the usual route to the Holy Sepulcher. They marched down the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem and the patriarch blessed the people on sides of the way.

Once they arrived at the courtyard of the Holy Sepulcher, His Beatitude was welcomed by the three representatives and custodians of the cathedral; the Franciscans, the Greek Orthodox and the Armenian Churches, as well as the keyholder of the door of the Holy Sepulcher. He then entered through the door of the cathedral and proceeded to kiss the Stone of Anointing and to bless the crowd with Holy Water. Near the stone, he was welcomed by Fr. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land. Just twelve years ago, Patriarch Pizzaballa was the one who was standing there as Custos, welcoming Patriarch Fouad Twal during his solemn entrance.

After the welcoming of the Custos, the Patriarch went and prayed intimately inside the Tomb of Jesus while the crowd chanted the Te Deum. After the reading of the Gospel by the Custos, the Papal Bull of the appointment of His Beatitude as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was read in Latin and Arabic by Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli and Fr. Ibrahim Shomali respectively. Bishop Boulos Marcuzzo then warmly welcomed His Beatitude on behalf of the College of Consultors and the entire family of the Latin Patriarchate, greeting him with his famous Mabruks (congratulations) that he became known for in Jerusalem. He finally handed the pastoral staff to the new shepherd of the Jerusalem Diocese.

Patriarch Pizzaballa is not new to the entrances of the Holy Sepulchre. Four years ago, he returned to the cathedral to start a new service to the Church of God as Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate. “Those were intense and difficult years, but also rich with wonderful experiences,” said His Beatitude.

Through this ceremony, Patriarch Pizzaballa has begun a new ecclesial journey in the Church of Jerusalem thanking God’s faithfulness in him in the past years. Nevertheless, he did not forget to show a glimpse of his vulnerability to remind us of his own fears and limitations. In his entrance speech, he said “I cannot but experience feelings of fear in the face of a mission that exceeds my capacities. But I accept this new obedience, which I wish to fulfil with joy. It is certainly a cross, but a cross that bears fruit of salvation each time it is embraced in joy.”

A full report of the event is given on the site of the Patriarchate.

On Saturday, December 5, the Patriarch celebrated hi first Pontifical mass at the Holy Sepulcher. His homily can be found on the following link.