Custody of the Holy Land

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, founder = Saint Francis of Assisi
, founding_location = Porziuncola, Assisi, Umbria
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, purpose = "The grace of the Holy Places"
, headquarters = Monastery of Saint Saviour
, location = Old city of Jerusalem
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, region = Holy Land; Middle East
, services = Fathers of the Holy Sepulchre
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, leader_title = Custos
, leader_name = Father Francesco Patton
, leader_title2 = Custodial Vicar
, leader_name2 = Father Dobromir Jasztal
, leader_title3 = General Secretary
, leader_name3 = Father Marco Carrara
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, parent_organization = Order of Friars Minor
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, affiliations = Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Order of the Holy Sepulchre
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The Custody of the Holy Land (Latin: ''Custodia Terræ Sanctæ'') is a custodian priory of the Order of Friars Minor in Jerusalem, founded as the ''Province of the Holy Land'' in 1217 by Saint Francis of Assisi, who had also founded the Franciscan Order in 1209. In 1342, the Franciscans were declared by two papal bulls as the official custodians of the Holy Places in the name of the Catholic Church.

The Custody headquarters are located in the Monastery of Saint Saviour, a 16th-century Franciscan monastery near the New Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. The office can bestow—only to those entering its office—the Jerusalem Pilgrim's Cross upon deserving Catholic visitors to the city.

The Franciscans trace their presence in the Holy Land to 1217. By 1229, the friars had a small house near the fifth station of the Via Dolorosa and in 1272 were permitted to settle in the Cenacle on Mount Zion. In 1309 they also settled in Bethlehem and the Holy Sepulchre along with the Canons Regular.

After the final fall of the second Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291, the title of Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was vested in the Custody ''ex officio'' in Rome, while resuming its activities in the Holy Land, including surveilling the accolades of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre 1342–1489 until its Grand Magistry was vested in the papacy. Following the restoration of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem as residential episcopal see in 1847, the Patriarch henceforth additionally assumed the position of the order's ecclesiastical superior, eventually supplanting the Custody of the Holy land as Grand Prior of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Custody of the Holy Land has repeatedly expressed concern about the survival of the Christians in the Holy Land, including the strained situation for Christians in the rest of the Middle East.Middle East Christians must be courageous, open, says Franciscan custos
/ref>

Between 2004 and 2016, the ''Custodial Curia'' was led by '' Custos'' Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Since 2016, the chief custodian has been Francesco Patton.

Mission

The mission of the Custody of the Holy Land is to guard "the grace of the Holy Places" of the Holy Land and the rest of the Middle East, "sanctified by the presence of Jesus", as well as pilgrims visiting them, on behalf of the Catholic Church.

History

An online history, The Franciscan Presence in the Holy Land, has been prepared by the Custodian Emeritus (later Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem), Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM.

The Franciscan presence in the Holy Land started in 1217, when the province of Syria was established, with Frater (Brother) Elias of Cortona as Minister. By 1229, the friars had a small house near the fifth station of the Via Dolorosa. In 1272 the Sultan Baibars of Egypt permitted the Franciscans to settle in the Cenacle (also called the Upper Room) on Mount Sion. Later on, in 1309, they also settled in Bethlehem and in the Holy Sepulchre, along with the Canons Regular.

During the difficult years of the Great War, many friars belonging to the enemy nations fighting against the Ottomans and Germans were deported.''St. Anthony: patron saint of the Custody of the Holy Land for a hundred years''
Giacomo Pizzi for proterrasancta.org, 15 June 2020. Accessed 15 January 2022. In 1917, when the Italian friars were just about to be sent away, reprieve came in the last minute, which was attributed to the triduum celebrated that year in honour of St Anthony of Padua, a saint venerated for his miracles. Consequently, in 1920, St Anthony was chosen as the patron saint of the Custody.

In 1333, Robert d'Anjou, King of Naples, and his wife, Sancia of Majorca, bought the Cenacle from the Sultan of Egypt and gave it to the Franciscans. In 1342, Pope Clement VI, by the Papal bulls '' Gratiam agimus'' and '' Nuper charissimae'' declared the Franciscans as the official custodians of the Holy Places in the name of the Catholic Church.The Bull of Clement VI (1342)
/ref> A portion reads:

A short time ago good news from the king and queen reached our Apostolic See relating that, at great cost and following difficult negotiations, they had obtained a concession from the Sultan of Babylon hat is, Cairo who to the intense shame of Christians occupies the Holy Sepulchre of the Lord and the other Holy Places beyond the sea that were sanctified by the blood of this same Redeemer, to wit that friars of your Order may reside continuously in the church known as the Sepulchre and celebrate there Solemn Sung Masses and the Divine Office in the manner of the several friars of this Order who are already present in this place; moreover, this same Sultan has also conceded to the King and Queen the Cenacle of the Lord, the chapel where the Holy Spirit was manifested to the Apostles and the other chapel in which Christ appeared to the Apostles after his resurrection, in the presence of Blessed Thomas; and also the news of how the Queen built a convent on Mount Zion where, as is known, the Cenacle and the said chapels are located; where for some time she has had the intention of supporting twelve friars of your Order to assure the divine Liturgy in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, along with three laymen charged with serving the friars and seeing to their needs.

The Custodian was described as the "Guardian of Mount Zion in Jerusalem". Between 1342 and 1489, the Custodian was the head of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and held the ''ex officio'' title of Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. From 1374, he was based at the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome.

In 1489, Pope Innocent VIII suppressed the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and ruled that it was to be merged with the Knights Hospitaller. In 1496, Pope Alexander VI, restored the Order of Holy Sepulchre to independent status, but the Custodian ceased to be the head of the Order. Instead, a Grand Master of the Order was created, and the office vested in the papacy. The Custodian continued to act as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem ''ex officio'' until 1830, and by being appointed to both offices until 1905. The office of Grand Master remained vested in the papacy until 1949. On 29 August 2011, Archbishop Edwin Frederick O'Brien was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI Grand Master to succeed Cardinal John Patrick Foley, who resigned the office on 24 February 2011 due to ill health. The Order is a member of many international bodies and has observer status at others (such as the United Nations). The Grand Master is a papal viceroy who assists Vatican diplomacy with procedural support for making motions, proposing amendments and requiring votes in the sphere of international diplomacy.

Franciscan friars cared for the Cenacle, restoring also the building with Gothic vaults, until the Ottoman Empire captured Jerusalem and banished all Christians. After the Franciscan friars' eviction, the Cenacle was transformed into a mosque. Christians were not allowed to use the room for prayer until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

In 1623, the Latin Province of the Holy Land was split into a number of smaller entities, called Custodies – creating Custodies of Cyprus, Syria, and the Holy Land proper. The Custody of the Holy Land included the monasteries of Saint-Jean-d'Acre, Antioch, Sidon, Tyre, Jerusalem and Jaffa.

In 1847, a resident Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem was restored in the Holy Land, together with the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem became the ecclesiastical superior of the Order, and eventually assumed the title Grand Prior, supplanting the Custodian. The office of Grand Master still remained vested in the papacy.

In 1937, Alberto Gori was appointed Custodian of the Holy Land, an office he would occupy until 1949, when he was appointed Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, an office he held until 1970. In Gori's reports to the Vatican in the 1940s, he was critical of Jewish and later Israeli forces, whom he accused of destruction of holy places.Paolo Pieraccini, Custos of the Holy Land and Patriarch at the Second Vatican Council
/ref> Despite repeated Israeli assurances that Israel will guarantee freedom of religion and safeguard the Holy Places of all religions, Pope Pius XII issued several encyclicals expressing concerns about the holy places as well as access. In 1949, at the time of appointing Gori to the office of Latin Patriarch, Pius XII also relinquished the title of Grand Master.

Organisation

On 15 May 2004, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa was appointed Custodian of the Holy Land, succeeding Giovanni Battistelli, who held the office for six years. On Friday, 28 June 2013, Pope Francis confirmed that he would continue as Custodian for at least a further three years. Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio, Italy, on 21 April 1965. He was ordained a priest in September 1990. Since 2016, the chief custodian has been Francesco Patton.

The Custodian of the Holy Land, also called the International Custodian of the Holy Land, is appointed by the General Definitorium of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM) of the Franciscans and approved by the Pope and the Holy See.

The Custodian has the role of Minister Provincial (i.e. major superior) of the Franciscans living in Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, parts of Egypt, Cyprus and Rhodes. The Custody has about 300 friars and about 100 sisters in these countries. The Franciscans serve the principal Christian shrines, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

During the later Middle Ages and early modern times the Custody was official provider of hospitality for Latin pilgrims to the Holy Land, i.e. Westerners be they Catholic or Protestant. Such facilities existed primarily at Jaffa and in Jerusalem

Properties in the Holy Land

The Franciscan order owns a great deal of property in the Holy Land, second only to the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. In addition to the major shrines of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which the Franciscans own and administer in common with the Jerusalem Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox patriarchates, the Custodian also cares for 74 shrines and sanctuaries throughout the Holy Land, including properties in Syria and Jordan.

In 1909, in the territory of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, re-instituted in 1847, the Franciscans had 24 convents and 15 parishes, including numerous schools.

The Custodian's offices are at the Monastery of St Saviour, a 16th-century Franciscan monastery near New Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Activities

Education

Schools founded by the Franciscan friars include Terra Santa College in Nicosia, Cyprus and
Magnificat Institute in Jerusalem.

Current issues

Fr. Pizzaballa expressed concern view that many Christians were leaving the region, especially the Christians of the Palestinian Territories, and that housing assistance was being offered to discourage emigration. He attributed the exodus to lack of prospects for the future and the political situation.

In 2011, the Catholic News Service (CNS) website aired an interview on Vatican Radio in which Father Pizzaballa alluded to the tense situation for Christians in Syria and Egypt.

List of Custodians

13th century
:: 1217 – Elia da CortonaLeader of the first group of friars sent to Jerusalem after the first General Chapter (1217).
# 1219 – ''Saint'' Francis of Assisi
# 1247 – Giacomo (Narciso?)
# 1266 – Giacomo da Puy
# ? – Vincentius de Burgundia
# 1270? – Giovannino da Parma
# 1286 – Geleberto
14th century

7. 1306 – Guido
   
8. 1310 – Rogero Guarini
   
9. 1328 – Nicolò da San Martino
   
10. 1330 – Giovanni Fedanzola

::1333 – Rogero GuariniSecond term.

11. 1337 – Giovanni di Stefano
    
12. 1337 – Giacomo Normanno
    
13. ? – Nicola di Giovanni
    
14. 1363 – Bernardino da Padova
    
15. 1372 – Antonio di Giacomo
    
16. 1376 – Nicolò da Creta (o Candia)
    
17. 1382 – Giovanni
    
18. 1384 – Nicolò da Venezia
    
19. 1388 – Gerardo Calvetti

15th century

20. 1400 – Nicolò Coronario
    
21. 1405 – Nicolò di Pietro
    
22. 1414 – Pascutius Davini de Assisio
    
23. 1421 – Giacomo di Antonio
    
24. 1424 – Giovanni Belloro
    
25. 1430 – Luigi da Bologna
    
26. 1434 – Giacomo Delfino
    
27. 1438 – Gandolfo da Sicilia
    
28. 1446 – Baldassare da Santa Maria
    
29. 1455 – Antonio da Mugnano
    
30. 1462 – Gabriele Mezzavacca
    
31. 1464 – Paolo d'Albenga
    
32. 1467 – Francesco da Piacenza
    
33. 1472 – Andrea da Parma
    
34. 1475 – Giacomo d'Alessandria
    
35. 1478 – Giovanni de Thomacellis
    
36. 1481 – Paolo da Canneto
    
37. 1484 – Bernardino da Parma

::1487 – Francesco da PerugiaHe died before his arrival to the Custody.

38. 1487 – Bernardino Caimo
    
39. 1489 – Bartolomeo da Piacenza
    
40. 1493 – Francesco Suriano
    
41. 1495 – Angelo da Foligno

::1496 – Bartolomeo da Piacenza

42. 1499 – Antonio Gozze de Regnis

16th century

43. 1501 – Mauro da San Bernardino
    
44. 1504 – Luigi da Napoli
    
45. 1507 – Bernardino del Vecchio

::1512 – Francesco Suriano

46. 1514 – Nicolò da Tossignano
    
47. 1517 – Zenobio da Firenze
    
48. 1518 – Gabriele ?
    
49. 1519 – Angelo da Ferrara
    
50. 1528 – Giovanni
    
51. 1532 – Mario da Messina
    
52. 1532 – Battista da Macerata
    
53. 1535 – Tomaso da Norcia
    
54. 1541 – Dionisio da Sarcognano
    
55. 1545 – Felice da Venezia
    
56. 1544 – Giorgio Bosnese

::1545 – Felice da Venezia

57. 1547 – Bonaventura Corsetti
    
58. 1551 – Bonifacio Stefani
    
59. 1559 – Antonio da Bergamo
    
60. 1560 – Aurelio da Griano

::1564 – Bonifacio Stefani

61. 1565 – Bernardino da Collestate
    
62. 1566 – Girolamo da Fossato
    
63. 1568 – Angelo da Portomaurizio
    
64. 1568 – Gian Francesco d'Arsignano Vicent
    
65. 1571 – Antonio da Sant'Angelo
    
66. 1572 – Geremia da Brescia
    
67. 1580 – Giovanni da Bergamo
    
68. 1581 – Angelo Stella
    
69. 1584 – Paolino Olivoli
    
70. 1585 – Accursio da Quinzano
    
71. 1588 – Gian Battista da Montegiano
    
72. 1590 – Francesco da Spello
    
73. 1593 – Felice Ranieri da Fratta
    
74. 1593 – Gian Francesco da Salandra
    
75. 1597 – Evangelista da Gabiano

17th century

76. 1600 – Francesco Manerba
    
77. 1603 – Cesario da Trino
    
78. 1608 – Gaudenzio Saibanti
    
79. 1612 – Angelo da Messina
    
80. 1616 – Basilio Basili
    
81. 1619 – Francesco Dulcedo
    
82. 1620 – Tommaso Obicini
    
83. 1621 – Ambrogio Pantoliano
    
84. 1622 – Francesco Spinelli
    
85. 1625 – Sante da Messina
    
86. 1628 – Diego Campanile
    
87. 1632 – Paolo da Lodi
    
88. 1634 – Francesco da Cattaro
    
89. 1637 – Andrea d'Arco
    
90. 1642 – Pietro Verniero
    
91. 1645 – Francesco Merisi
    
92. 1648 – Antonio da Gaeta

::1651 – Ambrogio Pantoliano

93. 1652 – Mariano Morone
    
94. 1659 – Eusebio Valles
    
95. 1664 – Francesco M. Rhini
    
96. 1669 – Teofilo Testa
    
97. 1673 – Claudio Gavazzi
    
98. 1675 – Tomaso da Caltagirone
    
99. 1675 – Giovanni Bonsignori
    
100. 1678 – Pier Marino Sormani
     
101. 1683 – Pier Antonio Grassi
     
102. 1686 – Angelico da Milano
     
103. 1689 – Gregorio da Parghelia
     
104. 1691 – Gian Battista D'Atina
     
105. 1695 – Baldassare Caldera
     
106. 1697 – Francesco da Santo Floro

18th century

107. 1701 – Bonaventura da Majori
     
108. 1704 – Benedetto da Bari
     
109. 1705 – Costantino Ultorchi
     
110. 1706 – Gaetano Potestà
     
111. 1710 – Lorenzo Cozza
     
112. 1716 – Giuseppe Maria da Perugia
     
113. 1720 – Gian Filippo da Milano
     
114. 1722 – Giacomo da Lucca
     
115. 1730 – Andrea da Montoro
     
116. 1735 – Angelico da Gazolo
     
117. 1740 – Paolo da Laurino

::1743 – Giacomo da Lucca

118. 1744 – Desiderio da Casabasciana
     
119. 1751 – Prospero Zinelli
     
120. 1754 – Pio da Mentone
     
121. 1756 – Domenico da Venezia
     
122. 1762 – Paolo da Piacenza
     
123. 1767 – Luigi da Bastia
     
124. 1773 – Valeriano Bellandi
     
125. 1773 – Gian Domenico da Levigliano
     
126. 1795 – Placido da Roma
     
127. 1798 – Ladislao da Viterbo

19th century

128. 1801 – Zenobio Puccini
     
129. 1805 – Bonaventura da Nola
     
130. 1808 – Giuseppe M. Pierallini
     
131. 1815 – Girolamo da Osimo
     
132. 1817 – Salvatore Antonio da Malta
     
133. 1820 – Ugolino Cesarini
     
134. 1822 – Gian Antonio da Rogliano
     
135. 1825 – Tomaso da Montasola
     
136. 1831 – Francesco di S. Lorenzo alle Grotte
     
137. 1835 – Francesco Saverio da Malta
     
138. 1838 – Perpetuo Guasco
     
139. 1841 – Cherubino Maria da Cori
     
140. 1843 – Cherubino da Civezza
     
141. 1847 – Bernardino Trionfetti
     
142. 1857 – Bonaventura Robotti
     
143. 1863 – Serafino Milani
     
144. 1874 – Gaudenzio Bonfigli
     
145. 1880 – Guido Corbelli
     
146. 1886 – Aurelio Briante
     
147. 1888 – Giacomo Ghezzi

::1894 – Aurelio Briante
20th century

148. 1900 – Frediano Giannini
     
149. 1906 – Roberto Razzoli
     
150. 1914 – Onorato Carcaterra
     
151. 1915 – Serafino Cimino
     
152. 1918 – Ferdinando Diotallevi; as Custos he was also member of the Pro-Jerusalem Society's leading Council
     
153. 1925 – Aurelio Marotta
     
154. 1931 – Nazzareno Jacopozzi
     
155. 1937 – Alberto Gori
     
156. 1950 – Giacinto Maria Faccio
     
157. 1955 – Angelico Lazzeri
     
158. 1957 – Alfredo Polidori
     
159. 1962 – Vincenzo Cappiello
     
160. 1968 – Alfonso Calabrese
     
161. 1969 – Erminio Roncari
     
162. 1974 – Maurilio Sacchi
     
163. 1980 – Ignazio Mancini
     
164. 1986 – Carlo Cecchitelli
     
165. 1992 – Giuseppe Nazzaro
     
166. 1998 – Giovanni Battistelli

21st century

167. 2004 – Pierbattista Pizzaballa
     
168. 2016 – Francesco Patton

See also

* Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
* Catholic Church in Palestine
* Catholic Church in Israel
* Palestinian Christians
* Holy See–Israel relations
* Order of the Holy Sepulchre
* Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre
* ATS Association of the Holy Land

References

Further reading

Masha Halevi, Between Faith and Science: Franciscan Archaeology in the Service of the Holy Places, Middle Eastern Studies, Volume 48, Issue 2, 2012, pp. 249–267

External links

Official website of the Custody of the Holy Land

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