The Crusaders established the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem after capturing the Holy City on July 15, 1099.
Finding the See of Jerusalem vacant following the death of the Greek patriarch, Simeon, in Cyprus, where he had taken refuge, the Crusaders installed one of their own, Arnoul, to fill the position.
Latin patriarchs succeeded one another in Jerusalem from 1099 to 1187, and then in Acre until the city’s fall in 1291.
The patriarchal see was restored as a residential see on July 23, 1847, by Blessed Pope Pius IX. The first patriarch to hold the seat, Patriarch Joseph Varga, arrived on January 17, 1848, and took possession of his seat with a solemn entry into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the cathedral of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has jurisdiction only over Latin Rite Catholics in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Cyprus, the majority of whom are of Eastern origin.
Traditionally, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is chosen from among Italian Franciscans. There have been two exceptions: in 1987, a priest of Palestinian origin, His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, was chosen, and his successor, elected in 2008, was Jordanian.
In 2020, His Holiness Pope Francis appointed Bishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa as Patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (sede vacante), after he had served as its apostolic administrator.
The number of parishioners totals more than 160,000.
