New Patriarch for Jerusalem Takes Office

During an enthronement Mass on Sunday, Archbishop Twal, 67, officially succeeded Archbishop Michel Sabbah, who resigned after having reached the 75-year age limit.

JERUSALEM (ZENIT) - Archbishop Fouad Twal took his post as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, joining with Benedict XVI in thanking his predecessor.

During an enthronement Mass on Sunday, Archbishop Twal, 67, officially succeeded Archbishop Michel Sabbah, who resigned after having reached the 75-year age limit.

At the beginning of the celebration, the apostolic delegate to Jerusalem, Archbishop Antonio Franco, read a message of gratitude written by the Pope to Archbishop Sabbah, who was named patriarch in 1987.

In particular, the Holy Father emphasized the Nazareth-born prelate's dedication during these difficult decades in the Holy Land, which was expressed "without distinction of religious or social provenance."

Archbishop Twal then addressed the faithful, first in Arab and then in French. He had a special message of thanks for his predecessor.

The new patriarch announced that today, he would solemnly enter the Basilica of the Resurrection, "near the empty tomb, which reminds us of the reason for our joy: Christ is risen. He is truly risen!"

Fouad Twal was born in Jordan in 1940 and ordained a priest in 1966.

From 1977 to 1992, he served as a diplomat at the apostolic nunciature of Honduras, the council for public affairs at the Vatican secretariat of state, the apostolic nunciature in Germany, and the apostolic nunciature in Peru.

In 1992, he was named bishop of Tunis, Tunisia, and received episcopal ordination the following month. On May 31, 1995, he was made archbishop. On Sept. 8, 2005, Benedict XVI appointed him coadjutor for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.