Fouad Twal

His Beatitude Fouad Twal البطريرك فؤاد طوال
Archbishop, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins
Archdiocese	Jerusalem
Province	Jerusalem
See	Jerusalem
Appointed	8 September 2005 (Coadjutor)
Installed	22 June 2008
Predecessor	Michel Sabbah
Other posts	President of the Conference of Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions President of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land Grand Prior of the Knights of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Orders
Ordination	29 June 1966
Consecration	22 July 1992 by Michel Sabbah
Personal details
Born	(1940-10-23) 23 October 1940 Madaba, Jordan
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Prelate of Tunis (1992–1995) Archbishop of Tunis (1995–2005)
Motto	Paratum cor meum My heart is ready (Psalm 107)
Coat of arms

Styles of Patriarch Fouad Twal
Reference style	His Beatitude
Spoken style	Your Beatitude
Religious style	Monsignor
Posthumous style	n/a

Fouad Twal (Arabic: البطريرك فؤاد طوال‎‎) (born 23 October 1940 in Madaba, Jordan) is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since June 2008. He is also the Grand Prior of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and serves as the President for the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land.

Biography

He was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1966. After his ordination he was the vicar of Ramallah. In 1972 he entered the Pontifical Lateran University where he studied for a doctorate in canon law. He was awarded his doctorate in 1975. He was appointed the prelate of the territorial prelature of Tunis by Pope John Paul II on 30 May 1992. He was consecrated to the episcopate on 22 July later that year with principal consecrator Patriarch Michel Sabbah. On 31 May 1995, the territorial prelature was elevated to become the Diocese of Tunis, and Twal was made an archbishop ad personam. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI named him the coadjutor archbishop of Jerusalem. He succeeded Michel Sabbah as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem on 21 June 2008 and enthroned at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem on 22 June.

On 29 June 2008, Fouad Twal received the pallium at the hands of Pope Benedict XVI at a Mass in the Basilica of Saint Peter.

In 2008, he explained his understanding of the situation of Israel and the Palestinian Territories and their people: "We receive a lot of help and we are grateful but at the same time we say we need more. What we need is peace. We don’t only want to be a begging Church, we don't want to be beggars with a licence. I don't like this. We need a political horizon, it's time to put an end to the Wall, the Checkpoints, it's time for a Palestinian State, it's time for an end to our problems with visas."

On 19 February 2014 he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

Additional positions

• Grand Prior of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
• President ex officio of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land
• President ex officio of the Conference of Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions
• member, Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the East
• member of the following dicastery of the Roman Curia
  • Congregation for the Oriental Churches
  • Pontifical Council for the Family

Gallery

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  Patriarch Twal in 2009.

See also

• Palestinian Christians
• Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem

References

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Michel Callens	Prelate of Tunis 1992–1995	Succeeded by elevated
Preceded by None first	Bishop of Tunis 1995–2005	Succeeded by Maroun Elias Nimeh Lahham
Preceded by Michel Sabbah	Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem 2008 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent