Fouad Twal

His Beatitude Fouad Twal
Archbishop of Jerusalem Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Grand Prior of the Knights of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Church	Latin Rite Catholic
Province	Jerusalem
Diocese	Jerusalem
See	Jerusalem
Enthroned	22 June 2008
Reign ended	Incumbent
Predecessor	Michel Sabbah
Other posts	Concurrent: President of the Conference of Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions President of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land
Orders
Ordination	29 June 1966
Consecration	22 July 1992
Personal details
Born	October 23, 1940 (1940-10-23) Madaba, Jordan

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

Patriarch Fouad Twal (Arabic: البطريرك فؤاد طوال‎) (born 23 October 1940 in Madaba, Jordan) is a Jordanian Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since June 2008. Twal is also the Grand Prior of the Knights 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 June 29, 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 May 31, 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 June 21, 2008 and enthroned at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem on June 22.

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 Palestine and its 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."

Additional positions

He is also:

• Grand Prior of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher
• 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

See also

• Jordanian 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 None	Coadjutor Archbishop of Jerusalem 2005 - 2008	Succeeded by none
Preceded by Michel Sabbah	Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem 2008 — present	Succeeded by Incumbent