Custodian of The Holy Land

The Custodian of the Holy Land (also called the International Custodian of the Holy Land) is an officer of the Franciscan order, appointed by the General Definitorium of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, with the approval of the Pope and the Holy See. The Custodian, or Custos, is the head of all Franciscans in the Holy Land. The office is part of the Order of Friars Minor, and works closely with the Order in the Holy Land.

On 15 May 2004, Pierbattista Pizzaballa was appointed Custodian of the Holy Land, succeeding Giovanni Battistelli, who held the office for six years.

Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born at Cologno al Serio on 21 April 1965. He was ordained a priest in September 1990.

Today, the jurisdiction of the Custodian covers Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and the islands of 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 at Nazareth.

The custodian's offices are at the St. Savior's monastery, a 16th century Franciscan monastery near New Gate.

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