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.
