Giovanni Battistelli
Giovanni Battistelli OFM (born December 28, 1933 in Spello , Umbria , Italy ; † October 20, 2011 in Montefalco , Umbria, Italy) was an Italian religious and from 1998 to 2004 curator of the Holy Land .
Life
Giovanni Battistelli attended the Collegio Serafico della Provincia Serafica di S. Francesco d'Assisi dell'Umbria , then the high schools in Città di Castello and Perugia (1949–1951). On August 13, 1951 he joined the Franciscan convent of Amelia in Terni and made his first vows on August 14, 1952. He studied philosophy at the religious seminary in San Damiano and theology at the religious college in Portiunkula . He made his solemn profession on September 8, 1955. In 1959 he was ordained a deacon in the Patriarchate Church of Jerusalem. On June 29, 1960, he was ordained a priest by Alberto Gori , the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. He completed a degree in Oriental Sciences at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome in 1963. From 1963 he spent many years of his religious life in the Near and Middle East, especially in Egypt.
Giovanni Battistelli was elected by the Definitory General, the highest governing body of the Franciscans in Rome, and appointed by decree of the Holy See in 1998. Until 2004 he was the canonical superior of the Custody of the Holy Land and carried the title of Custos (= Guardian) of the Holy Land.
During his tenure he witnessed the pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II (2000), the outbreak of the second Intifada (2000-2004) and, in April 2002, the siege by the Israeli forces of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem , where a large group of Palestinian militants gathered had entrenched.
Individual evidence
- ^ "Morte di Padre Giovanni Battistelli OFM" , Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem , accessed on December 28, 2016 (Italian)
- ↑ "Rev.mo padre Giovanni Battistelli OFM" , Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem , accessed on 28 December 2016 (Italian)
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Giuseppe Nazzaro OFM |
 Custodian of the Holy Land 1998-2004 |
Pierbattista Pizzaballa |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Battistelli, Giovanni |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian chaplain and curator of the Holy Land |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 28, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Spello , Umbria , Italy |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 20, 2011 |
| Place of death | Montefalco , Umbria , Italy |