Wednesday, 17 April 2024

Cardinal Pizzaballa postpones taking possession of the titular church in Rome

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has cancelled his planned trip to Rome due to the current situation in the Middle East

He was due to take possession of his titular church of Sant'Onofrio there on Monday. 

The ceremony has been postponed to a date yet to be determined, his secretary confirmed to the Catholic News Agency (KNA) in Jerusalem on Sunday evening.

The assignment of a titular church in Rome confirms the assignment of the cardinals to the Pope's local church in his diocese of Rome

Some cardinals maintain a close relationship with their titular church in Rome, its parish priest and the parishioners. 

Others limit themselves to occasional church services when they visit the Eternal City.

The church of Sant'Onofrio, built in the early 15th century, is located near the Vatican on the ascent to the Gianicolo hill, right next to the Vatican's Bambino Gesu children's hospital. 

The church has been the seat of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem since 1945, when Pope Pius XII decided to move it from Jerusalem to Rome.