Cardinal Pizzaballa Brought in as Contender for the Papacy

With Pope Francis’s health in visible decline, more and more are discussing who the next pope could be. One of the contenders who has recently caught media attention is Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the first patriarch of Jerusalem.

Unherd published an article titled “Could Pierbattista Pizzaballa Be the Next Pope?”

Francis is increasingly infirm and often unable to undertake the travel that is part of the modern papacy—he was, for instance, absent from the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris earlier this month. The film of the Robert Harris novel Conclave is currently in cinemas, but before long we could be watching the drama of a real papal election.
—Unherd

A new contender:

Pierbattista Pizzaballa is a name that deserves to be world famous. Very soon, it might be. It belongs to one of the most intriguing figures in the Catholic Church, who’s recently emerged as a leading candidate for the top job. … Until last year, he wasn’t even a cardinal. And yet upon receiving his red hat he was suddenly catapulted into the ranks of the papabili. … By next Christmas, or the one after that, Pizzaballa could be pope—and it’s only then that his brother bishops will discover the full measure of the man.
—Unherd

The Italian Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the first patriarch of Jerusalem in the College of Cardinals, also has courage. In the minefield of the Middle East, the 59-year-old has been proving himself as a skillful diplomat and dialogue partner for years. His style is “Franciscan” and unclerical; his language both understandable and pious. He is just as familiar with Jewish and Islamic leaders as he is with those of the Orthodox Church. All of this would be an advantage in a future conclave.
—katholische.de

Dramatic change expected: The Trumpet is expecting the Catholic Church to soon take on a far more powerful role in European affairs, almost certainly under the leadership of a new pope. To learn more, request a free copy of The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy.