Jerusalem, Jun. 23, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Archbishop Fouad Twal was installed on June 21 as the Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem, succeeding Archbishop Michel Sabbah.
A native of Jordan with a long background in Vatican diplomacy, Archbishop Twal was named in 2005 as coadjutor to Archbishop Sabbah, with the right of succession. His installation as Patriarch was scheduled after Archbishop Sabbah reached his 75th birthday on March 19, 2008, and submitted his resignation in accordance with canon law.
Archbishop Sabbah, the first Palestinian native ever to serve as Latin-rite Patriarch, was often a source of controversy because of his unabashed support for the Palestinian cause. Archbishop Twal was expected to play a more low-profile role, in keeping with his diplomatic background.
Prior to his appointment as coadjutor in Jerusalem, Archbishop Twal had been Bishop of Tunis. His appointment there in 1992 raised speculation that his mission would include an an effort to establish contacts with PLO leader Yasser Arafat, who lived in Tunis for several years after being driven from Lebanon in 1982. But Arafat left Tunisia in 1994, in the wake of the Oslo accords, to set up headquarters in the Gaza Strip. When he arrived in Jerusalem in 2005, the new coadjutor told reporters that he would use the next few years, before the expected resignation of Archbishop Sabbah, to improve his acquaintance with the sensitive region.
The installation ceremonies in Jerusalem on June 21 were attended by the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Franco, and by Cardinal John Foley, the grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. While the Te Deum was being chanted, Patriarch Twal venerated a relic of the Holy Sepulchre.