Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her (Is. 66,10)

 

Dearest brothers and sisters,

 

May the Lord give you peace!

 

With gratitude and joy I announce to you that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has designated Fr. Jamal Deibes and Fr. Rafic Nahra as Auxiliary Bishops for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Strengthened by the fullness of priestly ministry both Bishops-elect will continue their respective missions as Patriarchal Vicar for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Patriarchal Vicar for Israel.

 

Fr Jamal and Fr Rafic, both born and raised here in the East, have exercised priestly ministry for many years and have now been called from the very bosom of the Mother Church to be Successors of the Apostles with the mandate to teach, govern and sanctify the People of God.

 

Dear brothers and sisters, earthly Jerusalem and heavenly Jerusalem join in prayer and celebration for these brothers of ours who have been elevated to episcopal dignity. In the name of the entire Latin Patriarchate, I wish the Bishops-elect every success and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Palestine, I invoke upon them the blessing of Almighty God.

 

Given in our Patriarchate on 11 March 2022, the Memorial of Saint Sophronius.

 

† Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

 

Fr. Jamal Daibes 

Fr. Jamal Daibes was born in Zababdeh, Palestine on July 7th, 1964. After joining the Minor Seminary of the Latin Patriarchate, he completed his studies in the Major Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood by His Beatitude Patriarch Michel Sabbah. After serving as Parish Vicar in Amman, he was appointed Parish priest in Al Wahadneh where he served for 4 years. In 1994 Fr. Daibes was then sent to complete studies in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome where he received the degree of Doctor in Theology with a dissertation on the dialogue between the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches. He has taught at the Latin Patriarchal Seminary and has since then served in various positions at Bethlehem University, where, in 2008, he was made Dean of the College of Arts. In 2009, Fr. Jamal was invested Canon of the Holy Sepulcher by His Beatitude Patriarch Fouad Twal. From 2013 to 2017, he was rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Beit Jala. In 2017, he was appointed parish priest in Ramallah, and in 2019 he was appointed Director of the Latin Patriarchate Schools in Palestine. On August 15, 2021, Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa appointed him as Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan.

 

Fr. Rafic Nahra

Father Rafic Nahra, of Franco-Lebanese nationality, was born on January 27, 1959, in Ismailia, Egypt, to a Lebanese family. He grew up in Lebanon and, at the age of 20, he went to France to study engineering. In 1985, he completed a PhD in engineering at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, and then worked as an engineer for two years.

In 1987, having become a seminarian for the diocese of Paris, he was sent to the French seminary in Rome for his ecclesiastical studies. He obtained a bachelor's degree in theology from the Gregorian University in 1991, and a bachelor's degree in Scripture from the Biblical Institute of Rome in 1994. As part of his biblical studies, he was sent to Jerusalem from February to September 1993.

Ordained a priest in 1992 by Bishop Jean-Marie Lustiger for the Diocese of Paris, he received various pastoral and academic assignments: from 1994 to 2001, he was spiritual director at the Maison Saint-Augustin and teacher of biblical exegesis at the École Cathédrale de Paris; from 2001 to 2004, he was vicar at the parish of Saint-François de Molitor, while teaching biblical exegesis.

Being committed to interreligious dialogue, the diocese of Paris sent him to Jerusalem in 2004 on a study mission. He completed a Master's degree in Jewish thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Thanks to his studies, he served the Maronite parish of Jerusalem and began to serve in the Vicariate of St. James for Hebrew-speaking Catholics, particularly in the work of liturgical translation.

From September 2007 until September 2011, he ministered between Paris and Jerusalem: six months a year in Paris, where he was curate at the parish of Saint-Augustin, teaching and directing the research center "Judaism and Christianity" at the Collège des Bernardins; and six months serving as a priest in the Saint James Vicariate. During these same years, he began a Doctorate in Judeo-Arabic literature to obtain, in 2017, the title of Doctor of Philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In September 2014, he was appointed parish priest of the Hebrew-speaking Catholic Community of Jerusalem, who gathers at the convent of Saint Symeon and Saint Anne. 

In September 2017, he succeeded Fr. David Neuhaus as coordinator for the Pastoral Care of Migrants in Israel. In October 2017, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, appointed him Patriarchal Vicar of the Vicariate of St. James for Hebrew-speaking Catholics, and on Pentecost 2018, he also appointed him Patriarchal Vicar for Migrants and Asylum Seekers.

In September 2021, H.B. Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem, appointed him Patriarchal Vicar for Israel.