On Sunday, July 9, 2023, His Holiness Pope Francis announced a consistory for the creation of new cardinals from around the world to be held at the Vatican on 30 September 2023. According to the nominations, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa has been elevated to the rank of cardinal.

The other Cardinal-elects hail from around the world. Among them are the Prefects of the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez; of the Dicastery for Bishops, Archbishop Robert Francis Prevost; and of the Dicastery for Oriental Churches, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti. The Holy Father also named as cardinals:  Bishop Stephen Chriw Sau-yan of Hong Kong; and Apostolic Nunzio to the United States Archbishop Christophe Pierre.

The Holy Father announced he would hold a consistory for the creation of 21 new cardinals on 30 September 2023 in the Vatican. The Consistory falls before the beginning of the Synod on Synodality, set to take place with representatives from all over the world in October.

"I would like to announce that next 30 September,I will hold a Consistory for the appointment of new cardinals. Where they come from expresses the universality of the Church, which continues to proclaim the merciful love of God to all people of the earth. In addition, the insertion of the new cardinals in the Diocese of Rome manifests the inseparable bond between the Holy See of Peter and the local Churches spread throughout the world,'', the Holy Father said.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio (Bergamo) on 21 April 1965. He attended secondary school at the Minor Seminary “Le Grazie” of Rimini and obtained his diploma in classical studies at the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Ferrara on June 1984.

He received the Franciscan religious habit on September 5, 1984, in Ferrara (Santo Spirito) and spent the year of novitiate at the Franciscan Shrine of La Verna (Arezzo, Italy). He made his Temporary Profession in La Verna, on September 7, 1985, and his Solemn Profession on October 10, 1989, in the Church of St. Anthony in Bologna. On September 15, 1990, he was ordained priest in the cathedral church of Bologna, with the imposition of hands of Cardinal Giacomo Biffi. 

After spending one year in Rome, he was transferred to the Holy Land, in Jerusalem, in October 1990. From July 2, 1999, he formally entered in service to the Custody of the Holy Land. After his philosophical-theological studies, he obtained a Licenciate Degree in Biblical Theology at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem. His Beatitude Pizzaballa is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.