Pope Leo XIV has confirmed the election — conducted by the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor together with his Definitory — of the Most Reverend Father Francesco Lelpo, OFM, as Custos of the Holy Land and Guardian of Mount Zion.

The Minister General of the Franciscan Order, Friar Massimo Fusarelli, announced the news in an official letter sent to the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land.

Father Francesco Lelpo, OFM

Br Francesco Lelpo, an Italian national, was born in Lauria (PZ) on May 18, 1970. He professed his solemn vows in 1998 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2000. From 1994 to 2010, he served as a religious education teacher and, since 2000, as Rector of the Franciscanum Luzzago Institute in Brescia. Between 2006 and 2010, he was a member of the National Council of FIDAE (Federation of Educational Activity Institutes), and from 2007 to 2010, served as Provincial Definitor of the Lombard Province.

From 2010 to 2013, he ministered as parish priest of the Franciscan Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua in Varese. In September 2013, he was appointed Commissioner of the Holy Land for Lombardy, with his mandate extended in 2016 to include the entire Province of Northern Italy. Since 2014, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Pro Terra Sancta Association. Since 2022, he has also held the role of President of the Holy Land Foundation, while simultaneously serving as Delegate of the Custos of the Holy Land for Italy and as General Delegate for the restructuring of the Provinces in Campania, Basilicata, and Calabria.

Custody of the Holy Land welcomes new Custos

In a press release announcing the election, the Custody of the Holy Land extended "heartfelt wishes for a fruitful service in this 'Pearl of the Missions'" of the Franciscan Order. 

The statement also expressed "the profound gratitude of the Minister General and his Definitory to Br Francesco Patton, who concludes his dedicated and generous nine-year service to the mission in the Holy Land."

Room for the Holy Spirit

In a statement to the Vatican media, Father Lelpo emphasized how “the service that the Order and the Church have asked of me immediately made me realize the enormous disproportion between my humble self and the duty required of me, particularly at this moment in history”.

He recalled the words of his spiritual father, who told him, "This disproportion, this inability, is beautiful! Because it means that there is room for someone else to act, for the Holy Spirit to act!"

Father Lelpo concluded, "So, as on the day of my religious profession, I entrust myself to God, to the Church, to my Order and to my brothers!"