The Heart of All Nations

Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa, O.F.M., has lived, studied, and worked in the Holy Land since 1990, first as a student of Scripture, then as the custodian of the Holy Land, and finally as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

He describes his role as "part radical and part museum curator--a radical in preaching and living the Gospel, but a protector of the Christian memory, faith, heritage and story that weave us into one believing people over the centuries".

But he is more. Cardinal Pizzaballa has led his flock hopefully and unflinchingly through the horrors of war, offering his own life during the hostage situation of October 7, 2023, and calling constantly for an end to hostilities. Through years of darkness, he has spurred the persecuted Christians of the Holy Land to "a vibrant testimony of faith and belonging".

Imbued with the spirit of Saint Francis, this beautiful work includes many talks from Pizzaballa's years as Custos and Apostolic Administrator of Jerusalem, as well as a robust appendix of material from his time as patriarch. "As the Apostle Paul spoke about the breadth and length and height and depth of God's love (Eph 3:18)," explains scholar Jeff Cavins, "so Cardinal Pizzaballa speaks of the breadth and length and height and depth of the Holy Land."

What Jerusalem--the heart of all nations--teaches us is that when the Word becomes flesh, He truly enters human history, in all its complexity and brutality. With a prayerful yet realistic gaze, His Eminence searches the mysteries that wrap the land where Jesus walked, bringing it to life before our eyes.

Is there hope for peace in Jerusalem, indeed, the world? Yes--through Christ alone. The Heart of All Nations calls Christians not only to experience Jesus' radical peace in their hearts, but to bear it courageously into a turbulent age.

Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa is an Italian member of the Order of Friars Minor and a biblical scholar, with degrees from the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome, the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2004, he was appointed Custos of the Holy Land. In 2016, he became the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which includes Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Cyprus, becoming Patriarch in 2020.