Giuseppe Valerga (9 April 1813 – 2 December 1872) was the

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ( la, Patriarchatus Latinus Hierosolymitanus) is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was originally established in 1099, wit ...

from 1847 until his death in 1872; the first resident such since the

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. He held the title of one of the fathers of the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

. In addition, he was Grand Master of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

Biography

Valerga was born in

Loano Loano ( lij, Leua) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. Loano borders the following municipalities: Bardineto, Boissano, Borghet ...

. In 1836 he was ordained a priest. He studied at the Albenga Seminary and at

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a Public university, public research university l ...

. Prior to receiving his appointment at Jerusalem, Valerga had been part of the ''

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'' and had also worked with the

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

, in what is today

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In his efforts to reestablish the Latin Patriarchate, Valerga strove to make the Catholic faith the religion of the Palestinian villagers. The new patriarch "established Latin missions in Palestinian towns and villages where Christian communities resided, such as Bayt Jala (1853), Jifna and Lidda (1856), Ramallah (1857), Bir Zayt and Tayba (1859) and Nablus (1862)". While serving as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, he was the last individual to have been dubbed as a

Knight of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

by the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Custody of the Holy Land The Custody of the Holy Land (Latin: ''Custodia Terræ Sanctæ'') is a Custos (Franciscans), custodian priory of the Order of Friars Minor in Jerusalem, founded as the ''Province of the Holy Land'' in 1217 by Saint Francis of Assisi, who had also ...

, on 16 January 1848. He was subsequently appointed Grand Master of the

at its reconstitution by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

in 1868. Shalit notes that "when the patriarch ceremoniously entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the French and Sardinian consuls both marched beside him - the French on the right, and the Sardinian on the left. This clearly indicated the special position of the Sardinian at the expense of the Frenchman. The patriarch's patriotism made him supportive of the Sardinian policy, which aimed at an independent Sardinian protectorate to parallel the French protectorate."Shalit, p. 50

Co-Cathedral

Valerga envisioned the importance of providing a new church to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The

Co-Cathedral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus The Co-Cathedral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, also known as the Holy Name of Jesus Co-Cathedral, is the co-cathedral, or technical '' cathedra'' of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City o ...

was constructed and consecrated on 11 February 1872, the 25th anniversary of his Patriarchal consecration. The Co-Cathedral has continued to be the principal or “mother” church of the Diocese of Jerusalem, and the church in which the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem has his official chair (cathedra).

Distinctions

* : Grand Master of the

(Knighted 16 January 1848 by the

)

References

Sources

Catholic Hierarchy entry
*,

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*, lpj.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Valerga, Giuseppe 1813 births 1872 deaths People from the Province of Savona 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem Sapienza University of Rome alumni Grand Masters of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre