Chosen to lead the province of Franciscans entrusted with pastoral and patrimonial care in the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo is a former educator from Italy.
Pope Leo XIV has confirmed the election of Franciscan Father Francesco Ielpo as “Custos of the Holy Land and Guardian of Mount Zion” in Jerusalem, the Holy See Press Office announced on June 24, 2025. In simple terms, this means he’s been named the head of the Franciscan province known as The Custody of the Holy Land. This organization has been responsible for the care of the Holy Places in Jerusalem since the 13th century.
Father Francesco Ielpo has become the 169th “Custos” (which means “guardian” or “protector” in Latin) of the organization. The first, according to tradition, was St. Francis of Assisi himself.
The Italian priest succeeds his compatriot Francesco Patton, who has been in office since 2016.
A former educator from Italy
Born in 1970, Francesco Ielpo took his vows in the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor in 1998 and received ordination to the priesthood in 2000. Appointed rector of the Franciscanum Institute in Brescia the same year, this former religion teacher (1994-2010) was a member of the Italian council of the Federation of Institutes of Educational Activity from 2006 to 2010. He was also the "definitor" (right-hand man of the provincial) of the Lombardy province of his order from 2007 to 2010.
After three years as parish priest in Varese, he was appointed commissioner of the Holy Land for his province, a position he held from 2013 to 2023.
In 2014, he became a member of the Pro Terra Sancta Association, which provides financial support to Christian communities in the Holy Land.
In 2022, he was appointed president of the Holy Land Foundation, the cultural institution dependent on the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. He also became delegate of the Custos in Italy and general delegate of his order for the restructuring of the Franciscan provinces in southern Italy.
The new Custos was chosen by the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, Italian Massimo Fusarelli, and his Definitor, Mexican Ignacio Ceja Jiménez.
The Custody of the Holy Land has the mission of praying at the Holy Places (particularly those located on Mount Zion in Jerusalem), serving Christians in the region, and welcoming pilgrims.
In his mission, the custodian works with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, currently Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who himself was custodian of the Holy Land from 2004 to 2016.
