Giuseppe Valerga
Giuseppe Valerga ( born April 9, 1813 in Loano, Italy, † December 2, 1872 in Jerusalem) was a Catholic Bishop, Patriarch of Jerusalem and participated in the First Vatican Council.
Life
Giuseppe Valerga studied at Albenga seminar and at the Sapienza University of Rome. He received on 17 January 1836, the ordination. He worked for the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, in particular, he took care of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Pope Pius IX. appointed him in 1847 to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the only Catholic Patriarchs in the East, who belonged to the Roman rite. The episcopal ordination was donated to him on October 10, 1847 by the pontiff himself. It is recorded that the Pope here marveling at the mighty beard of the priest and in this respect said: " Even this beard alone deserves a very special award! "
About his work in the Holy Land says the portal " day evangelic " as follows:
" On January 16, 1848, he made his entry into Jerusalem. He was an extraordinarily energetic Oberhirt who has, on 2 December 1872 blessing worked until his death. In many languages, he could listen and speak from home Italian, including French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic forward to the University, later to Turkish, Kurdish and Chaldean. From 1854 to 1857 he built in Bet - Jala near Bethlehem his seminary for diocesan priests and familiar training the White Fathers of the French Cardinal Lavigerie on. In 1860 he took over about 100 meters from the Custodie in the northwest corner of the Old Town a terrain in which he built his spacious residence. Since the tomb and resurrection of the Lord's Church, the Cathedral, this is also used by four Orthodox churches of the Greeks, the Armenians, the Syrians and the Copts, a Pro-Cathedral is useful; traditionally this is the Church of the Custodie, the Holy Savior, Salvator, consecrated, as in Rome, the Lateran basilica also. The newly built church at the new patriarchal, its cathedral, then, he called also co- cathedral, but consecrated it, unlike the Franciscan Co - Cathedral, the Holy Name of Jesus. The new Patriarch left the Franciscan Co - Cathedral of the Holy Saviour in the upper floor of the Custodie new build and could not inaugurate in 1872; He also built five charitable institutions and 1852-1869, eleven new parishes, namely Beth Jala, Beth- sahur, Jifna, Lod, Ramallah, Taybeh, Bir Zeit, Nablus, As Salt, Shafamr and Yafet to - Naasera. "
From 1847 until his death in 1872, he was also Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy grave.
He died from the effects of typhoid fever and was buried in the church of the Patriarchate.
Two of his brothers were also priests, one of whom Charles Hyacinth Valerga (1818-1864), Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of Quilon in India; a sister lived as a nun.