James Joseph Beltritti; Priest Dedicated to Helping Palestinians

James Joseph Beltritti, 82, the former Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Beltritti, who was born in Italy in 1910, served as head of the Roman Catholic Church in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Jordan and Cyprus from 1970 to 1987. As such, he was the highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate in the region. Beltritti came to the Holy Land in 1926 and studied for the priesthood at the church-sponsored seminary in Beit Jala on the West Bank. He was ordained in 1933. At the founding of the Jewish state in 1948 and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967, he dedicated himself to helping Palestinians who became refugees. He was named Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1970 and was known for his work in drawing young Palestinians into the priesthood and enlarging the Roman Catholic school system, which now has more than 20,000 students. He retired in 1987 to a monastery at Deir Rafat, west of Jerusalem. He was replaced by Archbishop Michel Sabbah, the first Palestinian to hold the post. In Jerusalem on Sunday of unreported causes.