At a ceremony in Rome, the Council of Christians and Jews has awarded its annual award to His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The ceremony took place on 28th October, the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and was generously hosted at the Anglican Centre in Rome by Bishop Anthony Ball, the Director of the Centre.

A delegation of senior UK Jewish and Christian leaders travelled to Rome to present the Bridge Award and to attend an international gathering at the Vatican hosted by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. The delegation included CCJ President Rabbi Josh Levy, Progressive Judaism Co-Lead; Rev Canon Mark Madden representing the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, CCJ Trustees including Dr Ed Kessler, CCJ Chair Bishop Sarah Bullock, CCJ Vice President Henry Grunwald, and more.

Cardinal Pizzaballa is The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the most senior Roman Catholic post in the Holy Land. A Franciscan, he has served as priest in the region for more than 35 years, working amongst Palestinian Catholics as well Hebrew-speaking Catholics and leading interfaith dialogue. He was made Cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023. He made international headlines in October 2023 after he offered himself in exchange for the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, and he has been an outspoken advocate for Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City.

The day of the award ceremony, the 28th of October, also marks the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the significant Vatican II document which marked a positive turning in the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching about Judaism and an openness to interfaith dialogue.

On receiving the award, His Beatitude Cardinal Pizzaballa said:
“I am honoured to receive this award from CCJ, an organization which models the kind of dialogue and hard work we need in the world today. The pain and destruction in the Middle East are very real, but there is hope for a better future. Now is the time to begin building bridges, and I hope Christians can play a key role in this.”

Bishop Sarah Bullock, Chair of CCJ, said:
“His Beatitude is a courageous advocate for interfaith dialogue, peace and safety for all in the Middle East. In this anniversary year of Nostra Aetate, we need this vision of hope again.”

Rabbi Josh Levy, CCJ President and Co-Lead of Progressive Judaism, said:
“His Beatitude’s recognition of the pain felt by Jews around the world after the October 7th attacks – as well as the pain felt by so many over innocent suffering in Gaza – has been a model for us all.”

Introduced in 2017 for CCJ’s 75th anniversary, the Bridge Award is an annual award for someone who has made an exceptional and leading contribution to building bridges between peoples, in a Christian-Jewish or wider setting. Recent recipients include His Majesty King Charles III; the late former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, scholar Amy-Jill Levine, Lord (Jacob) Rothschild z’l, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z’l, and the Smith family for their work on Holocaust education. The most recent recipient is Holocaust survivor and educator Mala Tribich MBE.