Francesco

Newly appointed Patriarch arrives in Venice by Marco Secchi

The Patriarch of Venice (Latin: Patriarcha Venetiarum, Italian: Patriarca di Venezia) is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few Patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church (currently five Latin sees, including the Diocese of Rome itself, are accorded the title of Patriarchate, together with Lisbon, the East Indies and Jerusalem). Currently, the only advantage of this purely formal title is the bishop's place of honour in papal processions.VENICE, ITALY - MARCH 25:  Ã? The recently appointed Patriarch of Venice Francesco Moraglia sails the Grand Canal on an official gondola heading towards  St Mark's Cathedral on March 25, 2012 in Venice, Italy. The Patriarch of Venice is the smallest of the Italian dioceses but one of the oldest, created in 774. Three of the last seven Italian Pontiffs were Patriarch of Venice.  (Photo by Marco Secchi/Getty Images) (Marco Secchi/Getty Images)

The Arrival of Francesco Moraglia Patriarch of Venice (Few more images are here)

The diocese of Venice was created in 774 as suffragan of the Patriarchate of Grado. It was only in 1457[1] that, in consideration of the political influence of the city, its bishops were accorded the title of patriarch by the Pope.

By tradition, the Patriarch of Venice is created a cardinal at the consistory following his appointment, although the Pope is not bound by law to do so. A large number of the prelates holding this office have been elected Pope. Three of these were in the 20th century alone: Pope Pius X (1903), Pope John XXIII (1958) and Pope John Paul I (1978).