Michele Piccirillo (1944 – 2008) was a Franciscan priest and scholar of Byzantine archaeology. He was born in Casanove di Arinola, Italy, joined the Franciscan brotherhood in 1960, became a priest in 1969 at the age of 25, and joined the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land soon after. In addition to his pastoral and theological vocation, Father Piccirillo was a renowned archaeologist, having excavated at some of the earliest churches in the Holy Land. 

Indeed, we owe a great deal to Father Piccirillo’s life work. It is because of him that we have been able to reconstruct a picture of four centuries of art and history previously lost to us. He brought to light the mosaic in the diaconicon at the Memorial of Moses in Nebo. He realized the excavation of the Church of the Virgin at Madaba, uncovering a complete reading of the dedicatory inscription there. He identified the city of Umm el-Rassas-Kastron Mefaa, mentioned several times in the Old Testament, and made many other strides in our understanding of biblical history.

His mastery lay in his commitment not only to archaeology as a science, but also his devotion to understanding, documenting and restoring the artistic work he found laying in the rubble. In the mosaics of Jordan, he saw not only works of individual achievement, but also the remnants of entire artistic movements. Father Piccirillo helped us to learn more about the masters who designed the mosaic floors in the many sacred spaces that were scattered across Jordan in the Byzantine era. He was a great admirer of those masters and was determined to keep their craft and artistry alive. 

This commitment eventually led him to undertake several efforts to preserve, restore, and cultivate artistic traditions throughout Jordan, Syria, and Palestine. He cofounded the Madaba Mosaic School in Jordan, developing it over time into the Madaba School for Mosaic Art and Restoration. He worked in mosaic studies and preservation in Syria, in particular, related to the Church of the Holy Martyrs at Tayibat al-Imam near Hama, and, toward the end of his life, made his way to the cradle of Christianity, Bethlehem, where he would have one final legacy take root—the beginnings of the Piccirillo Handicraft Center.