In 1201 the chapter of the metropolitan cathedral of Ravenna requested him as their archbishop, but the pope chose not to ratify this since he wished to keep the cardinal in his court in Rome.
Until the end of May 1202, when he finally set out for the Holy Land, Soffredo remained in the curia and represented the prosecution in several trials.
Arriving in Acre, he moved to Tripoli[clarification needed] to end the succession dispute between Bohemond IV of Antioch and Leo II of Armenia - a conflict which had held back the crusader forces.
On 16 August 1203 the pope made Soffredo patriarch of Jerusalem, but dismissed him from the post the following year.
Capuano remained there but Soffredo travelled on to the kingdom of Thessalonica, ruled over by Boniface I of Monferrato, to thank him for his assistance in establishing the Latin clergy in the new empire.