Post #159

Topics: Maronite Church: And the Patriarch is...Lebanese Archbishop Bechara el-Rai: New Patriarch

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

“Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.” 

-----------------------

 “Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.”

"Support us, Lord, 

as with this Lenten fast

we begin our Christian warfare,

so that in doing battle against the spirit of evil

we may be armed with the weapon of self-denial.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen".

...and now for the necessaries.

Please note: St. Anthony Catholic Church is one of two local churches celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass (EFLR) in the Wichita area. Though this blog is loosely centered around this parish and it's members, Venite Missa Est! is by no means, in any way an official voice of, or for, St. Anthony Parish or the Diocese of Wichita. Venite Missa Est! is strictly a private layman's endeavor.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

And the Patriarch Is....

Whispers in the Loggia

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2011/03/and-patriarch-is.html

Shortly after 11am Lebanon time (5am ET), the bells began tolling at the Bkirki "conclave," with word emerging that Archbishop Beshara Rai of Jbeil, 71, had been elected head of the 3 million-member Maronite church, the Middle East's largest Catholic community.

According to the wire, the 77th patriarch of Antioch and the Whole Levant -- the first religious elected to the post in some time -- "is known as a moderate" who enjoys "good relations with all Lebanese factions although he is seen by some as being a supporter of the Western-backed coalition." (Rai is shown above entering a nationally-televised Mass today that followed his election and the Synod's emergence from a week of seclusion.)

In a statement, President Michel Suleiman said that Rai made for "the best successor to the best predecessor" -- a reference to the retiring patriarch, 91 year-old Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir -- while a former head of state praised the choice as "a man of unity."

His name meaning "sponsor of the good news" in Arabic, the patriarch will be formally enthroned on 25 March.

____________________________________

Lebanese Archbishop Bechara el-Rai New Patriarch

(AP) Associated Press

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hUtdjhVWrS4mi3vumAj28ZsGJuiw?docId=fbd92e0f974a4a90999e0bc8dd34959c

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's Maronite bishops on Tuesday elected Archbishop Bechara el-Rai as the new patriarch for the Middle East's largest Catholic church.

Results of the closed-door meetings were announced six days after the bishops started prayers and consultations at the church's seat in Bkirki, northeast of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Around 11 a.m. (0900 GMT), the bells at Bkirki tolled in a sign that the vote has ended. Shortly afterward the announcement was made public.

The 71-year-old el-Rai became patriarch after winning more than two-thirds of the votes of the 38 bishops. He is known as a moderate with good relations with all Lebanese factions although he is seen by some as being a supporter of Western-backed factions.

The Maronite Church has up to 5 million followers worldwide. Its head exerts significant influence in Lebanon, where Christians make up about 40 percent of the country's 4 million people.

The outgoing patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, was deeply involved in Lebanon's fractious politics. The 90-year-old Sfeir asked to be relieved of his post because of his age. Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation last month.