Relics of Lebanese saints welcomed in Rome. In the last 40 years, Lebanon has been blessed with saints who inspired millions: Saint Charbel Makhlouf, whom Pope Paul VI canonized on October 9th, 1977;…More
Relics of Lebanese saints welcomed in Rome.
In the last 40 years, Lebanon has been blessed with saints who inspired millions: Saint Charbel Makhlouf, whom Pope Paul VI canonized on October 9th, 1977; Rafqa Rayess, whom Pope John Paul II canonized on June 10th, 2001; and Nimatullah al-Hardini, canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 16th, 2004.
On the sidelines of celebrations marking the 1600th anniversary of the entrance of St. Maroun into heaven, the Maronite parish in Rome welcomed into its church of Saint Maroun, in the Maronite college, the relics of the saints of Lebanon. “The heart of this celebration are the saints of our land, and our country, our people, our own flesh and blood,” said Father Paul Azzi, representative of the Lebanese Maronite Order to the Holy See, in his homily during the celebration on April 18.
Fr. Azzi urged the Lebanese to maintain their friendship with the saints, and he prayed the three saints would accompany the priests of the Maronite college in Rome.
“We ask the intercession of Charbel who contemplated God, and Al Hardini the leader, and Rafqa who suffered in silence in front of the Cross, for our priest students in this Maronite college, especially in this Jubilee Year, the year of Saint Maroun, who taught us the message, the sacrifice, the unity, and the hermitic life. He is the father of saints, and father of the Maronites and the Maronite community.”
Charbel, Rafqa and Al Hardini were not the only people who followed the way of Holiness. Father Azzi, who is also the postulator for the cause of Maronite saints in Rome, announced other future important events:
“Today we make a new announcement, the beatification of the venerable Brother Istephan Nimeh, who lived following the steps of Charbel, Rafca and Al Hardini, present today in their relics in the Church of Saint Maroun in Rome.
“And we hope that the student of this Maronite college, Maronite Patriarch Istephan Al Dowaihy, who studied in Rome and earned a doctorate in philosophy and in theology, soon will be beatified. Pope Benedict XVI made him venerable on July 3, 2008. We hope to start his beatification cause soon and we hope he becomes the patron of this school because he was a great patriarch and great example for those who will become the patriarchs and bishops and priests of the future and are studying in this Maronite institute.”
Of all the Eastern Churches, the Maronite Church is the only one which did not originate in the Orthodox tradition; it was united to the See of Rome, to which it has always remained faithful. This community, founded on the tomb of St. Maroun in the 5th century, is related to the Syriac tradition of Antioch, and counts over 3 million faithful around the world.
For the Jubilee year, Pope Benedict XVI granted his permission to put a statue of St Maroun in the last niche available in the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican.
In the last 40 years, Lebanon has been blessed with saints who inspired millions: Saint Charbel Makhlouf, whom Pope Paul VI canonized on October 9th, 1977; Rafqa Rayess, whom Pope John Paul II canonized on June 10th, 2001; and Nimatullah al-Hardini, canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 16th, 2004.
On the sidelines of celebrations marking the 1600th anniversary of the entrance of St. Maroun into heaven, the Maronite parish in Rome welcomed into its church of Saint Maroun, in the Maronite college, the relics of the saints of Lebanon. “The heart of this celebration are the saints of our land, and our country, our people, our own flesh and blood,” said Father Paul Azzi, representative of the Lebanese Maronite Order to the Holy See, in his homily during the celebration on April 18.
Fr. Azzi urged the Lebanese to maintain their friendship with the saints, and he prayed the three saints would accompany the priests of the Maronite college in Rome.
“We ask the intercession of Charbel who contemplated God, and Al Hardini the leader, and Rafqa who suffered in silence in front of the Cross, for our priest students in this Maronite college, especially in this Jubilee Year, the year of Saint Maroun, who taught us the message, the sacrifice, the unity, and the hermitic life. He is the father of saints, and father of the Maronites and the Maronite community.”
Charbel, Rafqa and Al Hardini were not the only people who followed the way of Holiness. Father Azzi, who is also the postulator for the cause of Maronite saints in Rome, announced other future important events:
“Today we make a new announcement, the beatification of the venerable Brother Istephan Nimeh, who lived following the steps of Charbel, Rafca and Al Hardini, present today in their relics in the Church of Saint Maroun in Rome.
“And we hope that the student of this Maronite college, Maronite Patriarch Istephan Al Dowaihy, who studied in Rome and earned a doctorate in philosophy and in theology, soon will be beatified. Pope Benedict XVI made him venerable on July 3, 2008. We hope to start his beatification cause soon and we hope he becomes the patron of this school because he was a great patriarch and great example for those who will become the patriarchs and bishops and priests of the future and are studying in this Maronite institute.”
Of all the Eastern Churches, the Maronite Church is the only one which did not originate in the Orthodox tradition; it was united to the See of Rome, to which it has always remained faithful. This community, founded on the tomb of St. Maroun in the 5th century, is related to the Syriac tradition of Antioch, and counts over 3 million faithful around the world.
For the Jubilee year, Pope Benedict XVI granted his permission to put a statue of St Maroun in the last niche available in the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican.