Bechara Boutros al-Rahi
| His Beatitude Bechara Boutros al-Rahi بشارة بطرس الراعي | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch and The Whole Levant | |
| Church | Maronite Church |
| See | Antioch and All the East |
| Elected | 15 March 2011 |
| Enthroned | 25 March 2011 |
| Predecessor | Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir |
| Successor | incumbent |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 3 September 1967 (Priest) |
| Consecration | 12 July 1986 (Bishop) by Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 25, 1940 Himlaya, Lebanon(age 71) |
Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi (or Raï, Arabic: مار بشارة بطرس الراعي ) (born 25 February 1940) is the 77th Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, a position he has held since 15 March 2011, succeeding Patriarch Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir.
Biography
Bechara Boutros al-Rahi was born in Himlaya, Matn District, Lebanon on 25 February 1940. He attended College Notre-Dame de Jamhour, a Jesuit school in Lebanon. He entered in the Mariamite Maronite Order on 31 July 1962 and he was ordained as a priest on 3 September 1967. From 1967 to 1975 he has been the responsible of the Arabic language transmissions of Vatican Radio. In 1975 he was awarded the Phd in canon and civil law. He also studied for three years in the Lateran University in Rome.
He was consecrated as auxiliary bishop of Antioch on 12 July 1986, by Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir and on 9 June 1990, he was appointed bishop of Byblos. In 2003 he was elected Secretary of the Maronite Synod, and in 2009 he was appointed President of the Lebanese Episcopal Commission for the Media. In 2007 he received the award of the National Order of the Cedar.
At 71, he was elected Patriach of the Maronites on March 15, 2011, after getting more than two-thirds of the votes of the 39 bishops. The Mass for the inauguration of his patriarchate took place on March 25, 2011, in Bkerké, the See of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate. As is custom for all Maronite patriarchs Rahi took the additional name Boutrous (Peter), who briefly held the see of Antioch before moving to Rome to become bishop there.
In April 2011 Patriarch Rai said that, for the sake of communion and love, he would work "to establish a sincere and complete dialogue" with Muslims "and build together a future in common life and cooperation." Patriarch Rai said his predecessor "struggled with insistence to free both the national decision-making and the land of Lebanon from all forms of tutelage and occupation, worked for reconciliation in Mount Lebanon and realized needed church reforms." "All of these constitute an extension of the church's springtime started by the Second Vatican Council," he said.
References
External links
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechara_Boutros_al-Rahi
