By Cardinal DiNardo, originally printed in his "A Shepherd's Message" column in the Texas Catholic Herald

I recently met the newly elected Maronite Patriarch. The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in Lebanon that has always been in communion with the Catholic Church. Maronite Christians also live in other parts of the Middle East and in other parts of the world. They began immigrating to the United States in the 19th century and their numbers here have grown in recent years, owing to the difficult religious and political situation in the Middle East, including Lebanon. In Houston, the Maronites run Our Lady of Cedars Church. There are two Maronite "dioceses" in the United States.

The newly elected Patriarch is His Beatitude, Bechara Peter Rai. He had been Bishop of a Maronite diocese in Lebanon before his election on March 15 of this year. In his first visit to his communities in the United States, he came to Houston in mid-October for the celebration of the Liturgy, meetings with young people and a reception, where he greeted his own and many other Christians from the Middle East who live in Houston. I was privileged to represent the Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston at the Mass and to meet with him.

The Maronite Patriarch has always played a very large and public religious role both in Lebanon and in the Middle East. Because the Maronite Church – one of several heirs to the liturgy, spirituality and presence of the ancient Church of Antioch – has always been in communion with Rome, its Patriarch carries an important Catholic presence in the entire region. Read full column >>